UW Schools Merger

Leaders of the UW-Oshkosh and UW-Fond du Lac say a merger between the two schools and the UW-Fox Valley will benefit all three schools. UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Andrew Leavitt and UW Colleges Northeast Region Executive Officer and Dean Martin Rudd talked about the merger on KFIZ. Rudd says the new university will emerge on July 1st, but curriculum and classes will continue as is until the fall of 2019. Right now the UW-Fond du Lac offers associate degrees and one bachelor’s degree in partnership with the UW-Oshkosh. Rudd tells us the number of bachelor degree opportunities will grow through the merger.  He says, “Our attention is to expand that. We want to see more bachelor and even master degree completion programs here in our local communities. That is one way that we are going to get more working adults and more adult students back to our campuses to increase the region’s degree attainment rate.” Leavitt says the cost of tuition at the Fond du Lac and Fox Valley campuses is about two-thirds of what it cost to go to the UW-Oshkosh, but those costs will remain in place. He says, “This is about creating multiple pathways for students, adult learners, and traditional students to access high education in the Valley. We are going to keep the access missions alive and well on Fond du Lac and Fox Valley campus; that means price.” The new university will have a single faculty, but faculty members with tenure will continue to have tenure. There will also be a new administrative structure.