Moving forward

9/11 seems to have little impact on admissions, study abroad programs

Fowler-Hammer mason Tom Stachowitz works on a Sept. 11 memorial at UW-La Crosse funded by faculty, staff and students. The memorial, the first in La Crosse to memorialize Sept. 11 victims, includes an illuminated tree and benches. It was dedicated Nov. 16. UW-La Crosse/Lisa Larson

Most prospective and current UW System students are not letting the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks slow them down, according to campus officials who oversee admissions offices and study abroad programs.

UW System admissions staff report little or no impact from 9/11. Applications for undergraduate admission continue to come in at rates equal to or greater than last year, many campuses say.

"I don't believe that we have seen any evidence that Sept. 11 has influenced students applying to UW- Stevens Point," says Dave Eckhom, admissions director at the university. "I have occasionally asked that question when meeting with prospective students and parents, and I have yet to have a single applicant or parent indicate that the tragedy entered into their decision."

UW-River Falls Admissions Director Alan Tuchtenhagen says that applications and queries remain on a par with past years, during which the university has experienced record enrollments.

At UW-Madison, however, Associate Director of Admissions Keith White says the aftereffects of Sept. 11 are starting to make the recruitment of East Coast students more difficult. It's not that students necessarily want to attend college closer to home, but recent shakeups in the airline industry have made it less convenient to get to Wisconsin.

"There's lots of concern from the east, expressed by parents in New York and New Jersey," he says, noting that Continental Airlines has dropped two daily non-stops from New York-LaGuardia Airport to Madison's Dane County Regional Airport. "(Students) just don't like to switch planes. We lose good kids to other Big Ten schools, such as Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana, because of this."

Although UW-Madison doesn't expect applications to decline as a result, transportation concerns could affect the number of students who actually accept offers from the university.

Meantime, the events of Sept. 11 seem to have taken their toll on international student applications at some UW institutions. Those applications are down by about 50 percent at UW-La Crosse compared to last year, according to Jay Lokken, the university's director of international education.

Interest in study abroad programs is steady or growing at many UW System campuses, while other institutions are reporting small reductions in study abroad registrations.

At UW-Milwaukee, study abroad programs are enjoying unprecedented enrollment and interest. During UWM's UWinteriM program in January, 81 students-a 75 percent increase from the previous year-participated in study abroad programs. These students traveled to Ghana, Argentina, Italy, Great Britain, Ireland and Peru. And UWM faculty are designing and leading more overseas academic programs than ever before in the institution's history.

UW-Eau Claire officials say that there were no study abroad cancellations last semester and only four for the Spring 2002 semester, out of 402 students scheduled to participate in international education programs. Karl Markgraf, UW-Eau Claire's director of international education, says that applications are down slightly for study aboard programs in 2002-2003, but no particular destination is experiencing a dramatic downturn.

Meanwhile, UW-River Falls cancelled a proposed winterim trip to Egypt because of uncertainty over the political environment there. Europe, however, remains extremely popular. A trip to Ireland over the holiday break was filled, and the university's popular residency program, Wisconsin in Scotland, will have its strongest enrollment ever this spring.

The UW Colleges institution-wide study abroad program has experienced a slight reduction in registrations, but administrators are not sure if that is related to Sept. 11. Campus-specific programs seem to be quite stable, they add, and there is an increase in the number of UW Colleges faculty offering to develop and teach short-term study abroad courses next academic year.