Wisconsin Legislative Council
ACT MEMO
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Prepared by: Emily Hicks, Staff Attorney March 11, 2024
2023 Wisconsin Act 104
[2023 Senate Bill 161]
Minnesota-Wisconsin Student
Reciprocity
BACKGROUND
Under current law, the Higher Educational Aids Board (HEAB) oversees and administers the
Minnesota-Wisconsin tuition reciprocity agreement for both the Wisconsin Technical College System
(WTCS) and the University of Wisconsin System (UWS).
2023 WISCONSIN ACT 104
2023 Wisconsin Act 104 requires that HEAB and the UWS Board of Regents (BoR) provide the
designated body representing Minnesota notice of intent to modify and make changes to the current
Minnesota-Wisconsin student reciprocity agreement. The act requires the negotiation of two new,
separate agreements for Minnesota-Wisconsin higher education reciprocity.
Specifically, HEAB must negotiate one agreement, called the Minnesota-Wisconsin public vocational
school student reciprocity (“MN-WTCS reciprocity agreement”). The MN-WTCS reciprocity agreement
must provide for tuition reciprocity between WTCS and public vocational schools in Minnesota. BoR
must negotiate the second agreement, called the Minnesota-University of Wisconsin System student
reciprocity agreement (“MN-UWS reciprocity agreement”), which must provide for tuition reciprocity
between UWS and public institutions of higher education in Minnesota.
Finally, for the MN-UWS reciprocity agreement, Act 104 requires BoR, when allocating funding for each
UWS institution under s. 36.09 (1) (h), Stats., to allocate amounts received through the agreement in
proportion to the total amount each institution charged its students with Minnesota residence in tuition
and fees under the agreement. In other words, BoR must allocate funds received through the MN-UWS
reciprocity agreement in a manner that is proportional to the number of MN-UWS reciprocity
agreement students served by each institution.
Effective date: March 8, 2024
For a full history of the bill, visit the Legislature’s bill history page.
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