Keep students at forefront of UW decision-making
Editor’s note: This is the final chapter of a 5-part series in which former University of Wisconsin System President Tommy Thompson and Vice President Jim Langdon reflect on their experience guiding the system though the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students were top of mind when I made the decision to open with in-person instruction in September 2020. Virtual learning during the spring diminished the educational experience for most students, and many may have declined future enrollment until campuses reopened.
Researchers note young people suffered increased stress, anxiety and depression during the early months of the pandemic. It was imperative to reunite students and faculty on campuses to resolve and prevent mental health issues that emerged during periods of COVID isolation.
Overall student well-being was central to the decision to reopen campuses in fall 2020. Bringing students back to universities required hard work and necessary measures that temporarily changed traditional campus life. But, on balance, the effort was justified to keep students on the right track academically, socially and mentally.
The UW’s success in fall 2020 and beyond required a strong president to make decisions for the whole university. This observation is not self-congratulatory but a statement of fact likely confirmed at other higher educational institutions across the nation. Universities rightfully rely upon collaborative decision-making when considering relatively routine academic and campuslife matters, but the COVID-19 health emergency was anything but routine for two reasons.
UW student mental health suffered from COVID isolation
First, continuing remote learning would do lasting harm to the students the university is charged to serve. I recognized the real risk that some students would interrupt or, worse, abandon their academic careers if they believed the virtual classroom did not offer adequate value. Additionally, continued isolation from faculty and each other would stress students at a formative time when they needed a collegial environment to thrive academically and personally. The benefits of in-person instruction required a strong, centralized approach to mitigate the risks of COVID-19.
Second, continuing remote learning would do lasting harm to the University of Wisconsin as an institution. Its educational mission is inherently tied to matriculation, and the system and its campuses would fail should enrollment decline and the university lose its opportunity to prepare young people for the rewards of professional and personal lives made possible through higher education. The university’s mission demanded reopening.
Some early data shows this approach worked. Nationally, freshman enrollment in fall 2020 declined by 13.1% from the prior year and UW System freshmen enrollment declined by 6%. Nationally, overall higher ed enrollment dropped by 2.5% and overall UW System enrollment dipped by 1.9%. Put another way, the UW System’s freshmen decrease was 45% of the national rate and overall decrease was 76% of the national rate. In fall 2020, 44% of higher education institutions were fully or primarily online, 21% were hybrid and 27% offered fully or primarily in-person instruction. The UW was in the fully or primarily in-person category.
We recommend similar values guide future university presidents as they contemplate extended campus closures due to health and other emergencies. Further, we recommend university presidents understand and exercise their full authority to act on behalf of and in the best interests of students and their campus communities. Consensus building, while desirable, should not be the exclusive approach.
Good leaders act decisively, but consult and learn first
From the first moments of my presidency, I sought out partners and resources to help the University of Wisconsin safely reopen. I brought in an experienced leadership team at system with knowledge, experience and connections to establish and execute an effective plan. UW Vice President Scott Neitzel was particularly instrumental in establishing the system’s early COVID response.
I also consulted the chancellors for their advice and insights as we developed and calibrated strategies. University of Wisconsin campuses vary considerably by size, mission and community setting, and flexibility was necessary to achieve overall success while respecting local conditions.
I also sought the perspective of students. I immediately called upon UW System Regent Olivia Woodmansee, an undergraduate at UW-La Crosse, to understand the needs and wishes of students and later hired her as a member of his COVID leadership team. I also visited campuses when students returned in the fall to get firsthand reports vital to well-informed planning.
Our team also took advantage of their many national, state and local relationships to cultivate technical support and money for the UW’s plan. Dr. Tony Fauci, CDC Director Robert Redfield, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, Wisconsin DHS Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk, Wisconsin DOA Deputy Secretary Chris Patton and State of Wisconsin Chief Medical Officer Ryan Westergaard were only a few of the highly respected officials with whom my senior advisers and I regularly met to keep UW campuses open and safe.
Finally, the UW System Board of Regents, and particularly Regent President Andrew Petersen and Regent Vice President Michael Grebe, supported the decision to return to in-person instruction and did not waver when naysayers sought a different approach.
We recommend future university presidents similarly assemble wellqualified leadership teams and cast wide nets to capture maximum information, resources and support for their plans. No individual or institution alone can achieve all things necessary to safeguard the health, safety and life of a campus community in time of a public health emergency. Partnerships are key.
Tommy G. Thompson was elected governor of Wisconsin four times, serving from 1987 to 2001. In 2001, he became Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a post he held for four years. He previously served in the State Assembly from 1967 to his election as governor. Jim Landon served in appointed positions under governors Thompson, Scott McCallum, Jim Doyle, Scott Walker and Tony Evers from 19892020, and at UW System from 20202022.