Record enrollment at UW-Whitewater
September 21, 2016
Written by Marketing and Media Relations | Photo by Craig Schreiner
Student organizations, clubs, fraternities and sororities showcase their activities at the annual Involvement Fair on Wyman Mall at UW-Whitewater on Wednesday, September 14, 2016.
For the seventh time in eight years, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is at record enrollment.
Preliminary figures show 12,433 enrolled students for the fall semester, including the largest first-year class in the university's history with 2,220 new students. UW System will release the official enrollment numbers in October.
"The Warhawk family continues to grow, and I am delighted that more students than ever are choosing UW-Whitewater to pursue their degrees," said Chancellor Beverly Kopper. "This is an amazing place with a vibrant array of courses and extracurricular activities, and faculty and staff members who care deeply about student success."
"I'm especially proud that we also have a record freshman-to-sophomore retention rate of 81.4 percent," Kopper said. "We're working diligently to make sure students who come to UW-Whitewater make meaningful connections on campus, find success and graduate," she said.
Meanwhile, the physical campus continues to evolve. The Mary Poppe Chrisman Success Center, currently under construction, will help meet the university's growing demand for in-depth tutorial support. It will house the UW-Whitewater Academic Support Center, serving thousands of students with tutorial and supplemental instruction and offering employment opportunities to hundreds of qualified learning assistants, or tutors. The center, an addition to Laurentide Hall, is expected to open in fall 2017.
In addition, a new 400-bed residence hall is currently under design and expected to open in fall of 2019.
Recent record enrollments include:
12,351 in 2015-16
12,159 in 2014-15
12,031 in 2012-13
11,643 in 2011-12
11,557 in 2010-11
11,139 in 2009-10
Enrollment for 2013-14 was 12,015.