UW-Green Bay enrollment grows for 7th year in a row among 4 campuses | Green Bay Press Gazette

GREEN BAY – As declining enrollment continues to plague the University of Wisconsin System, UW-Green Bay is experiencing its seventh year of growth.

Based on preliminary data from the first day of classes, UW-Green Bay saw a 3% enrollment increase over last year among its four campuses despite a 1% decrease across the state’s public university system. After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting education, the system expected the drop.

UW-Madison offsets the statewide decrease with its over 5% boost in enrollment. Excluding the flagship university, the system is facing a 3.6%, or 4,200, decrease in students.

For the fall 2021 semester, 9,799 students were enrolled at all four of UW-Green Bay’s locations in Green Bay, Marinette, Manitowoc and Sheboygan.

This semester, the university saw an increase of 316 students. UW-Green Bay administrators projected that the Hispanic student population increased by as much as 16% but won’t know until final enrollment numbers are released in October.

That growth puts the Hispanic student population on track to be almost a quarter of the student body across the four campuses.

First-generation students and local residents are some of the groups contributing to this increase. Across the four campuses, there’s a 7% increase in students from the region, and first-generation students have increased by more than 1%.

UW-Green Bay Chancellor Mike Alexander said in a press release that the numbers show the university’s efforts to increase opportunity and access are paying off.

“Our determination to broaden the idea of who a potential ‘student’ is and provide quality experiences that are available for people with complex lives helps us create ways for all learners to access higher education at UW-Green Bay,” he said in the release. “It is critical that we innovate on this front so that our region continues to thrive.”

In 2020, UW-Green Bay no longer required ACT or SAT test scores for admission, and it received a national designation for its commitment to improving first-generation student outcomes in 2021 — the first university in the system to get the recognition.

UW-Madison, UW-Superior and UW-Green Bay were the only branches in the system that saw enrollment increases. UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stevens Point reported enrollment decreases of 6% and 3%, respectively.

Like the rest of the country, the UW System has seen enrollment decline overall since 2010.

As with elementary, middle and high schools, a declining birthrate is creating a trickledown effect on enrollment in schools statewide.

Here is the breakdown of enrollment increases and decreases throughout the UW System:

• UW-Madison: +5%
• UW-Superior: +4%
• UW-Green Bay: +3%
• UW-La Crosse: 0%
• UW-Milwaukee: -3%
• UW-Parkside: -3%
• UW-Stevens Point: -3%
• UW-Whitewater: -4%
• UW-Platteville: -5%
• UW-River Falls: -5%
• UW-Eau Claire: -5%
• UW-Oshkosh: -6%
• UW-Stout: -6%

Because these are preliminary data and won’t be finalized until official numbers come out in October, the percentages are subject to change.

Source: UW-Green Bay enrollment grows for 7th year in a row among 4 campuses