Growth and Changes Since 2000

We have increased our enrollment, and we have increased the number of students of color and adult students, degrees conferred and the retention rates for our first-year students.

Enrollment has increased by 8.6 percent (1,009) to 12,700 students;
Enrollment of students of color has increased by 365, up 95.8 percent;
Enrollment of adult students age 25-plus has increased by 21.0 percent (291);
Degrees conferred increased from 1,712 to 2,053, up 19.9 percent;
Retention rates for first-year students have improved from 70.8 to 73.2 percent.

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

21.2 percent more are from the top 25 percent of their high school class; and
11 are new Academic Excellence Scholars, and three are new National Merit scholars.

We have expanded support programs for student, faculty and staff development:

The New Student Compact provides $1 million annually through differential tuition to enhance and integrate student academic support services.

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

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 program for non-nursing graduates;
MBA Foundations Online Program;
Wisconsin’s first Bachelor of Applied Studies degree.

We have 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;
$5.5 million of the $9.4-million planned transformation of the Oshkosh Sports Complex;
Purchase and renovation of a 30,000- square-foot building for the Academic Support and Diversity Program and a new Women’s Center;
Campus beautification project — landscaping, lighting and signage;
$21-million Student Recreation and Wellness Center;
$7.7-million, 400-stall parking ramp.

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

New $48-million academic building;
New $8.5-million Elmwood Student Support Center;
New $34-million Residence Hall;
New $6.3-million Facilities Maintenance Center.

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

Reduced water consumption by 24.5 million gallons/year, a savings of $130,986;
Reduced energy consumption by 563,017 kilowatt-hours, a savings of $27,600/year;
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, a $300,000 savings;
Ranked 23rd among all U.S. colleges and universities using renewable energy; Received the 2003 EPA Leadership Award — the 11th U.S. university to receive the EPA’s highest leadership award;
Received the 2004 National Wildlife Federation Award, the 2005 Energy Star Award and the 2006 Wisconsin Clean Air Award.

We have been recognized as a national model for developing and highlighting exemplary campuswide liberal education programs:

Featured online by the American Council on Education’s Solutions for Our Future;
Lauded by the Association of American Colleges and Universities for linking their initiative entitled Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) to ACE’s Solutions for Our Future.

We are establishing an emerging national reputation for the way we engage and partner with all types of individuals and organization 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. The vision is to be a valued leader in collaborating to serve the region with quality, seamless education. NEW ERA also is a founding member of NEW NORTH, a consortium involving northeastern Wisconsin’s chambers of commerce, workforce development boards, economic development professionals and CEOs of major corporations. The 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. Four individual faculty members and three departments have received this very prestigious award;
UW Oshkosh has had the most successful Model United Nations Program in the country for two decades;
Since 1999, the College of Nursing graduate students’ pass rate on the American Nurses Credentialing Center–Family Nurse Practitioner Exam has been 100 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 of the national MBA student 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, 65 UW Oshkosh graduates have gone on to be awarded the Herb Kohl Teacher of the Year Award;
UW Oshkosh has won 40 national championships, including 25 NCAA Division III competitions.