UW-Green Bay Marinette ending in-person classes after spring semester

A third University of Wisconsin System campus will join two others already slated to end in-person instruction at the end of this school year.

UW-Green Bay will suspend face-to-face classes at its Marinette campus after the spring semester concludes, moving to an entirely online campus come fall. Chancellor Mike Alexander insists, however, this isn't the end.

"We are not leaving," he wrote in a Friday email to faculty. "Yes, it will look different, but it will not close. We want our campus in Marinette to be an educational asset for generations to come."

Only 14 classes were taught in person at the Marinette campus this fall, Alexander said. The rest were online or streamed across multiple campuses. Instead of "waiting for a closure," which was the fate delivered to UW-Platteville Richland this fall, he wants to "proactively rethink our approach."

That includes keeping classrooms with streaming capabilities open for students, investing in the campus theater by providing a range of arts programming, expanding non-credit educational offerings to community members and offering more camps, he said.

UW-Green Bay's move will also open up use of some campus facilities to third parties. Marinette County owns the campus' three buildings and recently put about $600,000 into renovating the theater.

Marinette County administrator John Lefebvre wasn't surprised by UW-Green Bay's announcement to reduce its footprint in Marinette. The university had recently withdrawn from a lease involving the campus fieldhouse and pool. The pandemic didn't help either, exposing students to online learning options.

"They’ve been slowly downsizing and dealing with different types of students than they did before," he said. "To me, it was not (unexpected). Maybe a little bit sooner than I thought. I thought it’d be more like five years (from now)."

Enrollment falling at many UW branch campuses

UW-Green Bay operates two other campuses aside from its main location in Green Bay. Enrollment at the university's Sheboygan and Manitowoc campuses are each above 400 students.

Marinette, however, has struggled. It had about 200 students enrolled this fall.

The UW system includes 13 four-year universities where students earn bachelor's degrees. Before Richland's closure in 2023, the UW System also had 13 smaller "branch campuses," which for decades served as a stepping stone for lower-income students to enroll at a lower tuition rate and transfer later on to a four-year school.

Most of the branch campuses have hemorrhaged students over the past decade.

There's competition from technical colleges, many of which are just a few miles away. There are fewer students graduating from Wisconsin high schools, and a smaller share of them are choosing to pursue a college degree.

The campuses have also been subjected to budget cuts, reorganizations and mergers, the most recent of which happened in 2018 when UW four-year universities absorbed oversight.

A legislative bill would help Wisconsin communities that lose their branch campus

UW-Milwaukee at Washington County and UW-Oshkosh Fond du Lac are ending traditional programming at the end of this spring, UW System officials announced in October. UW-Platteville Richland officially closed last year.

More: UW ending classes at campuses in Washington County and Fond du Lac

UW System President Jay Rothman said cost savings weren't driving the decisions. Rather, it was students choosing to enroll elsewhere.

A bill working its way through the Legislature would give $2 million each to Richland Center, Washington County and Fond du Lac to redevelop their former two-year campus sites. Another $6 million would be available for other communities that lose their branch campus.

A Senate committee approved the bill earlier this month with full bipartisan support. An Assembly committee has held a hearing on the bill. A spokesperson for Gov. Tony Evers' office did not immediately return a request for comment on whether he would sign the bill into law.

"It’s a beautiful campus, right on the shore of Green Bay," Lefebvre said of UW-Green Bay Marinette. "I would imagine we’ll find a way to repurpose the buildings or a portion of the buildings."

Still, Alexander acknowledged the transition will be painful for the Marinette community.

"We must embrace a new model rather than trying to cling to the past," he wrote. "It is our job to be responsible stewards of our resources. Rather than try to perpetuate a broken economic model, we will reallocate our resources to the benefit of the most people in the area."

Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @KellyMeyerhofer.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Green Bay Marinette ending in-person classes after spring 2024 semester