State colleges report surge of Wisconsin freshmen, while overall enrollment flat

Enrollment across state universities has ticked upward for a third year, according to the Universities of Wisconsin. While the number of new freshmen from the dairy state hit a new record, international student enrollment fell by more than 7 percent.

Data from Wisconsin’s 13 four-year universities and their respective branch campuses counted 164,626 students, which represents a slight increase of just less than 200 students compared to October 2024.

Within the statewide total, UW-Whitewater recorded the largest increase of 515 students compared to UW data from last year. UW-Green Bay enrolled 331 more students than it did in 2024, UW-Stevens Point gained 281 students and UW-Milwaukee grew enrollment by 226 students.

At the same time, three campuses recorded notable year-over-year declines. Enrollment fell at UW-Oshkosh by 773 students compared to UW data from 2024. UW-Eau Claire enrollment was down by 513 students. The state’s flagship, UW-Madison saw 310 fewer students enrolled in October than it did the previous year. 

During a virtual press conference, UW President Jay Rothman said the overall increase across campuses, though slight, marks the first time since 2010 that the system saw consecutive growth three years running. He attributed that to a record increase in the number of new freshman enrollments from Wisconsin.

“This year we had an increase of more than 1,000 students in that new freshman Wisconsin resident class compared to last year, which reflects a 5.5 percent increase,” Rothman said.

Rothman attributed that first-year student growth to the UW’s Direct Admit Wisconsin program, which proactively admits students who meet grade and coursework requirements set by participating universities. A statement from UW said the seven campuses participating in the program saw freshmen enrollment gains of more than 9 percent. UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse and UW-Madison are the only campuses that aren’t a part of Direct Admit.

When asked about UW-Madison’s enrollment drop, Rothman called it “an aberration for our flagship,” which has seen continued growth for years. He said the shift is mostly due to a drop in the number of international students at UW-Madison, which he attributed to “the availability and the timeliness of students securing visas.”

“It’s an area that we will continue to try to work on, to try to be able to offer that opportunity, because we think those students can enrich our universities in terms of providing diversity, different perspectives and so forth. Helpful, not only to the students who are coming internationally to attend our universities, but certainly for students from the state of Wisconsin who are able to interact with them,” Rothman said.

President Donald Trump’s administration has moved to restrict international students from entering the U.S. While international students pay higher tuition than those from Wisconsin, Rothman said the financial impact is limited because that group makes up a small percentage of the state’s college population.

“I think we’ve been preparing for that as we read the environment,” Rothman said without referring to the president’s actions. “So that is not a huge shock to us, I think, as we look at the landscape.”