UW-Wisconsin System Merger Moving Forward After Approval

(Madison) The University of Wisconsin System’s plan to merge its 13 two-year campuses with seven four-year colleges is moving forward after receiving approval last week. Accreditation, administrative oversight and each institution’s reporting structures formally transferred Sunday. The U-W Board of Regents approved the restructuring last December to address declining student enrollment and strengthen the pipeline from two-year colleges to four-year universities.  Four-year schools will be allowed to award associate degrees under the restructuring plan which is expected to take two years. U-W Rock County will become a branch campus of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Sunday and officials propose naming it UW-Whitewater at Rock County. Chancellor Beverly Kopper called it a truly historic and exciting time of transition for both campuses.