Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox November 09, 2024 @ 7:00 PMThe Young 930 W Main St, Whitewater, WI 53190 Tickets: http://uwwhitewater.vbotickets.com/event/scott_bradlee`s_postmodern_jukebox/130993.
University
City, Daily Bread, University
Daily Bread for 10.1.24: Keep Going, UW-Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 66. Sunrise is 6:52, and sunset is 6:35, for 11 hours, 42 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent, with 1.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
The Whitewater Common Council meets at 6:30 PM.
On this day in 1908, Ford Model T automobiles are offered for sale.
The Universities of Wisconsin (UW System) writes that UW-Whitewater welcomes 20,000 visitors for summer programming:
Thousands of people visited the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater during the summer of 2024 as the Whitewater and Rock County campuses hosted scores of events between the spring and fall semesters.
A total of 6,330 campers and 700 camp counselors participated in the university’s 67 summer programs. Another 5,538 people were served through events run by external partners, including the Special Olympics Wisconsin Summer Games and the Drum Corps International Whitewater Classic.
UW-Whitewater’s First Year Experience office welcomed 2,182 students and 2,493 guests for Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR). The Department of Admissions held three preview days and 126 campus tours over the summer for prospective students and their family members and guests, attracting another 3,279 visitors to campus.
“It was an incredible summer at UW-Whitewater, and I’m so proud that nearly 20,000 people visited our campuses,” said Chancellor Corey A. King. “We have a vibrant community, and it was on full display across the wonderful plethora of events we hosted. I’d like to thank our students, event volunteers, faculty, and staff, including our camps and conferences office, for fostering a welcoming, inclusive environment for learning and engagement.”
Keep going: Whitewater is made happier and more prosperous when she has visitors.
City, Daily Bread, University
Daily Bread for 9.17.24: Good News on UW-Whitewater’s Enrollment
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 85. Sunrise is 6:36, and sunset is 7:02, for 12 hours and 25 minutes of daytime. The moon is full tonight, with all of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Common Council meets tonight at 6:30 PM on the UW-Whitewater campus.
On this day in 1787, the United States Constitution is signed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, bringing the Constitutional Convention to a successful end.
Whitewater received good news yesterday as did a few other Universities of Wisconsin campuses. Corrinne Hess reports Universities of Wisconsin enrollment up overall (‘8 UW campuses see enrollment increases over last fall’):
Preliminary enrollment figures released Monday show eight colleges in the Universities of Wisconsin system have more students this year than last fall.
….
UW-Whitewater’s enrollment is the highest it has been since 2020. The Rock County campus, included in Whitewater’s 11,784 headcount, is expected to hold steady at nearly 700 students.
“We’re thrilled that more students are choosing to join the Warhawk family,” said Jackie Briggs, assistant vice chancellor for enrollment and retention. “UW-Whitewater’s commitment to student success, great teaching, inclusivity, and affordability continue to resonate.
Preliminary headcount enrolment:
- UW-Eau Claire: 9,969
- UW-Green Bay: 10,749
- UW-La Crosse: 10,438
- UW-Madison: 51,729
- UW-Milwaukee: 22,517
- UW Oshkosh: 13,127
- UW-Parkside: 3,875
- UW-Platteville: 6,419
- UW-River Falls: 5,093
- UW-Stevens Point: 8,263
- UW-Stout: 6,870
- UW-Superior: 2,756
- UW-Whitewater: 11,784
This is good news for Whitewater. Enrollment gains in the present demographic environment are hard-won. This community will be better off leaving the last decade’s mistakes(1, 2) behind us. To support education is not to support anything or anyone but to support worthy endeavors and leaders. As always, the heart of the university experience lies in the relationship between professors & students and between students and their peers.
Whitewater’s social and economic health depends on a healthy campus. See Arrive for the Campus, Stay for the City. One hopes for continuing gains free of yesteryear’s errors.
Partial Lunar Eclipse September 17-18, 2024:
America, Daily Bread, Sports, University
Daily Bread for 9.8.24: Team USA Wheelchair Basketball Defeats Great Britain, 73-69
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning.
