The list of Universities of Wisconsin campus closures grew Thursday, as UW-Oshkosh announced that it will shut down its Fox Cities campus next summer.
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman made the decision Monday, and students, faculty and staff were told Thursday morning that the Menasha location will end June 30, 2025, according to Chancellor Andrew Leavitt.
Total enrollment at UWO Fox Cities has declined nearly 67% over the past decade, while the five-year average decline is nearly 19%, the university said. By 2032, there could be fewer than 100 students at UWO Fox Cities, given the expected decline in the number of high school graduates in Wisconsin and other trends.
“In the end, we made a difficult but responsible decision,” Leavitt said.
UWO Fox Cities is the sixth campus in the Universities of Wisconsin system to announce a closure or move to online services in recent years. UW-Oshkosh already closed its Fond du Lac campus this spring. Other affected branch campuses include Waukesha, Washington County, Marinette and Richland Center.
Over the last year, UW-Oshkosh analyzed changes in enrollment, demographics, student participation rates, competition, economics trends, demand for online programs and other factors before determining that the Fox Cities campus was not financially feasible.
“The challenges facing the campus, and indeed facing higher education in general, are not of our own making,” but instead reflect “massive changes in our state, our nation and our world,” UW-Oshkosh Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Ed Martini said.
Last week, the UW Board of Regents discussed how UW-Oshkosh has exhausted its unrestricted reserve balance and is projected to have a $7.6 million cash deficit for the first time in system history. The system will cover that balance, and UW-Oshkosh will pay it back with interest.
Leavitt said Thursday that declining enrollment led to the Fox Cities closure, rather than the deficit.
“UW Oshkosh is working to ensure it has a bright future, which requires tough decisions now,” Rothman said in a statement Thursday. “Unfortunately, the analysis is that the market and enrollment cannot sustain the Fox Cities Campus moving forward.”
Students, faculty can transition to Oshkosh campus
As of this spring, the Fox Cities campus had roughly 450 students and about 80 faculty and staff.
Students who stay at the Fox Cities campus through the spring 2025 semester can then attend the Oshkosh campus at the Fox Cities tuition rate through 60 credits, until they earn an associate of arts and sciences degree, or until Jan. 1, 2027, whichever comes first.
If students decide to switch campuses now, they will pay the Oshkosh campus tuition rate.
UW-Oshkosh plans to transition Fox Cities faculty to the Oshkosh campus. The 2026 budget process will determine opportunities for staff.
More information is available at uwosh.edu/fox/transition/.
Lawmaker, county executives ‘disappointed,’ 'saddened' by closure
Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson criticized the Fox Cities closure Thursday, telling Leavitt and Rothman, “Shame on you.”
The two leaders “let down the students and families of UW Fox [Cities] and betrayed their trust — and now it will be up to the rest of us to clean up their mess,” Nelson said in a statement.
Leavitt said he didn’t think that was a fair criticism. The university will continue to serve the Fox Valley region at its Oshkosh campus, he said, less than 20 miles away.
As someone with "a deep personal connection" to the Fox Cities campus, Winnebago County Executive Jon Doemel said he was "saddened" by the closure.
"Regardless of my emotions, closing the campus was inevitable with the declining enrollment and projected demographics," he said.
Doemel said he will work with university and local leaders "on a smooth transition."
State Rep. Lee Snodgrass, D-Appleton, was also “deeply disappointed” by the announcement.
“While one cannot deny the dramatic dip in enrollment due to an increase in choices for post-secondary education, and a decline in birth rates, we must also acknowledge that Republicans in the state legislature have habitually eroded funding to the Universities of Wisconsin,” Snodgrass said in a statement.
The representative added, “Without state investments to backfill tuition freezes over the last decade, it is impossible to imagine any circ*mstance where the campuses of the Universities of Wisconsin could thrive. The state bears responsibility here as well.”
Snodgrass “will continue to push for a greater investment in Wisconsin’s public education, including increased funding for our colleges and universities.”
Last week, Gov. Tony Evers said he will ask the Legislature to give the Universities of Wisconsin more than $800 million — “the largest biennial budget increase in our UW system’s state history” — in his 2025-2027 proposal.
