UW’s Wisconsin Tuition Promise program could be in jeopardy without private donations, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The program, which helps low- to median-income students afford a college education, was launched this fall despite being one of over 500 provisions cut by the Joint Finance Committee from Gov. Tony Evers’ state budget proposal.
UW System officials are seeking philanthropic support for a second cohort. The first was expected to cost $13 million, and UW asked for $24.5 million in the state budget to cover the next cohort. The exact cost of a second cohort is unclear.
The Wisconsin Tuition Promise is modeled after UW–Madison’s Bucky’s Tuition Promise, launched in 2018. UW–Milwaukee also announced its own tuition program earlier this year.
Roughly 6,000 students qualified for the Wisconsin Tuition Promise this fall; 1,697 received grants — 1,000 of which are UW–Milwaukee students. The program helps pay for up to four years of tuition and fees for in-state students whose families earn less than $62,000 annually; transfer students receive two years of funding. It is a “last-dollar scholarship,” covering the cost that remains after all other funding sources are exhausted.
