Speakers Offer Ideas On Keeping UW-Platteville Richland Campus Open

A listening session held Thursday in Richland Center served as a forum in which community members shared ideas on how to revive the UW-Platteville Richland campus, or at least keep it on life support while plans are made to stop holding in-person classes because of declining enrollment. As of this past fall, UW-Platteville Richland’s enrollment was just 60 students. Speakers offered suggestions on how to keep a presence at the campus. Ideas proposed included bringing back continuing education for adults and the College for Kids programs, returning site-based recruiting and admissions staff and partnering with area school districts to encourage students to earn their associate’s degrees alongside their high school diplomas. System President Jay Rothman announced in November that the Richland Center campus would stop holding in-person classes for degree programs starting July 1, but he kept open the possibility of having some in-person programs, such as adult enrichment classes. A mid-December draft of the plan, which said any programs through Richland Center going forward would be online only, potentially rendering the campus unnecessary. A report says officials from Richland County, which owns the campus, said the December draft had been developed without their input.