Enrollment of Wisconsin residents is at an historic low, while enrollment of international students is at an historic high.
Enrollment is a function of applications, admit rates, and yield. Arguably, changes in policies around cost and campus climate (e.g. the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates-- see below) most often affect the yield. So let's look at the yield rates-- the percent of students who accept the admissions offer and choose to attend Madison. They are quite stable for some groups, but declining for others.
By the numbers, of the 6,279 new freshmen who enrolled at UW-Madison in 2012:
1,119 are children of parents who attended UW-Madison
1,033 do not have a college-educated parent
609 are not from the United States
269 are Hispanic
143 are African American
101 are Southeast Asian
51 are American Indian
Of note:
Biddy Martin became chancellor of Madison on June 5, 2008. Her Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, which increased campus tuition, began in 2009. She explicitly targeted enrollment growth among first generation and international students. She left the university in June 2011 but her enrollment policies remain intact to this day. What do these numbers have to say about her legacy?
