Higher education is changing. Colleges and universities are facing severe financial pressure and declining enrollments as students and families weigh rising education costs and the desire for strong career outcomes.
Amid these challenges, a shift toward practical, skills-based learning has accelerated, and Moraine Park Technical College has emerged as regional leader, connecting learners with in-demand skills and well-paying careers.
When Drastic Change Required Agility—A Look Back
The learning environments at nearly every college and university changed during the pandemic, and enrollments declined amid uncertainty. Moraine Park, however, stretched its creativity and resources to find safe ways to keep students learning in the environments their programs required and on track toward completion.
As MPTC’s enrollments began to rebound, it was clear the reason was the ability to respond locally and support the workforce through uncertainty.
Adapting to Change, Expanding Opportunities
The need for agility and responsiveness became apparent again in 2022, when Moraine Park learned of the Universities of Wisconsin (UW) plans to close its two-year campuses. For Moraine Park’s district, this meant UW closures in Fond du Lac and Washington Counties.
This forced Moraine Park to develop local solutions without any additional resources.
Moraine Park takes pride in providing degrees and programs that lead directly to local, well-paying careers. While transfer opportunities have long been available, Moraine Park’s mission has never been to prepare students for transfer. Only 15% of MPTC graduates continue their education the following year.
With the loss of the local UW campuses, Moraine Park expanded its role to help fill the new education gap in the region. Together, Moraine Park and UW leaders worked to ensure students could continue pursuing their academic goals locally.
The following initiatives emerged:
- Moraine Park created a unique agreement allowing current UW two-year students to finish their learning locally at Moraine Park and retain all their credits—keeping them on pace with their degree.
- Moraine Park created two new degrees: the Associate of Arts (AA) and Associate of Science (AS) University Transfer Degrees for future students who desire to earn a bachelor’s degree but prefer to start local.
- The College partnered with Fond du Lac County to repurpose a portion of the former UW campus facilities to establish a new Jail Academy training program.
- University Transfer Center office spaces were created at MPTC’s Fond du Lac and West Bend campuses, creating designated local spaces and resources for students planning to continue their education at a university.
These solutions were not about growing enrollment at Moraine Park—they were about supporting local education and filling the gap left by the closures.
Since 2022, the College has created nearly 170 transfer agreements. Of those, nearly half are with the two UW partners that had campuses in the MPTC District: UW-Oshkosh and UW-Milwaukee.
Demand for New Pathways
Moraine Park’s AA and AS liberal arts degrees allow students to seamlessly transfer to a partner university at a full junior status. Participation has continued to increase since launch, growing from just 24 students during the 2022-23 academic year to over 200 students to-date for 2026-27, reflecting a strong demand for affordable, local options close to home.
As technical colleges demonstrated their ability to adapt, four-year institutions looked to them not only as partners in serving students, but as an increasingly important source of enrollment. Now, technical colleges are being asked to help fuel a different pipeline: the pathway to a four-year degree.
Why This Matters for Wisconsin
Throughout years of disruption and change, Moraine Park and other technical colleges have repeatedly stepped forward to provide solutions for students, employers and communities without additional resources.
That distinction matters in state higher education funding. Both technical colleges and the UW System serve distinct missions and require statewide support and fair budgets to make their work possible. But when Wisconsin needs solutions that reach communities, respond to employers, create economic value and build Wisconsin’s workforce, technical colleges have consistently stepped forward to deliver results.
What’s At Stake
Today, the value of funding Wisconsin’s technical colleges is being questioned, but the impact isn’t measured only in state dollars. It is measured in the people who keep Wisconsin moving: the mechanic who keeps your car running, the health care professional who cares for you, the childcare provider who supports your children, the electrician who keeps the lights on and the skilled workers who build our communities.
These are the people technical colleges prepare. Wisconsin depends on them, and Wisconsin depends on the technical colleges that prepare them.
