• Home
  • Archive
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
  • May 8, 2025

The Madison Times

The Paper That's More Than Black and White

  • News
    • Local News
    • National News
    • International News
    • Sports News
    • Education News
  • Columns
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Life Lessons with Alex Gee
  • Events
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Lifestyle
  • Classifieds
  • Community
    • Middle Spread
  • Milwaukee

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Wisconsin Dems Push Measure For Free In-State College Tuition

January 29, 2016

Students Would Have To Work In Wisconsin For 3 Years After Graduation

by Gilman Halsted

Democratic state legislators are proposing a new college grant program that would cover the cost of tuition, books and housing at state schools for any resident who signs a pledge to work in Wisconsin for three years after graduation.

Authors of the proposal call it the “Wisconsin Promise.” State Rep. Melissa Sargent, D-Madison, said it would cover all college costs for in-state students as long as they keep a 3.0 GPA and are able to find a job within three months of graduation. She said the plan would allow students to graduate debt-free from any University of Wisconsin System or state technical college.

“If you are committed, if you roll up your sleeves, if you work hard and you commit to the state of Wisconsin, we’re gonna take care of you because you’re taking care of us,” Sargent said. “You’re going to become part of our tax base.”
For students who leave the state or fail to maintain their grades, the grant would become a loan they would have to pay back.

Sargent said there’s no estimate yet on how much it would cost the state to provide the grants to the thousands of students who would be eligible.

Gov. Scott Walker is backing package of Republican proposals to help students avoid going into debt to get a college education, but Sargent said her bill goes much further.

She said similar grant programs have been adopted in Oregon and Tennessee. The Tennessee Promise program costs the state $34 million every year and is only available to cover tuition at community colleges.

The Oregon program also provides tuition grants only for community colleges. It has a yearly price tag of $10 million with between 4,000 and 6,000 students eligible to get a two-year degree.

Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2016, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Popular Interests In This Article: Gilman Halsted, Melissa Sargent, Wisconsin Promise

Read More - Related Articles

  • Q & A with Department of Workforce Development Secretary Ray Allen
  • Civil Service Bill Gets Some Applause For ‘Banning The Box’
  • Lifetime GPS Monitoring Of Sex Offenders At Issue In Federal Case
  • Grant Will Work To Improve The Health Of People Released From Prison
  • Department of Workforce Development Encourages Families to Enroll in Wisconsin Promise


Connect With Us

Become Our Fan On Facebook
Find Us On Facebook


Follow Us On Twitter
Follow Us On Twitter

Editorials

Karma Chavez
Amanda Zhang
Julianne Malveaux
Benjamin Chavis
George Curry

Journalists

Jacklin Bolduan
Brianna Rae
Aarushi Agni
Rob Franklin
Claire Miller

Topics

Brown Girl Green $
Young Gifted & Black
Universally Speaking
Ask Progress
Civil Rights

Topics

Police Shooting
Police Brutality
Black Lives Matter
NAACP
Racism

Politicians

Barack Obama
Hillary Clinton
Gwen Moore
Paul Soglin
Scott Walker

Contact Us

Phone:
414-449-4860

Copyright © 2025 Courier Communications. All Rights Reserved.
We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.