UW-System To Offer Free Tuitions To Qualifying Students

University of Wisconsin-System students from low-income families could have their tuition and fees waived under a new initiative announced by UW System President Jay Rothman.

The Wisconsin Tuition Promise will waive remaining costs not covered by financial aid for students from families with incomes below $62,000 per year beginning in fall of 2023.

During a press conference Monday at UW-Milwaukee, Rothman said part of the reason for the tuition waiver is helping get more college graduates into the state’s workforce.

“If we don’t have more graduates, the great employers of the state of Wisconsin are going to have to do something about the workforce shortage of employees and they’re going to invest elsewhere,” Rothman said.

The initiative is modeled after UW-Madison’s Bucky’s Tuition Promise, which has used private donations since 2018 to offer four years of free tuition to students from families with adjusted gross incomes of $56,000 or less.

The first group of students attending with the help of this program graduated in May.

Rothman said while the UW System is “very affordable” overall, it’s still not affordable for everyone.

It’s estimated around 8,000 students will receive tuition waivers once the Wisconsin Tuition Promise is fully implemented over the next four years.

The UW System anticipates spending around $13.8 million during the 2023-24 school year on the tuition waivers and will seek increased funding from the Republican-controlled state Legislature in the following years.

The estimated total cost to cover approximately 8,000 students will be $35.6 million