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District plans "direct admit" option to send junior-year student data to 10 UW campuses
Summary
Saint Croix High School principal presented a direct admit program that will send junior-year student information to a consortium of 10 University of Wisconsin campuses; the district plans an opt-out process and aims to launch for the class of 2026.
Saint Croix School District staff on Feb. 19 described plans to implement a “direct admit” college-access program that automatically shares junior-year student records with a consortium of 10 University of Wisconsin campuses to generate early, nonbinding admissions offers.
Bridal Johnson, identified in the meeting as the high school principal, told the board the district plans to transmit junior-year data via its student information system (Skyward) to participating institutions: UW–Green Bay, UW–Platteville, UW–Stout, UW–Milwaukee, UW–Parkside, UW–Whitewater, UW–Oshkosh, UW–Superior, UW–Stevens Point and UW–River Falls. Johnson said UW–Madison, UW–La Crosse and UW–Eau Claire do not participate.
Johnson described the program as an additional application pathway for students who meet coursework and academic thresholds, not as automatic enrollment in specific majors. Students must be “on track to graduate” (credit requirements in English language arts, college-preparatory math, three science credits and three social-studies credits) and must meet each university’s direct-admit GPA or class-rank thresholds. Johnson said the thresholds are set by the universities and “they don’t really tell you what that is.”
Johnson said the district is leaning toward an opt-out approach so eligible juniors will be included automatically unless families decline; district staff plan a Skyward prompt allowing families to opt out. “It doesn’t cost us anything. It doesn’t cost the students anything,” Johnson said, referring to application fees. She added that students not selected through direct admit can still apply through traditional application routes.
The district intends to rollout the system for the class of 2026: junior-year records will be sent by May 1, and students notified by August 1 of their direct-admit offers. Johnson said students who receive offers have until May 1 of their senior year to accept a college offer and that housing steps often indicate a student’s commitment.
Staff reported technical work already under way: the district has run Skyward integration steps and scheduled further coordination with the direct admit group. Johnson said the program will transmit demographic data, name, state WISE ID, transcript GPA and other standard fields; she said the collection of some demographic fields is required by federal guidelines but “it's not a factor in the admission process.”
Board members asked clarifying questions about deadlines, fee waivers and the opt-out plan. No board vote was required; staff will continue technical setup and family communications ahead of the May 1 timeline for the class of 2026.
