Year in Review: Campus closures, budget deficits created hazy future for UW System in 2024 | Fox 11

(WLUK) — The year 2024 brought many questions as to what the future looks like for the Universities of Wisconsin, as several institutions grappled with financial and enrollment problems.

Six UW schools, including UW-Oshkosh, are operating in the red, with structural deficits for the 2024 fiscal year. Numerous steps have been taken to shrink the deficit, which, in 2023, sat at $18 million.

Amid their financial woes, in October, UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Andrew Leavitt announced he’ll be resigning at the end of this academic year.

“I just simply decided it was time. I really needed to step out of the role,” said Leavitt on Oct. 24.

Two-year branch campuses are becoming sparse as the system navigates change. Six branch campuses across the state either closed or announced closures in 2024, particularly due to low enrollment numbers.

In May, classes taught exclusively in-person at UW-Green Bay’s Marinette campus ended as the university looked to lessen its footprint.

“We’ll still offer classes up there that are point-to-point classes. In other words, where the class will originate in Marinette, or another one of our campuses, but students can take the class in Marinette,” said UW-Green Bay Chancellor Michael Alexander on May 9.

UW-Oshkosh’s Fond du Lac campus officially closed in June. That same month, UWO announced it will shut down operations at its Fox Cities campus in Menasha in June 2025.

In July, a Wisconsin legislative council study committee began examining the UW system. Committee members floated around the idea of potentially splitting UW-Madison from the other comprehensives.

In 2025, the state legislature will be weighing the biennial budget — and the UW system is pressing for $855 million in new funding.

“In my mind, we are relying too much on tuition right now, putting too much burden on students,” said Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman on August 28.

The Universities of Wisconsin still has a long road ahead to improve enrollment and finances and ensure a better future.

Source: Year in Review: Campus closures, budget deficits created hazy future for UW System in 2024