By Mark A. Mone
Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
While many consider New Year’s Day to be the time to make life changes, fall at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee is all about new beginnings.
There is a great deal of excitement and a certain amount of nervousness that students of all ages experience when heading back to school. And this fall, we welcome more than 2,000 additional students who join us from the University of Wisconsin’s two-year colleges in Waukesha and Washington County.
This summer, UW-Waukesha and UW-Washington County became satellite campuses of UW-Milwaukee. This is the result of the UW System’s consolidation of its 13 two-year campuses with Wisconsin’s seven fouryear universities. You will be seeing new signs and logos and hearing the new names – UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha, and UW-Milwaukee at Washington County.
The restructuring increases opportunities and makes education after high school even more accessible to people in southeastern Wisconsin.
For our restructured UWM, a top priority is student success, which includes providing numerous pathways, programs and offerings to strengthen the pipeline from high schools, technical schools and two-year colleges. For example, those attending two-year satellite campuses can seamlessly transfer to UWM and other UW four-year campuses.
UWM offers students a wealth of opportunities through 192 degree programs. That includes more than 850 online courses and 30 fully online degree and certificate programs.
For 80 percent of our graduates, their time at UWM includes an internship, co-op or other work experience. Also, being located in a vibrant region like southeastern Wisconsin means that more than 1,400 companies recruit UWM students each year.
Together, we can address the talent needs in Waukesha and Washington County – and the entire region – by bridging the needs of students and employers in manufacturing, health care, information technology, business and other fields.
Our goals are to increase the number of students who earn degrees, to build on the 184,000-plus living UWM alumni who make significant contributions to Wisconsin, and to improve the quality of life and earnings of our graduates.
For the long term, we see the addition of satellite campuses as a positive change to make education more accessible to those in our region. These campuses are a valuable launchpad and expand opportunities for thousands of students.
We are excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for the restructured UW-Milwaukee and are proud to welcome all our students to the new year. If you are interested in becoming a student at any of our campuses, I invite you to learn more by visiting uwm.edu/admission.