Sunday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 73. Sunrise is 6:28, and sunset is 7:15, for 12h 46m 45s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 24.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1760, during the French and Indian War, the French surrender Montreal to the British, completing the latter’s conquest of New France.
It was a good day for America — and for UW-Whitewater — yesterday in Paris as the United States took its third consecutive gold medal in wheelchair basketball. Liam Griffin of the Wheelchair Sports Federation writes On Top Again: U.S. Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Tops Great Britain for Third Straight Paralympic Gold:
Paris, France (Sept. 8) — Winning two consecutive championships is widely considered one of the hardest things to do in sports. Three in a row? Even tougher.
Team USA men’s wheelchair basketball had none of that on Saturday at Bercy Arena.
Great Britain gave the U.S. all it could handle, but it wasn’t enough. Team USA pulled out a 73-69 victory to secure gold once again.
“This team has grown so much over the course of the last couple of years,” proclaimed Steve Serio, team captain. “We knew that Great Britain was going to be a great opponent, a really tough group of guys. Right now, we’re just excited that we won a basketball game and got to bring home another gold medal for our country.
“It feels awesome,” exclaimed Jake Williams [UW-Whitewater alumnus, profile @ Team USA], owner of a third gold medal. “Gold medals are never easy, and I think this was one of the hardest ones with only eight teams being in the tournament, they’re all really good, but we stayed together as a team and I’m definitely glad that we came out on top.”
….
The win is a bittersweet one for Team USA. Before the game, Serio made a major announcement. The opening ceremony flag-bearer revealed that the Paris Games would be his last.
“He definitely makes my job a lot easier,” said Williams. “Playing for Team USA has been so much fun, definitely the most fun I’ve had playing basketball.”
Boeing Starliner successfully returns to earth without crew:
City, Crime, University
Whitewater Police Department Identifies Suspect in Homicide Investigation
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
The Whitewater Police Department released today a statement identifying the suspect in the fatal shooting of Kara Welsh. That statement appears below:
Whitewater Police Make Arrest in Homicide Investigation – UPDATEWhitewater, WI – September 3, 2024 – The Whitewater Police Department is confirming the identity of the suspect arrested in this case as Chad T. Richards, 23, of Loves Park, Illinois. Richards is scheduled to appear in court today, September 3rd, at the Walworth County Courthouse.
The Whitewater Police Department forwarded the following charges to the Walworth County District Attorney’s Office: First-Degree Intentional Homicide (Wis. Stat. 940.01(a)), Endangering Safety by the Use of a Dangerous Weapon (Wis. Stat. 941.20(1)(c)), and Disorderly Conduct while Armed (Wis. Stat. 947.01). It is noted that this case has not been concluded. Unless a judgement of conviction is entered, the arrestee/defendant is presumed innocent of all charges.
Due to the fact that this is an ongoing investigation, no additional details will be provided at this time. Anyone with information relevant to this investigation is encouraged to contact the Whitewater Police Department at 262-473-0555 option #4. Anonymous tips may also be shared using P3Tips.com.
Previously: A Fatal Shooting in the City, Official Release of Information on Student Fatally Shot.
City, Crime, Daily Bread, University
Daily Bread for 9.1.24: Official Release of Information on Student Fatally Shot
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning.
Sunday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 73. Sunrise is 6:21, and sunset is 7:27, for 13h 06m 31s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 2.3 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1939, Germany and Slovakia invade Poland, beginning the European phase of World War II.
On Saturday afternoon, UW-Whitewater released a statement following the identification of the victim of a fatal shooting in the city. That statement, from Chancellor Corey King, appears in full below:
Message from Chancellor King
Dear students, faculty and staff,It is with great sadness that we announce a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student has passed away. Kara Welsh, age 21, from Plainfield, Illinois, died in a shooting off campus on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. More information is available on the City of Whitewater website.
