COVER FEATURE

CAMPUS AND COVID-19 The coronavirus pandemic has cost millions for most universities. Meanwhile, UWSP enrollment is on the rise

Collin McNamara had just been elected president of student government two days before UW-Stevens Point shifted all its classes to online in early March. Spring break was extended a week, from March 14-29, and following that all classes were to be held virtually. The college announced a plan to move students off campus later that month.

The switch wasn’t easy at first for McNamara, a political science major from Iola. Online classes proved a challenge compared to their in-person counterparts. McNamara, 20, found it harder to focus on a screen all day, and distractions were rampant. Some days he needed to put his phone in another room to concentrate.

On top of that, McNamara was an essential worker, with a job at a grocery store, so while campus was ramping down to protect faculty, students and staff from the coronavirus, he had to dive right back into it at the grocery store.

But the experience hasn’t changed his outlook on college; rather, he says it’s brought the campus together.

“I have witnessed the neighborly attitudes of students helping other students move out, because their family couldn’t come in the middle of the week,” McNamara says, as an example. “When this pandemic started to happen, I knew this could go one of two ways: We would either see the worst of each other, or the best. I would say with very few exceptions we are seeing more of the best when it comes to education.”

The pandemic hasn’t deterred enrollment either. The numbers are actually up for the first time after years of declines that caused a crisis at the UW-Stevens Point campus and its Wausau and Marshfield satellite campuses.

But while the enrollment numbers are up, the financials are looking dire. The UW System as a whole estimates $212 million in losses through the summer due to Covid-19. UWSP alone will lose some $7.5 million in revenue tracked through to August, according to UWSP’s Interim Chief Financial Officer Christina Rickert. That includes revenue from canceled programs and events, student housing and dining refunds.

The pandemic has also cost the university $335,000 so far in expenses, Rickert says, for items such as personal protective equipment, student worker income continuation and technology costs to continue online classes. It also includes cleaning and sanitation costs, Rickert says.

UWSP is planning for a potential decrease in state aids in its next budget year, Rickert confirmed to City Pages.

All of that comes with the uncertainty of whether or not classes at UWSP and its satellite campuses in the fall will be in person, online or some combination thereof.

Enrollments rising at local campuses

Fall enrollment to the UW-Stevens Point is on the rise for the first time in a while, according to numbers provided by Marc Young, director of recruitment. New applications are up 46% compared to last fall, Young says. Those actually admitted to the university are up 46%, and those confirming their intent to enroll is up 37%.

That goes for the satellite campuses as well, Young says, though the increases aren’t quite as sharp. UWSP at Marshfield is up 12% in total applications and 15% in total admissions. UWSP at Wausau is up 29% in total applications and 28% in total admission to the university.

Even numbers of students registering for orientation have increased: 48% at UWSP, 25% at Marshfield and 71% at Wausau.

That orientation looks quite a bit different today, in light of the coronavirus, Young says. What was once an eight-hour, in-person orientation day now is about an hour and 15 minutes, and done virtually. Even conversations with academic advisors are done virtually.

One might assume college enrollment overall would drop with so much uncertainty in the world, especially in how classes will be conducted. On the other hand, in some cases nationally, students are forgoing expensive Ivy League schools in favor of campuses closer to home, leading to increases at smaller colleges.

Was that happening here? Young doesn’t think so. Data isn’t showing much difference in where UWSP students are coming from.

Data, by the way, has been the key to UWSP’s turnaround so far, Young explains. “We have been far more strategic and data-driven with our decision making,” Young says about recruitment. UWSP administration has worked to identify high school students in this region and around the Midwest who most likely to enroll at UWSP and target them with its marketing.

One big challenge during the pandemic: international recruiting. Foreign students represent a major revenue source for any university because their tuition rates are much higher. Travel restrictions and parents fearful about sending their children far from home during a pandemic mean recruiting international students will remain a challenge for some time to come.

And what the fall semester will look like still needs to be determined, Young says. UWSP is looking to the UW System for guidance on what format campuses will follow. But UWSP staff have been working to make sure they can accommodate students no matter where they are, Young says. “We will continue to do our best job and make sure students have the most up to date information so they can make a sound decision,” Young says.

Even college sports have been impacted, though maybe in ways the average person might not consider. The recruiting class for this fall has been largely unaffected, including in numbers of students, and where they’re coming from, says UWSP Athletic Director Brad Duckworth.

It has had a financial impact. Canceled events mean a loss in revenue. That loss is felt particularly in UWSP’s summer sport camps, which bring in a significant revenue. Volleyball camps, basketball camps and football camps—for kids, teens and college students— are among the many typically offered each summer.

