Universities of Wisconsin Rolling Out Direct Admissions Initiative

Friday, December 8th, 2023 -- 9:01 AM

(Corrinne Hess, Wisconsin Public Radio) Starting next year, high school students could be accepted into University of Wisconsin schools without even applying.  

According to Corrinne Hess with Wisconsin Public Radio, the Universities of Wisconsin is rolling out its direct admissions initiative to boost enrollment across its campuses. UW system administrators hope to reach first-generation college students and other potential students who might not have considered attending a four-year school.

"My sincere desire is this will cause some of those students to realize they do have the capability of doing this, and they will enroll in our universities and ultimately graduate," said system President Jay Rothman.

Participating high schools and participating UW campuses will enter student grade point average data and campus admission requirements into two large student information systems used by many public school districts in Wisconsin, Infinite Campus or Skyward Schools.

From there, students will receive admission letters to the campuses where they are matched for fall 2025. Rothman said most UW campuses have similar GPA requirements. He said GPA is being looked at because it is a good predictor of future college performance.

"We can start to have a conversation about what a university journey will look like, financial aid and what that process is, and really take some burden off of high school counselors," Rothman said.

Taylor Odle, an assistant professor of educational policy studies at UW-Madison, said about a third of students attend community colleges and more than 50 percent of students who go to a four-year college attend a school that is already admitting more than 75 percent of students.

Direct admission removes an unnecessary barrier, Olde said. "If we only need these couple of pieces of information to make a decision, why don't we just get the data from where it already lives, rather than asking students to jump through all of these hoops of writing an essay, submitting a resume, getting a high school to submit a transcript," Olde said.

About 270 high schools across the state are participating in the direct admission program, including Milwaukee Public Schools and Madison Metropolitan School District. Ten of the UW system's 13 campuses are taking part.

UW-Madison, UW-Eau Claire and UW-LaCrosse are not participating.

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