Applications for admission to the University of Wisconsin Colleges campuses are up 6 percent from this time last year. The UW Colleges system had received 11,492 applications as of August 24, and 9,100 students had been admitted.
The UW Colleges system, which includes 13 two-year campuses across the state, aims to prepare students for transferring to a bachelor’s degree program at one of UW’s four-year campuses.
According to Marv Van Kekerix, interim chancellor of UW Colleges and UW Extension, the increase in applications corresponds with the state’s current economic climate.
“People see the employment environment and decide to spend some time preparing themselves for what they anticipate to be a better climate in the future,” Van Kekerix said.
Van Kekerix said she believes the UW Colleges system provides an affordable option for students who wish to pursue a college degree without incurring the additional costs a four-year institution often requires in the first two years.
According to Teri Venker, spokesperson at UW Colleges and UW Extension, UW Colleges’ tuition for one academic year is currently frozen at $4,268, where it was set in 2006.
“The UW System Board of Regents froze tuition because they want to make sure there’s always a point of access to the University of Wisconsin, which is not as much of a financial barrier as going to college away from home,” Venker said.
Venker added even with affordable tuition, the school has still received 40.5 percent more applications for financial aid than they did last year.
While UW Colleges plans to hire more instructors to keep class sizes down, Van Kekerix says providing financial aid is the biggest struggle they are dealing with.
“The increase in the number of financial aid applications puts a lot of pressure on our staff, student services and financial aid offices to address that large of a demand,” Van Kekerix said.
UW Colleges are still accepting applications to all of their campuses and will be continuing to accept them through the first weeks of the semester.
