MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin System had a 1% drop in enrollment this year, but some schools have actually grown their student bodies. 

Enrollment took a hit at schools within the UW System throughout the pandemic. Recovery from that has been a mixed bag. 

Most schools across the system have lower enrollment this year than they did in fall 2021. 

There are four outliers, according to numbers from the first day of classes: UW-Madison’s enrollment grew by 5%, UW-Superior’s grew by 4%, and UW-Green Bay’s grew by 3%. UW-La Crosse’s enrollment stayed about the same. 

The system said it will release final numbers in October. 

UW-Green Bay has had increased enrollment for seven years in a row. 

Chancellor Mike Alexander said that’s at least partially because they have more Hispanic students on campus. He credits increased diversity to the school’s efforts to make higher education more accessible. 

“What used to be called non-traditional students, we view them now as traditional students,” Alexander said. “People who are already working that want to increase their level of education, or want to use it to advance their career, or want to change careers.” 

UW-Green Bay won a national designation last year for making college more accessible to first-generation students. It was the first in the UW System to get that recognition. 

Still, Alexander said UW-Green Bay has more work to do when it comes to diversity. 

“We are now currently more diverse than the region we serve. That’s a pretty remarkable statement to be able to make,” Alexander said. “We are not, however, more diverse than the local school districts that we serve. And that’s really important, that our demographics of our region are changing. We have to be on the front edge of that to make sure that the region can grow together as this new generation comes forward.” 

Alexander said UW-Green Bay’s business school has grown the most over these last seven years, followed by sciences, technical fields and nursing.