General Description
On November 7, 2003, the University of Wisconsin Board
of Regents authorized a pilot program offering discounted tuition to
the eligible non-resident children and grandchildren of alumni.
Tuition rates for eligible individuals would be discounted to a rate
equal to regular non-resident undergraduate tuition less 25% but not
less than the projected cost of that student's education. The student
would continue to pay all other costs at rates applicable to other
students. Participation would continue for subsequent terms as long as
the student remains in good standing and makes satisfactory academic
progress. The pilot program is to be effective with the Fall 2004
session and will run for a period of three years. After this period,
the program will be evaluated and a recommendation made to the Board
regarding continuation. The primary goal of the program is to
increase non-resident enrollments thereby generating additional
financial support for resident enrollments. It is also hoped that
providing such a benefit will enhance development opportunities by
strengthening relationships with campus alumni.
Eligibility
Qualifying Alumni
The program is open to students whose parent or grandparent graduated
(with associates, bachelors, masters or doctoral degree) from the
institution the student will be attending. For purposes of this
program, parents include biological, adoptive, step or legal parents
and/or legal guardians. Grandparents are defined as the biological or
adoptive parent of a person who has a biological or adopted child.
Qualifying Student
Eligible Non-resident students include those from states other than
Wisconsin and Minnesota as well as residents of US territories and
foreign countries.
The program is open to all new and continuing
non-resident students beginning with the Fall 2004 session.
Documentation of Eligibility
Participating students will be asked to submit a
signed and notarized certification attesting to their relationship to an
eligible alumnus. This document is to include at least the following
key elements:
-
Full name of student
-
State/Country of student residency
-
Full name of eligible alumnus (current and at
graduation, if different)
-
Graduation date of qualifying alumnus
-
Relationship of qualifying alumnus (only those listed
below qualify)
-
Biological Parent
-
Adoptive Parent
-
Step Parent
-
Legal Guardian
-
Biological grandparent
-
Adoptive grandparent
-
Signature of eligible alumnus attesting to
relationship. In cases where the qualifying alumnus is deceased,
prospective program participants are required to present the date of
birth and social security number of the deceased. Institutions may, at
their discretion, seek formal documentation to substantiate claimed
status. Such documentation might include birth and/or marriage
certificates, adoption papers or other documentation deemed
appropriate.
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Relevant Fees
The 25% discount under this program applies to
the total non-resident academic fees normally assessed to
non-resident students. It does not apply to differential tuitions,
segregated fees, housing, food service or other fees which may be
assessed to these students.
Limits on Benefit
There are no limits as to the duration and/or
cumulative benefit which may accrue to students under this program
as long as the student remains in good standing and makes
satisfactory academic progress as defined by the institution under
US Department of Education guidelines for federal financial assistance
programs.
Should the program sunset after its three year pilot
period, students already receiving the benefit may continue to pay the
reduced Return to Wisconsin rate as long as they maintain continuous
enrollment and make satisfactory progress toward an undergraduate
degree.
The program does not apply to graduate program tuition
and fees.
Institutional Caveats
The Board has stipulated that this program cannot
displace resident students at the institution. Enrollments will be
considered outside the institution's enrollment management target.
Institutions should make clear in any marketing or other
communications that the program offers no preference with respect to
admissions. All participants are subject to the same admission
criteria as other students seeking to attend the institution.
The program discount applies only to the regular
non-resident tuition rates. All other applicable fees, charges and
expenses are not to be discounted.
Information to be maintained/developed at participating institutions
Institutions must track the number of Return to
Wisconsin applicants seeking participation in the program through
data collected in the application process. A single question will be
added to the undergraduate UW System applications asking students to
self-identify themselves as potentially eligible for the program, i.e.
that they have a parent, grandparent, etc. who graduated from the UW
institution to which they are applying.
In addition, participating institutions must track
actual Return to Wisconsin enrollments. This will be facilitated
through information collected on the eligibility document detailed above
as well as through "flagging" the student as a Return to Wisconsin
Student on the CDR. It is anticipated that the CDR process will have
elements added to note participation in the program and alumni
relationship (e.g., parent, grandparent, etc.). Note that state of
origin is already part of the CDR.
Institutions will be allowed to retain 100% of the
tuition collected under this program.
Finally, the Board of Regents expressed an interest in
understanding the impact of the program on diversity efforts at
participating institutions. Accordingly, institutions will be asked
to assess such impact and explain how the program helped/hindered campus
efforts to bring additional diversity to the student body.
Comments and suggestions
should be directed to
Luis A.
Benevoglienti
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-PARKSIDE
900 Wood Road * PO Box 2000 * Kenosha, WI 53141-2000
(262) 595-2345
