Sauk County to consider covering UW-Baraboo deficit, explores sole ownership of campus (2024)

In a dramatic bid to keep the campus open and preserve a key driver of the local economy, the Sauk County Board plans to vote next week on a proposal to cover maintenance costs at UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County.

The estimated $390,000 annual expenditure in 2025 and 2026 would exactly cover the school’s projected deficit for the 2024-25 school year.

“We are hoping this is just buying us some time so we can work closer with the university and the city on how we can make better use of that footprint there, make sure the university is vital and maybe find some ways to bring other economic-related activities tied into school into those buildings,” County Board Chair Tim McCumber said.

The resolution, approved by a county committee on Thursday and due to go before the full board on Tuesday, comes a year after Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman ordered university chancellors to come up with a plan for keeping their campuses viable amid declining enrollment. The Baraboo campus is currently the smallest in the UW system.

UW-Platteville Chancellor Tammy Evetovich declined to say what else the campus planned to do to ensure continued operation, but in a statement said she was “appreciative of the way the city and county are working collaboratively with us to build a sustainable future for the UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County Campus.”

“When you have authentic partners that are willing to sit at the table and provide innovative solutions, it increases the likelihood of managing the complex challenges we are facing,” Evetovich said.

Eager not to see the campus close, Sauk County officials have been looking for ways to help, including potentially taking on full ownership of the buildings and grounds now jointly owned with the city.

“I’m not even sure you could use enough words to describe how important that campus is to the community,” McCumber said. “It’s not just that educational piece, but it’s heavily tied into our ability to be economically viable and competitive in the region, that educational piece and that hub people can come to for resources.”

Plugging the deficit with county funds, McCumber said, is “a Band-Aid over the bleeding for the university,” adding that he hoped it would allow the university time to explore other solutions, such as adding four-year programs to the campus.

Sauk County and the city of Baraboo currently split ownership of campus facilities, with each entity committing $55,000 to the campus in its 2024 budget. Earlier this month, Baraboo committed an additional $50,000 to address building repairs.

Baraboo Sauk County is now Platteville’s only branch campus after the Richland Center campus’ enrollment fell to just 60 students before closing at the end of the 2022-23 school year. Since then, three more Universities of Wisconsin branch campuses — in Waukesha, Fond du Lac, and Washington County — have announced they will close at the end of this school year or next year.

The campus at UW-Green Bay at Marinette is not closing but will strictly offer online courses at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.

That will leave eight in-person branch campuses in the system: UW-Whitewater at Rock County, UW-Oshkosh at Fox Cities, UW-Eau Claire at Barron County, UW-Green Bay at Sheboygan, UW-Green Bay at Manitowoc, UW-Stevens Point at Wausau, UW-Stevens Point at Marshfield and UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County.

With 210 students, Baraboo has the lowest enrollment of the branch campuses. UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha, which will close at the end of the 2024-25 school year, had the highest enrollment with 708, followed by UW-Whitewater at Rock County with 696.

Enrollment trends will be key

In announcing previous closures, UW system President Jay Rothman has said the decision to close branch campuses would be driven by enrollment trends, not just budgetary concerns. That could be good news for Baraboo since, while it ranks lowest in enrollment, it is one of just three branch campuses that saw an upswing this year, along with UW-Whitewater at Rock County and and UW-Green Bay at Manitowoc.

Enrollment at Baraboo peaked at 758 in the 2000-01 school year. The campus opened in 1968.

“Will they operate exactly in the same way? I think we have to adjust to market,” Rothman said of the branch campuses earlier this year. “Will there still be two-year education? At some of them, I suspect that will be the case, but we’ll have to see what the chancellors come back with.”

Local officials and students said they couldn’t imagine life without the campus, a low-cost option that area students can commute to.

“If it were to shut down, that would take a massive toll,” said sophom*ore and Portage native Emma O’Brien, who is pursuing an arts and sciences degree and a member of the student government. “I think it might prevent some students from being able to attend college.”

O’Brien and freshman Nevaeh Cady, of Baraboo, both said they come from lower-income families. O’Brien said she can finish her general education requirements at Baraboo Sauk County before transferring to UW-Stevens Point next year, and Baraboo makes transferring “super simple.”

“I feel like, at a bigger school, I wouldn’t have gotten the one-on-one that I’ve gotten here,” said Cady, who has not yet chosen a major. “This campus is actually pretty nice.”

Tailored to local needs

Stephen Swallen, director of the Baraboo Sauk County campus, said he is optimistic the campus will remain, adding that campus administrators need to look further into programs that students desire and ones that can benefit Baraboo and surrounding communities.

Five degrees are offered for in-person instruction at the Baraboo Sauk County campus. A sixth degree program, hospitality and tourism, has just two enrolled students and will be eliminated at the end of the current school year, Swallen said.

The campus offers associate degree programs but has a four-year bachelor’s offering in business administration in management.

Baraboo Sauk County also offers four two-year degree programs in food and agriculture, pre-engineering, arts and sciences, and business administration. The business and arts and sciences degrees also have online offerings.

Arts and sciences enrolls the most students at 122, while the food and agriculture program enrolls the fewest at seven, UW-Platteville spokesperson Alison Parkins said.

Swallen said the food and agriculture degree provides instruction that benefits the rural economy in south central and southwest Wisconsin, and the pre-engineering program prepares students for the “preeminent” engineering program on the Platteville campus.

Marc Seals, one of 32 faculty members on campus, said he was grateful none of the courses he has taught have been eliminated. In-person courses are rotated based on the degree programs and student and faculty interest in the courses, which are from the UW-Platteville course catalog, he said, while online courses give students “the full range of course offerings.”

Baraboo Sauk County’s annual residential tuition of $4,965 is tied for lowest in the Universities of Wisconsin system with eight other branch campuses, three of which have announced closures. Residential tuition is $5,394 at the UW-Green Bay branch campuses at Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Marinette, which is also closing.

Residential tuition at Baraboo Sauk County is set to increase to $5,211 for the 2024-25 school year, a nearly 5 percent increase.

Swallen credited the school for keeping a college degree affordable but acknowledged, “There are financial challenges associated with having very low tuition.”

Campus is jointly owned

Baraboo Sauk County is the only branch campus in the system that is jointly owned by the university and the local government; the others are owned solely by their counties. Faculty salaries are paid by the Universities of Wisconsin.

“Our situation is quite different from the situations of the other small campuses that have closed,” Seals said. “We are fortunate to have the enthusiastic support of our community and local governments.”

The 68-acre campus has four buildings, including a main facility — the Aural Umhoefer Building — which houses classrooms and administration offices; a campus library, the Lange Center, which features a cafeteria and student services; the James and Kathryn Hill Music Center; and outdoor athletic facilities including racquetball courts.

While some discussions have taken place about the county taking on sole ownership, “nothing is written in stone,” county administrator Brent Miller said.

NOTE: This story was updated to include information provided by UW-Green Bay.