UW System graduates 28,000 students

By this summer, the UW System will have graduated about 28,000 students during the 2001-02 academic year, and most will stay in Wisconsin, officials say.

UW System President Katharine Lyall says the infusion of these university graduates into the workforce underscores the importance of public higher education to Wisconsin’s economy.

“This is why our universities are such critical assets for Wisconsin’s future,” Lyall says.

Lyall noted that contrary to popular opinion, most UW graduates stay in Wisconsin to work, attend graduate school or care for a family member. The most recent survey data show that 82 percent of Wisconsin residents who earn their degrees from the UW System stay in the state after graduation, as do nearly 20 percent of non-resident students.

“This is a brain gain for Wisconsin,” Lyall says. “More than 4 of 5 of our in-state students remain in Wisconsin after graduation, and nearly 1 in 5 out-of-state students choose to live in Wisconsin after completing their degrees in the UW System.”

Lyall says the UW System’s impact is even greater when considered profession by profession. For example, Lyall says 68 percent of Wisconsin’s K-12 teachers and about 90 percent of the state’s pharmacists hold UW degrees. In addition, the majority of nursing students educated at one of the UW’s nursing schools stay in the state to work after graduation, she says.

“One of the best ways to improve Wisconsin’s economy is to increase the state’s per-capita income, which is lower than the national average and our neighboring states,” Lyall says. “This will be accomplished by increasing the number of college-educated residents in the state.”

Lyall says the state needs to do a better job of creating an economic climate to attract more businesses and college-educated workers. The UW System is hosting its third statewide economic summit this October to focus on positive steps to meet Wisconsin’s economic needs, including education.

The majority of UW graduates will receive their degrees this month, while others graduated last December or will graduate this summer. Three-quarters of UW graduates will earn bachelor’s degrees this year; the rest will complete master’s, Ph.D.s or professional degrees, such as a law or medical degree.

Since the creation of the UW System in 1971, the university’s 26 campuses have awarded more than 700,000 degrees, Lyall says.