Undergraduate enrollment at UW-Oshkosh has fallen from 10,619 in fall of 2013 to 7,909 in fall 2022, according to a campus spokesperson. At the same time, UW System data shows the number of students attending its two branch campuses in Fond du Lac and Menasha plummeted.
Between 2013 and 2022, UW-Oshkosh’s Fond du Lac campus has lost 449 students, a decline of around 63 percent. The UW-Oshkosh Fox Cities campus has shed 1,155 students, which works out to a decline of 65 percent.
Last fall, Rothman announced the end of classes at UW-Platteville’s branch campus in Richland Center, which had seen enrollment fall to just 60 students. Enrollment at nearly all the state’s remaining branch campuses has fallen significantly during the past 10 years.
“The decline in the number of high school graduates going on to higher education is particularly troubling as we continue to move into a technology driven knowledge economy,” Rothman said. “Wisconsin’s participation rate is the lowest among our border states, and that does not bode well for the future of Wisconsin.”
UW-Oshkosh faces $18M deficit, plans to cut 200 staff positions | Wisconsin Public Radio (wpr.org)
The drop in enrollment is occurring at many public schools, private schools and colleges.
