Four-year degrees now offered at UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County

Four-year degrees are now an option for UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County students and even more may be added for different areas of study in the near future.

UW-Platteville Interim Chancellor Tammy Evetovich announced during a gathering of local officials Friday that the program, rolled out this fall, creates more opportunity and shows the importance of the campus.

“It’s clear that UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County plays a vital role in this region and we look forward to building on our partnerships and past successes,” Evetovich said.

Evetovich visited the campus to share updates and initiatives planned to meet the needs of Baraboo’s students, staff and local workforce.

The meeting is on the heels of the recent announcement that the UW-Platteville Richland Center campus is ending in-person instruction on campus, under the directive of University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman.

That school saw a drastic decline in student enrollment in recent years. There were just 60 students enrolled this fall, a 90% reduction from 2014, when enrollment was 567 students.

Michael Compton, assistant provost of UW-Platteville branch campus operations, said enrollment at the Baraboo campus this fall is also down at a total of 177 students, which is a decrease of about 30 students from the previous year. The downturn of enrolled students is a trend throughout the UW System, he said.

“A majority of the two-care campuses are experiencing somewhere between a 5% and up to 25% decrease in enrollment,” Compton said. “I think that’s due to several factors. It can likely be due to factors involved with the economy. A lot of people looking for employees right out of high school.”

There are currently eight students enrolled in the new bachelor’s of business administration in management. That number may rise. There are currently 22 students seeking an associate degree in that program.

The year prior, UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County launched a partnership with UW-Stout to offer a new associate degree in hospitality and tourism. That program was developed with area tourism partners.

Other associate degree programs on campus include food and agriculture, that launched in 2020, and pre-engineering, that launched in 2021.

“We have seen how these new programs have provided valuable points of access to higher education for students, while also meeting the needs of the local workforce,” Evetovich said.

Baraboo City Administrator Casey Bradley said Tuesday that the potential for even more four-year degrees would solidify the city’s campus as a desirable and competitive option for students.

“The chancellor is looking at bringing four-year engineering, healthcare, hospitality and tourism, management, criminal justice, education learning and potentially looking at some other programs to help ensure our business needs are being met and that residents’ needs are being met,” Bradley said. “Obviously, this will be the only place in central Wisconsin where you can get a four-year degree. A lot of positive things came out of that meeting.”

Bradley was not the only person who felt the gathering was a constructive one.

Mark Paschen, a member of the Friends of the Campus Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the campus by offering scholarships to local students, said he was elated.

“I left the recent meeting feeling exhilarated knowing that the Baraboo campus has the full support of Chancellor Evetovich,” Paschen said. “And (knowing) Platteville is committed to not only keeping the campus open, but providing more programs and support to help the campus thrive.”

Paul Erickson, UW-Platteville’s chief communication officer, said the closure of on-campus classes in Richland Center “does not impact in-person degree instructional programming at the UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County campus.”

While that campus is closing, students are being given more options in Baraboo and Sauk County.

“We are looking forward to continuing to listen and respond to the needs of this region,” Evetovich said, “and explore opportunities for additional programs.”

Paschen expressed optimism for those expanded options at his alma mater.

“The future is very bright,” he said.

Reporter Bridget Cooke contributed to this story.