UW-Madison expands tuition promise for low-income students to cover room, board and other college costs

MADISON − The University of Wisconsin-Madison is expanding its tuition promise program to cover not only tuition for some low-income students, but nearly all other college costs that can derail progress toward a degree, such as room and board.

The new Bucky's Pell Pathway headlined UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin's first address to the UW Board of Regents on Thursday. She estimates about 800 students will benefit from the program when it launches next fall.

Critics of "promise" programs say these programs don't address the other costs of college that can still stretch a low-income family too much to be able to afford it. Bucky's Pell Pathway gets to the heart of this financial barrier.

Bucky's Pell Pathway may convince more low-income students to enroll — a metric UW-Madison is falling far short of compared to its peers. Among public research universities similar to UW-Madison, about a quarter of their student bodies are Pell eligible. At UW-Madison, it's about 15%.

"If we’re going to live our values of creating real access and opportunity, we need to do more for our students from Wisconsin’s lowest-income households — our Pell Grant recipients," Mnookin told the board.

What is Bucky's Tuition Promise program?

Bucky's Tuition Promise covers full tuition for Wisconsin students whose families earn below a specific income threshold. The cutoff to qualify began at $56,000 and now stands at $65,000. Nearly 5,000 students have benefited from the program since its 2018 launch.

What does Bucky's Pell Pathway cover?

Tuition represents less than half the cost of attending UW-Madison for in-state students. Full financial need factors in those extra expenses, such as housing, meals, books and a laptop.

Under Bucky's Pell Pathway, the university guarantees it will provide enough in grant, scholarship and work-study money — not loans — to cover qualifying students' full financial need.

Who qualifies?

About 86% of Bucky's Tuition Promise students were already receiving additional aid beyond tuition, UW-Madison spokesperson Karla Weber Wandel said. But the model was operating behind the scenes as a pilot program to see whether the university could financially sustain it. With the formalized announcement, all Pell Grant-eligible Wisconsin students will be guaranteed to have their full financial need covered.

Is Bucky's Pell Pathway essentially a full-ride scholarship?

For many, it may be. But technically, depending on each individual's circumstances, some students may have to chip in some money. For example, if a student studies abroad and picks a program where tuition is slightly more than UW-Madison's, the student could be charged the difference.

Bucky's Pell Pathway is being marketed as a "pathway" but not a "promise" to graduate debt free.

Who's paying for these UW-Madison programs?

Bucky's Tuition Promise operates as a last-dollar award, filling the gap between what a student already is receiving in financial aid from other sources — including state and federal tax dollars — and the full cost of tuition and fees.

UW-Madison is relying on private donors and other institutional resources, such as tuition, to fund both programs. No tax dollars are used.

Do other UW campuses offer tuition-promise programs?

In the 2023-24 school year, yes. New in-state freshmen or in-state transfer students at other UW campuses will qualify for the new Wisconsin Tuition Promise program if their family earns $62,000 or less. The program covers tuition and fees, but not additional expenses.

The Wisconsin Tuition Promise will operate similarly to Bucky's Tuition Promise but a key difference is in how it's funded. The UW System is picking up the estimated $13.8 million price tag for the first year of the program within its own budget. But UW System President Jay Rothman is asking state taxpayers to fund the program beyond that.

The Wisconsin Tuition Promise is a key priority for UW officials to advocate for in the coming months as the governor and the Republican-controlled Legislature debate what to fund in the next state budget.

Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KellyMeyerhofer.