Well, we toured UWEC’s campus yesterday - rather, D and her Dad toured and attended the info session, while I walked around campus and Water Street in Eau Claire with our dog. (We also drove around downtown EC after the tour.)
My impressions, based on spending a couple of hours there, and 2nd-hand feedback on the info session and tour:
- If I knew nothing at all about the budget cuts, I'd say this was a financially healthy school - just based on the new buildings, landscaping, and construction alone. The campus seems to have more than adequate resources, re: classroom spaces and infrastructure. Campus is well-maintained and pleasant.
- D reported back that the tour guide said only freshmen are guaranteed housing, and upper classmen are sometimes placed in a hotel downtown. Interesting.
- At the info session, it was said that one of the biggest freshmen classes to ever enroll was expected this fall - which will also help create a housing shortage. At least, they were honest about this.
- Textbooks are apparently included in the price of tuition. I'm still wondering if they heard this right... but they both swear that's what they were told... It costs extra to use the campus gym, though (although each dorm has an exercise room). Textbooks are probably more important than the gym membership to most students so... (Also, I'd think the required hill walking from classrooms to dorms would work off some of the cafeteria food. Also, bicycling seems big here, bike paths and bike racks everywhere...)
In short, D liked the campus enough (she loved the town of Eau Claire, too), and what she heard at the info session. One of my husband’s clients also has a daughter at UWEC currently, and says she loves it there. H liked what he heard and saw.
Our initial impression is that D should be able to get a decent education here. H liked that they said they encourage internships.
D has two other schools she likes equally, in two different states… We’ll see.
Thanks, everyone, for your insights (even about Madison, although yes, D is only interested in UWEC.) Hopefully, the budget cuts won’t affect the quality of the UW system too drastically.