Happy New Year! Besides not being able to gather with family, the second biggest problem for international students must be that they have received a lot of lucky money less after going abroad, especially for students who come out to study at American high school.
But this year, students from Meigao have their own New Year gifts!
The University of Wisconsin plans to double the number of international students in the next five years, as it is at a disadvantage in competition with neighboring states for enrollment, and even many campuses have not yet returned to pre pandemic levels of international student registrations.

The University of Wisconsin system is a well-known public university system in the United States, consisting of 13 four-year universities, 13 two-year technical colleges, and some affiliated institutions, with the most well-known being U S. The University of Wisconsin Madison, ranked 35th in the United States by News.
International students account for approximately 4% of the total undergraduate population in the University of Wisconsin system, although the majority come from the University of Wisconsin Madison, with approximately 10% of undergraduate students coming from other countries.
Compared to neighboring states, international students make up approximately 10% of undergraduate students in the public university systems of Minnesota and Illinois. "According to these standards, by 2028, the international undergraduate enrollment in the University of Wisconsin system should reasonably reach 8%," said Acting Senior Vice President Johannes Britts.

The benefits of increasing international students
"Increasing the number of international students will not only improve the overall registration and financial status of the University of Wisconsin system, but also naturally create more diverse campuses, allowing students to access global education through interaction with peers," Britts said.
In order to achieve the goals of the system, most universities are collaborating with international admissions company Shorelight, which matches students with universities across the country.
The University of Wisconsin system aims to achieve this goal by highlighting degrees in its strongest programs or promoting degrees that face labor shortages in fields such as engineering, health sciences, data and computer science, and business. According to a career development plan worth $32 million developed earlier this year, the University of Wisconsin System plans to significantly expand its offerings in artificial intelligence and nursing degrees.

Although this autumn marks the first increase in registrations in the University of Wisconsin system since 2014, the campus of the University of Wisconsin has still lost 20000 students compared to a decade ago. As the number of high school students in the state is expected to decrease in the coming years, the University of Wisconsin system aims to adopt two approaches: increasing the university participation rate of Wisconsin students through automatic admissions and tuition free programs targeting low-income students, and attracting students from outside the state and internationally.
The impact of the epidemic
UW Whitewater and UW River Falls are one of the two universities in the University of Wisconsin system that first signed a contract with Shorellight in November.
Prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the largest annual events at the University of Whitwater in Wisconsin was its international dinner. "This is a night of sharing culture and traditions through food, with the help of approximately 200 students from around the world," said John McQueen, Director of the Global Experience Office.

However, due to a decrease of about 80% in international students, it is now difficult to hold this banquet.
"I think we missed out on a lot (international students)," McQueen said. "This to some extent limits the number of our activities, and I believe it is another means for students to interact with each other."
At the beginning of the pandemic, the international student population at the University of Wisconsin Falls was also impacted, with the school traditionally having the highest participation rate in international study programs.

There are approximately 50 international students per semester - accounting for about 1% of the total student population at the University of Wisconsin Waterfall. Principal Maria Gallo said she believes that collaboration with Shorellight is an important component of the school's strategy to restore the population.
Before the pandemic, the University of Wisconsin Waterfall had about 130 international students, which is the level that Gallo hopes they will reach again, if possible, even higher.
A successful example
UW Superior is the university with the lowest total student population in the University of Wisconsin system, with 2720 students. But its international student ratio is 6.4%, with a total of 175 students, surpassing all other campuses in terms of international student numbers. This is because the University of Wisconsin Superior has a network of international institutions and partners, according to McLean (one of the few international admissions directors in the University of Wisconsin system).

Part of the admissions process at the University of Wisconsin involves leveraging the "University of Wisconsin" brand and highlighting its advantage of small class teaching.
McLean said, "The quality associated with the University of Wisconsin is certainly an important component of our information. Our scale is a good thing. We are the smallest campus, we have the smallest classes. Therefore, we focus on promoting this."
This should be great news for students from American high schools. If you have any questions about studying abroad, you can scan the code to consult our assistant!