The Board of Visitors Committee on the College at Wise met Friday morning to discuss enrollment growth, and Wise representatives shared updates on academic programs, housing and community events which have occurred this spring.
The Committee meets at each Board meeting to discuss ongoing updates and plan for the future of the growth of the University’s campus in Wise, Va. This includes programs Wise has hosted, challenges and updates as well as planning ahead to meet financial and enrollment goals.
Wise Chancellor Donna Price Henry said that the upcoming 2025-26 year will be another good year for enrollment — new student numbers are trending ahead of last fall by about 100 students, increasing from roughly 500 to roughly 600. The College at Wise has seen steady growth, with a 23 percent overall increase in its enrollment from fall 2023 to fall 2024. Henry said orientation days for new students that have occurred thus far have been a success.
“[We are] excited about the enrollment,” Henry said. “Today is an orientation day, [and] two weeks ago, we had an orientation with 100 students, which was the largest first orientation we’ve had.”
Graduate enrollment is also predicted to continue increasing — 20 graduate students have indicated they would like to enroll in Wise in the fall, according to Henry, and there are 20 additional applications under review for the Master’s in Education program.
The Graduate Certificate in Technology Management and Data Analytics is a newly approved degree program at Wise and will begin enrolling students this fall, Henry said. Wise is also pursuing approval from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia for a master’s degree in this area. According to Henry, the Master’s in Nurse Practitioner program is moving through the same approval process with SCHEV.
With the growth has come challenges for Wise’s ability to ensure it has enough housing to meet demand. At the previous Committee meeting, Henry shared that Wise had to convert common spaces into temporary housing to accommodate all students.
Wise has added 32 new beds to accommodate some of this growth, and Henry said many new students have indicated a desire to commute, lessening the housing burden on the College. According to Henry, the College has 80 open beds for the upcoming year, and about 120 students have yet to select housing. Henry said housing will be a focus of their upcoming master planning process.
“We will look at a new housing unit [adjacent to the new apartments] — we don’t want to build too much … but we do need additional housing,” Henry said. “[We] will be weighing [this issue] and then we will come back to the Board with a plan and some goals.”
One way Wise tries to reduce demand on first-year housing is by offering the Year in Wise program, in which in-state students on the University’s College of Arts and Sciences waitlist may enroll in Wise for one year and then transfer to University Grounds in Charlottesville to complete their degree.
According to Henry, 97 students have expressed interest in entering as first-year students into this program for the upcoming year. Last year, 107 students completed the program. The University has not yet released waitlist decisions — though it will do so by June 15 — so Henry anticipates more students could join the 97 once decisions are announced for the upcoming year.
Wise faculty representative Karen Carter presented to the Board events and developments on Wise’s campus since the Board’s last meeting in March.
Carter shared updates on academic events held at Wise, including Research Day, in which 45 students and 55 total presenters from all departments shared research findings April 17. One faculty member received grant funding for the University’s Brain and Neuroscience Grand Challenge. Additionally, Carter shared opportunities including a Green Bank Observatory trip for students to do analysis with a telescope, and an upcoming visit to an international sister school in Luxembourg in July.
One program also highlighted by Henry was the Teacher Explorers Program, which encourages students to pursue the education field, and three students taught math courses and provided math tutoring as part of this program.
“This has been just a great program to help [the students] to understand it’s one thing to sit and listen and be productive, … but then to turn around and be the teacher of that class and make sure that … learning outcomes are being met,” Carter said.
Wise held a Music Creators and Composers Showcase featuring musical compositions written by students and a jazz ensemble concert called “Mixtape Magic.” Carter said Wise has also worked to build belonging and camaraderie on campus with community events such as a crepe night for French students and community members, a Hamlet viewing for honors students and new faculty and an Easter egg hunt that welcomed 600 participants from across the community.
In addition to providing updates, Henry recognized a Board member who has contributed to the growth of Wise. Henry bestowed the Crockett Award — an award that recognizes an individual at the University who has made “extraordinary effort to support the College at Wise” — upon Board Rector Robert Hardie.
“Mr. Hardie has achieved exemplary work in building stronger ties between the College at Wise and U.Va.,” Henry said. “[He] recognizes the crucial role and immense value U.Va. Wise provides to the region and to the Commonwealth.”
Hardie, whose term on the Board will conclude June 30, shared that when he came onto the Board in 2017, Wise was bearing a much bleaker reality than it is today — a testament to Wise’s growth and continuing success in the present.
“[In 2017], there were significant headwinds, enrollment was down, [and] there were numerous financial challenges,” Hardie said. “The school has extraordinary strengths right now … [and] the relationship between [the University and Wise] has never been stronger.”
The Committee will meet again at the Sept 11 and 12 meeting of the Board.
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