Incoming UW-Madison students whose families make below the state’s median income won’t have to pay tuition starting in the fall.
Chancellor Rebecca Blank unveiled the program at today’s Board of Regents meeting. The program would grant free tuition to any student coming from a family with a household income under $56,000.
“We’re committed to making it possible that any student who can be admitted to UW-Madison, should be able to attend,” Blank says.
She says private donations, licensing royalties and non-tax dollar sources will fund the program, which they expect will cost $825,000 a year.
UW-Madison Director of Financial Aid Derrick Kindle says currently, there are about 800 students per class whose household income is under $56,000. It’s unclear how much the UW would pay on average per student, or how many more students might apply.
“For future years we certainly project there will be more than 800 students in the program each year,” Kindle says.
The promise covers tuition and fees, but not housing or dining hall meals. Kindle says many of these students will have other scholarships that might cover those things, but this program is meant to fill in the gaps for tuition.
He says a few other similar universities have programs similar to Bucky’s Tuition Promise, including Purdue and University of Michigan – Ann Arbor.