Kara was majoring in management in our College of Business and Economics and was a standout member of the Warhawk gymnastics team, winning an individual national title on the vault in 2023.
We know the news of Kara’s death is heartbreaking for our close-knit university community. It is a time when we are all called upon to support one another, to process, and to grieve.
Please know that counseling services are available to you. For students, please contact the University Health and Counseling Services. For faculty and staff, please contact Acentra, the Employee Assistance Program.Since learning of this tragedy, our colleagues across Whitewater have come together to respond and to engage in layers of support for our students, faculty and staff.
- Our Dean of Students office is connected with Kara’s family and is helping them navigate through the unimaginable situation of the loss of their loved one.
- Our Athletics leadership brought together the gymnastics team and coaches to inform them in person, and University Health and Counseling Services offered counseling support.
- Our Academic Affairs staff are planning to provide extra support and flexibility to affected students with classes beginning on Tuesday.
- Our UW-Whitewater Police Department continued their close collaboration with the City of Whitewater Police Department by providing assistance in the investigation.
- The Chancellor’s Cabinet and other university leaders continue to stay in contact and take action to lead us through this difficult time.
Details for memorial services will be shared when they are available. I have directed that the UW-Whitewater flag fly at half-staff on Tuesday, Sept. 3, in Kara’s memory.
Sincerely,
Corey King
Chancellor
City, Daily Bread, Good Ideas, University
Daily Bread for 8.20.24: The Young
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 73. Sunrise is 6:08, and sunset is 7:47, for 13h 39m 22s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 99 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
The Whitewater Common Council meets at 6:30 PM.
On this day in 1794, American soldiers are victorious at the Battle of Fallen Timbers:
American troops under General “Mad” Anthony Wayne defeated a confederation of Indian forces led by Little Turtle of the Miamis and Blue Jacket of the Shawnees. Wayne’s soldiers, who included future Western explorer William Clark and future President William Henry Harrison, won the battle in less than an hour with the loss of some 30 men killed. (The number of Indian casualties is uncertain.)
The battle had several far-reaching consequences for the United States and what would later become the state of Wisconsin. The crushing defeat of the British-allied Indians convinced the British to finally evacuate their posts in the American west (an accession explicitly given in the Jay Treaty signed some three months later), eliminating forever the English presence in the early American northwest and clearing the way for American expansion.
The battle also resulted in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville, in which the defeated Indians ceded to Wayne the right of Americans to settle in the Ohio Valley (although the northwestern area of that country was given to the Indians). Wayne’s victory opened the gates of widespread settlement of the Old Northwest, Wisconsin included.
I had heard, and now have read, that the Irvin Young Auditorium will rebrand itself as The Young.
The change is a clever, contemporary way to describe the venue. The Young is pithy and, in its way, more familiar than the longer formal name (as people in families have sometimes have diminuitives for their relatives’ names).
Well done.
Underwater video shows marine life flourishing in railcars:
City, Daily Bread, University, UW System
Daily Bread for 8.8.24: Arrive for the Campus, Stay for the City
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning.
Thursday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 79. Sunrise is 5:55, and sunset is 8:05, for 14h 10m 06s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 15.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1974, President Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day.
Whitewater has a public university, and a goal of this community should be to encourage graduates of UW-Whitewater to remain in the city as residents after their graduation. Statewide, the Universities of Wisconsin have had success with graduates remaining in the Badger state. A local goal should be to encourage the graduates of our campus to take up long-term residency in Whitewater.
Of the state figures, Abbey Machtig reports Universities of Wisconsin graduates stay in state, according to ‘Facts and Trends’:
Almost 90% of Wisconsin residents with a bachelor’s degree from the Universities of Wisconsin were still living in the state five years after graduation.
That compares to 10% of graduates who were originally from Minnesota and 16% of graduates from other parts of the country or world, according to data from 2021. These findings, and more, were shared in a report the system released Wednesday. The report, “Facts and Trends,” includes information on state funding trends, enrollment and participation rates, affordability and tuition.
