Wisconsin Legislative Council
ACT MEMO
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Prepared by: Emily Hicks, Staff Attorney March 7, 2024
2023 Wisconsin Act 103
[2023 Senate Bill 896]
Funding for Minnesota-
Wisconsin Student Reciprocity
BACKGROUND
Under current law, the Minnesota-Wisconsin student reciprocity agreement is overseen and
administered by the Higher Educational Aids Board (HEAB) for both the Wisconsin Technical College
System (WTCS) and the University of Wisconsin System (UWS). All payments made to the State of
Wisconsin under the Minnesota-Wisconsin student reciprocity agreement are deposited into the
general fund.
A separate act, 2023 Wisconsin Act 104, requires a modification to the Minnesota-Wisconsin student
reciprocity agreement such that HEAB retains responsibility for WTCS reciprocity with Minnesota, but
the UWS Board of Regents would oversee and administer a new, separate agreement with Minnesota
for reciprocity between UWS and institutions of higher education in Minnesota, known as the
Minnesota-University of Wisconsin System student reciprocity agreement (MN-UWS reciprocity
agreement).
2023 WISCONSIN ACT 103
2023 Wisconsin Act 103 specifies a funding mechanism for the new MN-UWS reciprocity agreement.
Specifically, the act requires that any payment made to the State of Wisconsin pursuant to the MN-
UWS reciprocity agreement, as well as all tuition and fees received by UWS under that agreement, must
be credited to UWS’s appropriation for general program operations under s. 20.285 (1) (gb), Stats. Act
103 also provides that UWS’s appropriation for general program operations is to be used to pay any
reimbursement obligation under the MN-UWS reciprocity agreement.
Additionally, the act requires that any payments made to the State of Wisconsin pursuant to the
current Minnesota-Wisconsin student reciprocity agreement for students enrolled in a UWS
institution be credited to the UWS’s appropriation for general program operations and that any related
reimbursement obligation be paid from that same appropriation. In other words, under the act, while
the current Minnesota-Wisconsin reciprocity agreement remains in effect, any money received by the
State of Wisconsin or owed to the State of Minnesota for students participating in the UWS portion of
the current agreement must be credited to or paid from UWS’s appropriation for general program
operations.
Effective date: March 8, 2024
For a full history of the bill, visit the Legislature’s bill history page.
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