Enrollment throughout the University of Wisconsin System is at an all-time high, up 2.1 percent from fall 2006.
A record 173,313 students, including undergraduates, graduates and transfers, enrolled in one of the UW System’s 26 campuses this fall.
UW System spokesperson David Giroux said one of the main reasons for higher numbers of enrollment in UW schools is the increased importance of obtaining a college degree.
"Students realize that a degree is key to lifelong success; parents are realizing that and so are state legislators," Giroux said.
There are a number of factors that have contributed to the record number of enrollments this fall, Giroux said.
The number of new freshmen is also higher than ever, with an incoming class of 30,655 students this year. The highest percentage increase was seen at UW-Milwaukee, Giroux said.
"With the larger class of incoming freshmen, there are more transfers from technical colleges, and significantly high progress [with] students of color." Giroux said.
The high enrollment can also be attributed to the wider range of students who are going to college, said Don Mash, executive senior vice president of the UW System and former chancellor of UW-Eau Claire.
"In general, I simply think we're able to increase enrollment where we haven't gotten as wide and deep-cut as we like — for example, non-traditional students, underrepresented minorities and low-income students have all increased," Mash said.
Mash added he would like to see numbers in these areas continue to rise and said there are a number of programs underway to increase college enrollment in the state of Wisconsin.
"Recently we launched 'KnowHow2GO.' It's a national program tailored to Wisconsin that helps young people," Mash said. "It tells them what they need to do in junior high school to prepare for college."
Giroux said the increase in students is not a direct result of Wisconsin's Growth Agenda, a plan where individual campuses map out their own goals for increased student enrollment, but cited other reasons for the record enrollment numbers.
"We can't correlate one to the other because the funding for the Growth Agenda doesn't start until July 2008," Giroux said. "This is more of a direct result of efficiency and productivity gains."
Giroux said much of the growth occurred while the UW System was managing funding cuts.
"We're doing more with less, and this is a product of skilled management," Giroux said.
Another factor of the record-setting enrollment is the persistence of college students, Giroux said. More students are working toward a bachelor's degree without dropping out.
Sharon Wilhelm, interim associate vice president of policy analysis and research for the UW System, will be presenting the enrollment data at the Board of Regents meeting today.
In addition to the high numbers of new students, Wilhelm will present other important factors to the regents, including the UW System’s progress in enrolling more students of color and a growing number of U.S. military veterans.
Giroux hopes this fall's large enrollment will lead to more growth.
"We hope to see in the future Wisconsin workers needing a college degree to succeed; this has been a pretty steady drumbeat from the UW System for years," Giroux said. "The state will continue to provide needed investments, and young people must continue to aspire to higher levels of learning."
