Milwaukee Area Technical College enrollment grows for third year

Enrollment at Milwaukee Area Technical College has grown for the third year in a row, the school announced Tuesday.

Back in the 2019-20 academic year, MATC had just under 10,000 full-time equivalent students, said a spokesperson for the school.

Then, like many colleges and universities, its enrollment declined during the COVID-19 pandemic to about 8,167 full-time equivalent students in 2022-23.

This year’s numbers — on track for about 9,000 students — bring the school closer to pre-pandemic levels.

“Even though I’m very happy that we are where we are today, I still feel that we have work to do,” said MATC President Anthony Cruz.

The school has ramped up academic and personal counseling services for students in recent years, as well as opening an on-campus food pantry and a drop-in child care center.

Not all higher education institutions in Wisconsin have rebounded from the COVID-19 enrollment slump. Several University of Wisconsin two-year campuses have closed since the pandemic, including UW-Waukesha and UW-Richland.

Cruz said he believes today’s students are looking one- and two-year degrees that lead to jobs with a “family-sustaining wage.”

“That is one of the great values here at MATC,” he said, “that we provide that type of education.”

Full-time equivalent students — the unit the school uses to measure enrollment — are calculated by dividing the total amount of credits taken at MATC in a semester by the amount of credits a full-time student would take. It’s the unit used to calculate state funding for the school.

According to MATC’s website, 92 percent of its students are not enrolled in a full-time student schedule. Over 30,000 students take classes at the school each year.

Applications outpacing enrollment, president says

Cruz said the school has generally seen a strong increase in applications since the pandemic dip.

Starting this April, MATC advisors will contact admitted students about enrollment and class registration earlier in the process, he said.

“We’re trying to increase the number of applicants that actually enroll in the college,” he said.

This school year, students earning associate degrees at MATC paid $2,876 per semester in tuition, not counting potential financial aid.