Declining Enrollment One Of The Reasons For Proposed UW Merger

One of the reasons for a proposed merger of the 13 UW Colleges into the four-year UW Institutions is the declining enrollment at the two-year schools. Martin Rudd is the Northeastern Region Executive Officer and Dean for the UW Colleges, which includes the UW-Fond du Lac. He notes since 2010 enrollment has been down at those schools. On average it has been down about 30 percent. In 2010 the UW-Fond du Lac had 651 students. Last year that number was about 407, but this fall 431 students were enrolled. There were more freshmen enrolled at the school this fall, which contributed to the increase. Rudd says they are still committed to the students at the UW-Fond du Lac and will continue to recruit, admit, and enroll students through the academic year. The Board of Regents will consider the merger proposal next month. If they approve it under the restructuring the UW-Fond du Lac and Fox Valley would be linked with the UW-Oshkosh as of next July.