University Highlights

The scope of accomplishments at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh — given the budget cuts and tuition increases since 2000 — is astonishing, and it is a tribute to the unity, vigor and dedication of students, faculty, and academic and classified staff members.

These highlights present a few examples of the University’s success:

We have larger enrollments and full-time enrollment (FTE), and we have increased the number of students of color and adult students, degrees conferred and retention rates:

• Head-count enrollment increased by 985 to 12,669 students, up 8.4 percent.
• FTE increased by 895, up 9.6 percent.
• Enrollment of students of color increased by 466, up 106.4 percent.
• Enrollment of adult students age 25-plus increased by 340, up 24.5 percent.
• Degrees conferred increased from 1,712 to 2,073, up 21.1 percent.
• The retention rate for first-year students increased from 72.2 to 76.8 percent.
• The retention rates for students of color increased from 69.1 to 78 percent and is now higher than the overall rate for all students.
  

We secured more grants and more private dollars than ever before:

• Grants increased from $8.8 to $13.1 million, up 48.9 percent.
• Foundation gifts and pledges increased from $1.7 to $7.9 million.
• Foundation increased total assets from $7.4 to $33.7 million and acquired funding for 81 Academic Excellence Scholarships and 12 National Merit Scholarships, an increase of 355.4 percent.

We raised the level of academic preparedness of our first-year students:

• The proportion of the total entering class from the top quartile of their high school class increased by 6.6 percent, from 35 percent to 37.3 percent.
• 14 are new Academic Excellence Scholars, and three are new National Merit scholars.
  

We added tenure-track faculty positions and expanded support programs:

• UW Oshkosh received $3.8 million in Growth Agenda funding for 27 new faculty positions.
• The new Student Compact provides $1 million annually through differential tuition to enhance and integrate student academic support services.
• The new Center for Scholarly Teaching enhances student learning by inspiring and equipping the teaching community to achieve excellence through exceptional research.
  

We added new academic majors, graduate certificate programs and baccalaureate degree completion programs, including:

• Undergraduate majors in theatre arts and environmental studies.
• Accelerated Math and Science Teacher Education Program in collaboration with five UW Colleges.
• 11 new graduate certificate programs.
• Global MBA program.
• Collaborative master’s degree in social work with UW-Green Bay.
• Accelerated bachelor’s degree for non-nursing graduates.
• MBA Foundations Online Program. 
• Wisconsin’s first Bachelor of Applied Studies and Fire and Emergency 
• Response Management degrees.
  

We enhanced our facilities by completing approximately $100-million worth of building projects characterized by:

• $1.8 million in classroom and lab upgrades.
• $17-million Halsey Science Center renovation.
• $19.9-million Reeve Memorial Union renovation and addition.
• $13-million renovation of Taylor Hall.
• $10 million for the transformation of the Oshkosh Sports Complex.
• Purchase and renovation of the 30,000-square-foot Newman Center for Academic Support and Diversity and new Women’s Center as well as the Credit Union building for Grants and Faculty Development by UW Oshkosh Foundation.
• Campus beautification project — landscaping, lighting and signage.
• $21-million Student Health and Wellness Center.
• $7.7-million, 400-stall parking ramp.
  

We secured another $100-million worth of capital projects on the near horizon characterized by:

• $48-million academic center.

• $8.5-million Elmwood Student Support Development and Referral Center.
• $34-million residence hall.
• $6.3-million Facilities Maintenance Center.
  

We won national recognition for our commitment to “green” principles by decreasing negative environmental impacts through water and energy conservation, pollution reduction and recycling:

• Reduced water consumption by 24.5 million gallons/year, an annual savings of $130,986.
• Reduced energy consumption by 563,017 kilowatt-hours, an annual savings of $27,600.
• Reduced emissions of coal/natural gas boilers by constructing a $2.8-million heat plant stack.
• Reused light poles, resulting in more energy efficiency and less light pollution and saving $300,000.
• Ranked 23rd among all U.S. colleges and universities for use of renewable energy.
• Received the Environmental Projection Agency’s highest leadership award in 2003.
• Received the 2004 National Wildlife Federation Award, the 2005 Energy Star Award and the 2006 Wisconsin Clean Air Award.
• Became the first Fair Trade University in the country.
• Conducted an analysis of the University’s carbon footprint.
  

We were recognized as a national model for developing and highlighting exemplary campus-wide liberal education programs:

• Adopted a set of student learning outcomes in May 2008 based upon the Essential Learning Outcomes of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, developing definitions and performance indicators for each. 
• Featured online by the American Council on Education’s Solutions for Our Future.
• Lauded by the Association of American Colleges and Universities for linking its Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) initiative to ACE’s Solutions for Our Future.
• Devoted three issues (spring 2006, fall 2006 and spring 2007) of UW Oshkosh Magazine to a three-part series on the value and importance of a liberal education.
  

We are establishing an emerging national reputation for the way we engage and partner with all types
of individuals and organizations to better serve our region:

• Founding member of NEW ERA (Northeastern Wisconsin Educational Resource Alliance), a consortium of executive leaders of northeastern Wisconsin’s 13 public universities, serving 1.2 million Wisconsin residents with quality, seamless education.
• NEW ERA also is a founding member of New North, a consortium involvingnortheastern Wisconsin’s chambers of commerce, workforce development boards, economic development professionals and CEOs of major corporations. New North’s vision is to be nationally and globally competitive for advancing job growth while maintaining a superior quality of life for the region’s citizens.
  

We are especially proud of the accomplishments of our faculty and students:

• UW Oshkosh has won more Regents’ Teaching Excellence Awards than any other UW institution. Five individual faculty members and three departments have received this prestigious honor.
• UW Oshkosh has had the most successful Model United Nations Program in the nation for two decades running. 
• Since 1999, the College of Nursing graduate students’ pass rate on the American Nurses Credentialing Center–Family Nurse Practitioner Exam has been above 99 percent.
• Senior business majors at UW Oshkosh taking the ETS business knowledge assessment test ranked in the top 5 percent nationwide, while MBA graduates ranked in the top 5 percent nationally on the MBA students’ assessment exam.
• UW Oshkosh students who took the CPA exam placed the University in the top 10 of schools nationally. 
• The Advance-Titan has won the top national award for student newspapers five times. 
• Since 1990, 64 UW Oshkosh graduates have gone on to receive the Herb Kohl Teacher of the Year Award. 
• The best graduate programs in the nation covet College of Letters and Science graduates. 
• UW Oshkosh has won 40 national championships, including 25 NCAA Division III competitions.