That Wisconsin residents stay in Wisconsin does not surprise me: this is a congenial place to live.
The goal for Whitewater, however, should be to encourage UW-Whitewater students, from whatever communities before attending our campus, to become long-term residents of our community after graduation.
See Universities of Wisconsin, Facts & Trends 2024.
What do Team USA Olympians listen to before they compete?:
City, Daily Bread, University, UW System, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 8.1.24: Direct Admission for UW-Whitewater and Many Other Public Universities in Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning.
Thursday in Whitewater will be cloudy with scattered afternoon thunderstorms and a high of 84. Sunrise is 5:47, and sunset is 8:14, for 14h 26m 32s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 9.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1774, British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
After years of discussion, many Wisconsin public universities will begin to offer direct admissions. Henry Redman reports Thousands of Wisconsin high school students to be directly admitted to UW schools for 2025:
Starting next week, tens of thousands of high school students across Wisconsin will be directly admitted to Universities of Wisconsin schools without filing applications.
The admissions are part of a new program, launched in December, to boost admission on the state’s public university campuses.
Next week through September, students will start receiving emails letting them know they’ve been admitted. School districts across the state participating in the Direct Admit Wisconsin program shared student grade point averages and course credits with University of Wisconsin administrators for rising seniors. The program identifies if a student qualifies to be directly admitted to any of the 10 participating campuses.
UW-Madison, UW-La Crosse and UW-Eau Claire are not participating.
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman said this week 50,000 students across 330 high schools are eligible under the program.
This is a sensible policy as it reduces one unnecessary step to entry.
Previously at FREE WHITEWATER: Direct Admission into the UW System Is a Sensible Idea (8.21.22) and supporting A Direct-Admissions Proposal for the UW Schools (12.8.23).
August 2024 Skywatching Tips from NASA:
City, Daily Bread, University
Daily Bread for 7.12.24: Committee Ponders the Universities of Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
Good morning.
Friday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 85. Sunrise is 5:28 and sunset 8:32 for 15h 03m 51s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 37.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1543, King Henry VIII of England marries his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace.
Baylor Spears reports Study committee meets for first time to consider future of the University of Wisconsin System:
A study committee made up of lawmakers and members of the public will spend the next few months discussing the future of the University of Wisconsin system and solutions for ongoing concerns, which appeared to be wide ranging during the panel’s first meeting on Thursday.
The group will provide legislative recommendations when it wraps up its work late this year. It comes after a legislative session that was marked by a showdown over diversity, equity and inclusion, controversy over free speech on campuses as well as the financial future of the UW system.
Committee chair Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) noted during the meeting that the UW system faces challenges that include declining enrollment on many campuses along with fiscal constraints at individual institutions and at the system level. She said the committee would be a place to openly, honestly and respectfully discuss the issues in a public setting, even though conversations may be “intense” and “uncomfortable” at times.
“We all are here because we share the goal of taking action that will support the function of the UW system as an effective economic driver in our state going forward,” Nedeweski said.
The committee is made up of four state lawmakers — including Nedweski, Sen. Cory Tomczyck (R-Mosinee), Rep. Alex Joers (D-Middleton) and Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) — as well as 14 members of the public, who have an array of stakes in and ties to the UW system. It is planning to meet four other times between now and November.
A few remarks:
- There is no certainty about what the study committee might propose, let alone what action might be taken on any proposals it makes.
- Over the years, I’ve been critical — with justification — of several administrators at UW-Whitewater. (There’s no reason to be critical of the current chancellor; he’s managing well during difficult times.)
- The success of our local campus is vital to the socio-economic health of Whitewater. That success does not depend on, and will not come from, a narrow focus on a particular economic advantage that the university offers to a few business people, such as student rentals.
- Whitewater needs to abandon the notion, so to speak, that someone who supplies hospital beds is qualified to practice medicine.
- After the last three years, it should be evident to residents that offering apartments for rent does not provide any unique insight into K-12 education, university education, municipal finance, Wisconsin’s Public Records Law (Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31–19.39), Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law (Wis. Stat. §§ 19.81–19.98), or coherent (let alone persuasive) speaking during public meetings.
