A recent decline in applications to UW-Milwaukee is not necessarily seen as a problem according to university administrators.

Last week the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on the decrease of applications for most public universities in the Wisconsin system. The main reasons for the drop are the state of the economy and the decrease of outgoing high school students.

UWM Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Rita Cheng said the drop in applications is not necessarily an indication of lower enrollment. “I wouldn’t characterize the decreased applications as a problem, but we are aware of freshmen outreach and have these programs in place,” she said.

Beth Weckmueller, UWM’s Executive Director of Enrollment Services, said that the downturn in the number of applicants is a recent trend. “UWM’s application trend has been moving upwards for the past decade,” she said. “Last year was the first year we experienced a decline.”

The decrease of applicants comes at a time of great economic struggle for America. But the economy is not the only factor contributing to the decline according to Weckmueller.

“Demographics are changing. There will be less high school students coming out of school – a nine percent projected decrease over the next 10 years,” Weckmueller projected. “Even though that is a slow decline of outgoing high school students, that in itself is a reason UWM may be experiencing less applications received.”

Enrollment of new freshmen for 2008 was only slightly less than 2007.

That year 4,535 newly freshmen enrolled, UWM’s highest number of new enrolled students ever. In 2008, the number dropped to 4,050 new freshmen enrolled.

The figure, even with the drop from the previous year, was still the third highest number of new freshmen enrolled in the history of the university.

UWM is strengthening its outreach efforts to potential students and putting an emphasis on communication with new freshmen. Once students attend as freshmen, UWM is also making an effort to retain new students.

Cheng and UWM Associate Vice Chancellor Ruth Williams are focusing on programs that reinforce these goals.

“There are a lot of initiatives right now,” said Cheng. One example is the recently launched “Awesome. Affordable.” advertising campaign put in place to attract potential students.

“It has been very effective,” Williams said of the campaign. “There is a lot of traffic on UWM’s Web site by people who want to know about the school.”

While the number of applications received dropped, the Chancellor’s office is proactive in its recruitment of new freshmen.

“We need to be aware of recruitment and outreach. We are reminding people of the quality and affordability of education here at UWM,” said Cheng.