Enrollment inches upward in Universities of Wisconsin system

By The Associated Press

FILE - Graduating students listen to a commencement address at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis., on May 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Jon Elswick]

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Overall enrollment in the Universities of Wisconsin system’s four-year schools ticked upward this fall compared with last year, data released Tuesday shows.

The system released enrollment numbers as of the 10th day of the 2024 fall semester. They show overall enrollment stood at 164,431 students, up 1.2% from the 10th day of the 2023 fall semester.

UW-Green Bay saw 975 new students for a 10.5% increase in enrollment, the largest percentage jump among the 13 four-year schools. Enrollment at UW-Madison, the system’s flagship university, increased nearly 3%. UW-Superior, the most remote campus, in Douglas County in far northwestern Wisconsin, saw a 3.6% increase.

Five schools saw their enrollment shrink, including Eau Claire, Oshkosh, Parkside, Platteville and Stout.

Overall enrollment at the system’s two-year branch campuses fell 22%. The most dramatic drop-off was at UW-Stevens Point’s Marshfield campus, where enrollment plunged nearly 45% compared with fall 2023.

UW officials have blamed declining numbers of high school graduates and more graduates eschewing college for the workforce for faltering enrollment.