Italian artist creates Eiffel Tower in farm field ahead of Paris Olympics:
City, Daily Bread, University, UW System, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 6.17.24: Significant Progress on UW-Whitewater’s Budget
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning.
Monday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 91. Sunrise is 5:15 and sunset 8:36 for 15h 20m 12s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 78.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Police & Fire Commission meets at 6 PM.
On this day in 1673, Marquette & Joliet reach the Mississippi: “Here we are, then, on this so renowned river, all of whose peculiar features I have endeavored to note carefully.”
On this day in 1850, Vega becomes the first star (other than the Sun) to be photographed.
Deficits continue for a handful of Universities of Wisconsin campuses. Joe Schulz reports 6 UW campuses projected to have deficits, even after cost-savings efforts (‘Regent: UW-Oshkosh has depleted its reserves ahead of 2024-25 school year’):
The number of Universities of Wisconsin campuses projected to have budget deficits heading into next school year is down from 2023. But one campus has already used all of its reserves as efforts to address budget shortfalls there have negatively impacted staff morale.
Six UW schools are projected to have deficits next school year, down from 10 last year, according to Board of Regents finance committee documents. The structural deficits at those schools range from nearly $9 million to more than $500,000.
The six campuses are UW-Oshkosh, UW-River Falls, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Superior, UW-Parkside and UW-Whitewater.
….
According to system projections, UW-Oshkosh is facing the largest deficit of any campus going into the 2024-25 school year.
The other structural deficits are:
- UW-River Falls at $3.2 million, up from $2.0 million;
- UW-Eau Claire at $1.6 million, down from $5.6 million;
- UW-Superior at $1.5 million, up from $600,000;
- UW-Parkside at $1.0 million, down from $5.3 million;
- And UW-Whitewater at $509,174, down from the $5.9 million.
There’s good news for Whitewater: this is a significant reduction in the structural deficit for our local campus. UW-Whitewater is in a better position now than some other campuses, however uncomfortable deficit-reduction has been.
Colorado rescue team frees dog trapped in house vent:
City, Daily Bread, Technology, University
Daily Bread for 4.1.24: The Changing University Landscape
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
Good morning.
Monday in Whitewater will be cloudy with afternoon rain and a high of 47. Sunrise is 6:35 and sunset 7:31 for 12h 45m 13s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 58.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Equal Opportunities Commission meets at 5 PM, and the Whitewater Common Council holds a special session at 6:30 PM.
On this day in 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak found Apple Computer, Inc.
One could say that, in a dynamic society like America’s, every generation’s university landscape is changed from the generation before. In our time, one of those changes is online university education. Earlier this winter, Corrinne Hess reported Universities of Wisconsin launch website to market online degrees (‘Wisconsin Online aims to make it easier for students to register for online classes’):
On Feb. 1, the system launched Wisconsin Online at online.wisconsin.edu. The website provides access and information about the UW’s 10 associate, 99 bachelor’s and 95 master’s degree programs.
“We have taken a more deliberate approach to this,” Rothman told WPR. “Our role is to use the trusted brands as the Universities of Wisconsin to offer a world class, online educational program.”
The UW has 18,000 “traditional” students who have now gone fully online, Rothman said.
But the new online portal is also focused on the more than 700,000 people in Wisconsin who have some college credit who now want to finish their degree online, Rothman said.
“We have a number of students who also want to get their MBA this way,” Rothman said. “So it is simply a way to further address and meet the students where their needs are. “
These programs expand the reach of college education while requiring communities like Whitewater’s to balance new online opportunities with in-person instruction. Successful campus communities will have to advance on both fronts.
What’s in the night sky | April 2024:
Bigotry, City, Daily Bread, Racism, University
Daily Bread for 1.23.24: Neo-Nazis Arrive Into, and Depart from, Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be snowy with a high of 37. Sunrise is 7:17 and sunset 4:56 for 9h 39m 22s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 95.5% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Finance Committee meets at 5 PM.
