Dive Brief:

• The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is teaming up with a community college to share space, offer joint programming and develop transfer pathways between the institutions. 
• Under the partnership, UW-Stevens Point’s Wausau branch will relocate to nearby Northcentral Technical College’s campus in the city beginning in fall 2026. 
• Through the partnership, the university plans to increase degree programs in Wausau in high-demand fields like healthcare and business. For example, the two institutions are discussing collaborating on a surgical technician program, they said.

Dive Insight:

The partnership between UW-Stevens Point and NTC comes after years of steep enrollment decline at the university’s Wausau location and questions about the branch’s viability. 

Between fall 2011 and fall 2023, full-time equivalent enrollment at UW-Stevens Point’s Wausau campus fell by a vertiginous 78.5% to just 232 students, according to institutional evaluations of the Universities of Wisconsin system by Deloitte last year. 

The university’s Marshfield campus suffered a similar decline. Deloitte’s assessment of both campuses was that the sharp enrollment drop-offs “threaten the future viability” of those locations. 

It also added pressure to the university as a whole. Without making operational changes, Deloitte forecast UW-Stevens Point would face mounting deficits in the years ahead. 

NTC has also seen declines in recent years. Between 2018 and 2023, fall headcount declined 8.7% to 5,838 students at the technical college, per federal data.

The institutions hope that joining forces can help play to their strengths while offering students new reasons to attend each college. The UW-Stevens Point branch will offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees while NTC offers associate degrees and certificates. 

“Students will have a seamless connection between UWSP and NTC,” Miranda Gentry-Siegel, executive of UW-Stevens Point’s Wausau campus. “Advisers from both schools will work together to find options that fit students’ interest and finances.”

The institutions also pointed to the potential for joint programs, collaboration between faculties on program design, combined student support services, and cost savings by reducing duplicated programs and services.

Faculty from UW-Stevens Point will stay employees of the university upon moving to teach at NTC’s campus, according to a FAQ page. It also signaled the possibility that some staff positions could be cut, noting that those who lose their positions will be “given the opportunity” to pursue jobs elsewhere in UW-Stevens Point or in the county government. 

The university is working with Marathon County to determine future use of its current campus, which is about two miles from NTC.

After the move to NTC’s facilities, UW-Stevens Point will end its varsity sports programs in men’s basketball and women’s volleyball through the Wisconsin Competitive Sports League, the university said.

Several branch campuses within the Universities of Wisconsin system have shuttered in recent years. UW-Milwaukee closed its campus in Washington County in 2024 and its Waukesha campus this summer. However, the university is opening a center at Waukesha County Technical College to offer bachelor’s and graduate programs. 

Additionally, UW-Platteville closed its Richland campus in 2023, and UW-Oshkosh shuttered its Fond du Lac branch in 2024.