Enrollment at Fox Valley Technical College rebounds after COVID-19, holds promise for fall
Reader question: We see student enrollment going down at many Wisconsin universities. What is happening to the enrollment at technical schools?
Answer: As referenced above, enrollment at the Universities of Wisconsin declined for eight straight years before increasing 1.1% last fall to reach 162,528 students.
Enrollment at the Wisconsin Technical College System followed a similar pattern. The full-time equivalent enrollment declined for eight straight years before rebounding by 0.6% in 2021-22 and by 2.4% in 2022-23 to reach 60,011 students.
The COVID-19 pandemic delivered the biggest blow — a 9.4% enrollment loss — during the period of decline. Since then the numbers at the technical colleges have improved and are beginning to approach prepandemic levels.
The dip and recovery can be seen in Fox Valley Technical College's FTE enrollment in credit-bearing classes that contribute to an associate degree or technical diploma.
2019-20 school year: 5,333 FTE
2020-21 school year: 4,857 FTE
2021-22 school year: 4,936 FTE
2022-23 school year: 5,124 FTE
2023-24 school year: 5,304 FTE
An FTE is equal to 30 credits a year. That could be one student taking 30 credits a year, or it could be 10 students taking a three-credit class.
"You're seeing the rebound," FVTC spokeswoman Carmelyn Daley-Hinkens said, "and I think going into fall, we're pacing very well."
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Her statement came before last week's blockbuster news that the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh at Fox Cities will close at the end of 2024-25 school year due to budget problems and declining enrollment.
The Menasha campus is within 10 miles of FVTC's Grand Chute campus, so FVTC could receive a windfall as students search for alternatives.
Elizabeth Burns, FVTC's vice president of student success, attributed FVTC's post-COVID enrollment increases to students reevaluating their goals, new transfer pathways that FVTC has established with partner colleges, an expansion of its associate-degree programs, and shorter credentialed programs.
"This combination of factors has fueled FVTC's enrollment growth, making it difficult to pinpoint a single source for the uptick," Burns said.
Post-Crescent reporter Duke Behnke answers your questions about local government. Send questions to dbehnke@gannett.com or call him at 920-993-7176.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Enrollment at Fox Valley Technical College rebounds after COVID-19