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MANY COLLEGES WAIVING SAT/ACT

One major pandemic-related change for high school students preparing for college: the ACT and SAT standardized college admission test scores.

Because of the difficulties administering these tests in person, around 100 colleges around the U.S. that usually require either an ACT or SAT score are waiving this part of the admissions process for the 2021-22 academic year. That includes all UW System colleges, except UW-Madison, for freshman applicants. If taking the tests continue to be a problem this fall, UW-Madison may revisit the test score requirement.

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Sports recruiting is typically done a year ahead, so the shutdown will affect the 2021-22 incoming class more. Athletes who were high school juniors this year were unable to play their spring sports at a time that’s paramount to showcasing themselves for potential colleges, Duckworth says. And summer showcases for athletes are questionable as no one knows how soon or if games will begin. That means baseball or softball players, for instance, could go nearly two years without playing a meaningful game from a recruiting standpoint, Duckworth says.

“Coaches and players will certainly have to get creative to evaluate recruits’ talents and how they may fit within our programs,” Duckworth says.

Football practice is slated to start Aug. 12, and Duckworth says UWSP administration will be working with organizations such as the NCAA, the WIAC and Portage County’s health department to gauge when and if practices can begin ahead of the fall season.

UWSP Recruitment Director Marc Young says the college increased enrollment largely thanks to new, more sophisticated ways to target and market to potential students

Studying medicine during a pandemic

On Friday, graduates of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Wausau stared at a screen instead of partaking in a public graduation ceremony. But they’ve been accustomed to doing most everything online since earlier in the year.

Medical students were pulled out of their clinical assignments as coronavirus swept the nation, and first and second year students not prepping for residency had to transition to a virtual learning environment, says Lisa Dodson, dean of the Medical College Central Wisconsin Campus. Of that 80% was easy, she says, but the challenge is, how do you teach hands-on medical skills when the coronavirus keeps you from being hands on?

The social distancing lockdown came just as the college moved into new digs on the Aspirus campus. Newly unveiled in February, the campus will finally go back into use as students return in limited capacity this month. It helps that their new location is in a spacious building and now separate from the main Aspirus hospital.

Coronavirus hasn’t impacted enrollments yet at the Medical College, but it could in the future, perhaps positively. Dodson expects the pandemic might inspire some people to enter medical fields. “I do think there is a subset of folks out there who are going to be motivated to pursue a degree based on the heroic actions they’ve seen by health care professionals,” Dodson tells City Pages.

The medical campus has also implemented a 10-module Covid-19 course that medical students will take to learn more about the many facets of the new coronavirus. “We’re using this as an opportunity to beef up our public health training,” Dodson says.

NTC

Northcentral Technical College closed its physical campus on March 20, transitioning, as most schools did, to virtual learning.

NTC has seen a slight decline in summer enrollments, which was expected with the extension of the spring semester, says President Dr. Lori Weyers.

Fall enrollments had remained steady, and now is ticking up as the K-12 academic year comes to a close. The school is seeing increased interest toward its Liberal Arts Transfer Degree, Weyers says, in which students can earn an associate degree at NTC, and guaranteed transfer agreements with UW Madison and other UW schools. It’s been a popular option among parents not wanting to send their child away to school during the pandemic, Weyers says.

What about that new esports team the school started last year? Players con tinued to practice from home, and have even played tournaments that way, says head coach Jon DeGroot. The school’s League of Legends team even won a tournament hosted by the Milwaukee School of Engineering recently. Esports will go on hold over the summer, but will start back up in fall as planned, DeGroot says.

Same plan, different ways

The week before spring break was pretty weird, says Will Scheder, a 19-year-old freshman at UWSP. “No one really knew what was happening,” Scheder says about that time period. He returned to campus halfway through the extended spring break period, and says the empty buildings and zero contact allowed with residence hall staff was surreal.

For him, the transition to online learning wasn’t a big adjustment, and he had the right equipment to make it happen, Scheder says. “I do feel for those who don’t have any electronics or internet. I can’t even imagine how they did it.”

Collin McNamara, the new student government president, would like to see a mix of in-person and online options when students return in the fall, that takes into account safety of the faculty, students and staff.

Neither Scheder nor McNamara plan to adjust their college trajectory because of the coronavirus. “This hasn’t changed my outlook on college, and it hasn’t changed my college experience,” McNamara says. “I am still doing all the things I did before, just in different ways.”