Demand soon grew for a full-fledged four-year campus serving northeastern Wisconsin.

The School of Medicine has two four-year campuses; the original campus in Macon and a second campus in Savannah.

Officials estimated that the plan could exclude nearly half of the incoming freshmen and transfer students from the four-year campuses.

The state's share of financing for core academics has declined to 55.6 percent from 68.6 percent for all four-year campuses.

At the four-year campuses, applications rose by 10 percent in the last decade.

After a semester, the students who pass examinations will transfer to the four-year campus.

With safeguards in place, the university can phase out the current system of remediation at the four-year campuses by the year 2001.

The rest of the $700 annual cost per student - one-fifth of what it costs on a four-year campus - is paid through state subsidies.

It consists of 13 four-year campuses, a unit that operates 13 two-year colleges and an online campus.

Students who earn associate's degrees from any campus in this system are guaranteed a place at a four-year campus if they meet certain requirements.