UW-Eau Claire has never had a program because the Army has never requested permission to start one. If they were to request one, the school would go through a process spelled out by state law.

"It would have to be brought forth through an appropriate channel and then would have to be voted on by the faculty at this university just as we do any major or any new program that comes forth," says Steven Tallant, the interim provost and vice chancellor at UW-Eau Claire.

Since the program is run and funded by the U.S. Army, the school budget wouldn't be affected, and it could actually draw students in the same manner a specialized major does.

"I would envision, I would hope that now that they have an ROTC program at Stout, that our students here could benefit from that," says Tallant.

Tallant says having a program at UW-Stout could benefit the army, because students would have easy access on Interstate 94 not only from UW-Eau Claire, but also from UW-River Falls. Of the five schools in the state that have ROTC, four have partnerships with other nearby colleges.