Think Tank UWM Members Plan for Future Success

Faculty and staff selected by Chancellor Mark Mone at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee attended their first official meeting to collaborate and brainstorm ways to improve the future of the campus by addressing issues including improvements on the demographics of graduates, reaching out to discouraged students and figuring out why there is a low number of transfer students. 

During one of the coldest and snowiest days of the fall 2019 semester so far, eager students rushed into buildings as they navigated the nearly empty sidewalks that are usually crowded on a typical Monday morning. Along the ice-covered pathway that leads to Chapman Hall, faculty and staff made their way toward the brick building to a room on the second floor for the first 2030+ Think Tank meeting on Nov. 11 at 8 a.m. The meeting started with a round of brief introductions and a summary of what is expected of the group.

2030 was decided as the long-term date for improvements because it would line up with the mid-point of demographic changes. Wisconsin’s demographic trends have resulted in decreasing numbers of high school graduates, shifts in ethnic composition and population densities, according to the 2030 Think Tank Charge document. 

“We’re charged with really putting together a report that will be recommendations to the provost and chancellor that will itself go through governance, we hope to the end of spring,” said Jennifer Doering, college of nursing associate dean.

Members spent most of the meeting discussing what a think tank is, and how they plan to search for information, so they can provide relevant data to make informed decisions for the university. Other topics discussed during the meeting include redesigning the UW-Milwaukee website, making forms digitally available that previously needed to be filled out by hand and advertising UWM as a valuable campus to graduate from. 

Some members of the meeting attributed declining birth rates, student loan debt and branding issues as significant factors for the problems that UWM is facing could be moved into the lead. Margaret Noodin and Alejandra Lopez focused on solutions that could be addressed with students who are currently enrolled.

“Some of them dropping out of school is not about a lack of money, it’s a lack of hope,” said Noodin. “The main reason they leave is because a class didn’t go well.” 

As a senior academic advisor, Lopez often meets with students who show trends of what their plans are before graduation.

“Often times, students are afraid to talk to their instructors,” said Lopez. “They don’t feel comfortable enough to come to an advisor. I’m already meeting with students who are planning to go to Madison or come to orientation with the intention of staying for a semester or two.”

With regard to graduate diversity, UWM’s graduation rate for full‐time African American students is 21%. The national rate is 41%, according to a 2017 report from The Education Trust. 

“I think my biggest concern is that despite the fact we’re a university, we’re not a data driven institution in many ways,” said Kathy Dolan, university committee chair and political science professor. “I think we don’t really understand problems yet. We know we’ve lost students at the senior level. We know we’re down on transfers, but we don’t know why.” 

Each think tank member was assigned to research a university that was listed on a document, which was handed out during the meeting. The document contained a list of 11 universities throughout the nation that used a plan or program to improve their campus. Each school offers insight for specific action plans that resulted in success.

Michigan State’s Strategic Plan for Student Learning and Success has improved the university’s graduation rates. Purdue implemented a tuition freeze and created three-year competency based degrees to make their campus more affordable. UC-Riverside assigns first-generation faculty as mentors for first-generation students. Think tank members will share their findings with the group during their next meeting.

The group will meet bi-weekly until they provide their final findings and proposals to the chancellor and provost on April 15, 2020.

“We could spend so many meetings identifying problems,” said history professor Chia Vang. “It’s overwhelming, in a sense, for me.”