Until a few years ago, you could tell UW-Waukesha was a bustling campus. On weekdays, the street leading to and from the university would be lined with cars parked bumper-to-bumper. They belonged to students who wanted to avoid paying for a parking pass.
On a recent weekday morning, just three cars are parked on the aptly named University Drive.
UW-Waukesha will close by June 30 due to under enrollment and financial constraints on the Universities of Wisconsin. The Waukesha campus has lost 70% of its enrollment in the last 10 years — just 589 students took classes there this year.
Student Bo Durand loved attending Waukesha. Maybe because of the slim enrollment, they felt like the school was its own, self-contained community.
“I know a lot of peoples’ names. Like I can go in the hall and say 'hi' to people that I don’t really see, or interact with super often. And they know my name,” Durand says. “It’s those little things like that that I don’t think you really see at a larger campus.”
UW-Waukesha grew steadily after it opened in 1966
But UW-Waukesha hasn’t always been so small.
The campus opened in 1966 and routinely built additions until 1992. In 2015, more than 2,000 students attended classes there. In 2018, it was absorbed by UW-Milwaukee as part of a system-wide restructuring. Both Waukesha and the Washington County campus only offer two-year associate degree programs.
Like many there, student Vanessa Harris says she chose Waukesha for the cost.
“I started at Edgewood College in Madison,” Harris says. “I left because it was a little expensive and the tuition here is significantly cheaper. And I wanted to finish out my associate’s degree. This was just a good choice because of the proximity to where I’m living, as well as the cost.”
Harris, who grew up in Hartford, moved in with her grandmother to start classes in Waukesha. She lives within walking distance of school.
That’s long been a selling point for students here. If they’re from the area, they can live at home while taking classes to avoid renting an apartment or paying for a dorm.
Waukesha County owns the land where the university sits now, and the county has not released plans for what will take its place. The Universities of Wisconsin's lease for the land expires in 2040.
Dual-enrollment students, on-campus workers face uncertainty
High school students also benefited from the local campus. In Waukesha, a robust dual-enrollment program allows around 200 students to take college classes before they graduate high school.
Stacy Cross-Schmidt works for the School District of Waukesha in the teaching and learning department. She says the district’s early college credit students are shifting to Waukesha County Technical College or Carroll University. Very few are committing to taking classes at UWM — a 20 mile drive away.
Both Durand and Harris plan to transfer to UWM’s main campus on the city’s east side in the fall. UWM is honoring Waukesha students’ tuition, which is around $2,300 a semester in comparison to the main campus’ $5,200.
But Harris says she’s going to have to move out of her grandmother’s house and into a dorm. And that’s going to cost some serious money for the 21-year-old.
“Some of us are worried about the job aspect of this, not just the school aspect,” she says.
Harris currently works on campus in Waukesha’s student development office. She’s not expecting her job to be honored when she transfers to UWM.
“My costs, just like living costs, are also going to be a lot higher since I’m not going to be living with my grandmother anymore,” she says. “But hopefully … I can get a job there as well as a part time job off campus. So we’ll see how that works out.”
UW-Waukesha students, alumni invited to homecoming in May 2025
Alongside students, Waukesha professors are scrambling to make plans. One professor I spoke to says she was excited to have landed a job at UWM’s main campus. Others are expecting layoffs.
But they aren’t going out without a bang. The school is organizing a “homecoming” of sorts on May 22. Borrowing the cougar mascot’s name, they’re going to call the event “Corby’s last roar.”
Students and alumni are invited back to reminisce, reconnect with professors and say goodbye to the 59-year-old campus.
Katherine Kokal is the education reporter at 89.7 WUWM - Milwaukee's NPR. Have a question about schools or an education story idea? You can reach her at kokal@uwm.edu