On this day in 1986, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley.
Dozens of stories, many from national publications, now report on the arrival and departure on late Sunday afternoon (1.21.23) of the of the neo-Nazi Blood Tribe onto the UW-Whitewater campus. Of those stories, reporting from Kimberly Wethal at the Wisconsin State Journal, UW-Whitewater condemns antisemitic incident on campus, is the most concisely informative:
UW-Whitewater’s chancellor is condemning an incident Sunday night during which a small group of people projected Nazi and antisemitic imagery on the side of a residence hall and chanted white supremacist slogans.
Shortly before 5:45 p.m. Sunday, campus police received reports of four people, dressed all in red, standing outside Knilans residence hall on the east side of campus, chanting phrases such as “there will be blood” and projecting a swastika and antisemitic phrases onto the side of the residence hall.
The group’s actions and appearance are consistent with members of “the Blood Tribe,” a Neo-Nazi group that has made two appearances at UW-Madison and a pro-LGBT event in Watertown last year.
The group’s goal is to scare or intimidate people with their presence, according to the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that fights antisemitism and extremism in the U.S.
In an email to students and staff, UW-Whitewater Chancellor Corey King called the actions of the group “abhorrent,” adding that they go against the university’s core values.
“At UW-Whitewater, we strive to create a safe community where everyone feels a sense of belonging. We take pride in our Warhawk family. We reject hate in all its forms,” King said. “On this first day of the new semester, I ask all of us to reaffirm our commitment to our core values and not let the actions of an outside group that seeks to incite hate, division and fear take us off course.”
In the email, King said the university has no reason to believe the group presents a threat to campus, and the group left shortly after police were called. But university police have increased patrols.
One cannot say whether this fanatical band will be back, but they were not from here, were not welcome here, and will never be welcome here.
NISAR: Tracking Earth’s Changes From Space (Mission Overview):
Daily Bread, Education, University, UW System, Wisconsin
Daily Bread for 12.8.23: A Direct-Admissions Proposal for the UW Schools
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning.
Friday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 55. Sunrise is 7:13 and sunset 4:20 for 9h 07m 29s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 19.8% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1941, President Roosevelt declares December 7 to be “a date which will live in infamy,” after which the U.S. declares war on Japan.
Corrinne Hess reports UW system will launch direct admissions initiative with 2024 senior class (‘Students will get college admission letters in July 2024 before applying to college’):
Starting next year, high school students could be accepted into University of Wisconsin schools without even applying.
The Universities of Wisconsin is rolling out its direct admissions initiative to boost enrollment across its campuses. UW system administrators hope to reach first-generation college students and other potential students who might not have considered attending a four-year school.
….
Participating high schools and participating UW campuses will enter student grade point average data and campus admission requirements into two large student information systems used by many public school districts in Wisconsin, Infinite Campus or Skyward Schools. From there, students will receive admission letters to the campuses where they are matched for fall 2025.
Rothman said most UW campuses have similar GPA requirements. He said GPA is being looked at because it is a good predictor of future college performance.
“We can start to have a conversation about what a university journey will look like, financial aid and what that process is, and really take some burden off of high school counselors,” Rothman said.
Hess reports that other states have had success with a direct-admissions approach:
Idaho adopted the nation’s first direct admissions system, proactively admitting all high school graduates to a set of public institutions in 2015. Idaho’s program raised first-time undergraduate enrollments by just over 8 percent and in-state student enrollment by almost 12 percent by the 2017-18 school year, according to an article by Research in Higher Education.
The state of New York created a direct admissions program this year for more than 125,000 graduating high school seniors. In fall 2024, Georgia will roll out a direct admissions program similar to Wisconsin’s.
It’s a good idea — schools will send out offers of acceptance based on academic performance in participating high schools but students need not accept an offer. The program removes a burdensome application process many might have experienced. Less in this case is more.
Super hot plasma made easy with stabilizing fibers: