Prof. Shelton comments on ‘Republican Report On Higher Education Calls For Regionalization Of UW System Campuses’ | Wisconsin Public Radio
The report directs the Board of Regents to “continue the successful 2017 consolidation” of the state’s two-year colleges by “further consolidating the campuses of the UW System into four geographic regions, plus UW-Madison.” The regions, and subsequent campuses, would include:Northwest region: UW-Eau Claire, UW-River Falls, UW-Stout and UW-Superior.Northeast region: UW-Green Bay, UW–Oshkosh and UW-Stevens Point.Southwest region: UW-La Crosse and UW-Platteville.Milwaukee region: UW-Milwaukee, UW-Parkside and UW-Whitewater.The report states that members of the Board of Regents should consolidate administrative and budget functions along with academic programs within a particular region.
Jon Shelton, a professor at UW-Green Bay and a member of the Board of Regents faculty representatives, said the report is unclear about exactly how campuses other than UW-Madison would become regional entities. Shelton said UW-Green Bay has been growing its enrollment in recent years, particularly by reaching out to growing Latino and Somali populations in the area.
“And if you were to regionalize it in this way, what you would see is, I think, the loss of the ability for campuses to truly serve their local community,” said Shelton.
