Bill guaranteeing admission to UW, tech schools passes state Legislature

MADISON, Wis. (Civic Media) – A bill that guarantees admission to Wisconsin schools within the Universities of Wisconsin or technical colleges in the state passed in the state Legislature on Tuesday.

Senate Bill 367 was approved 23-9 with bipartisan support in the Senate, while the Assembly passed it on a voice vote.

The bill guarantees college admission to students finishing in the top five percent of their high school class. For high school classes under 20 students, the top-ranking student is considered the five-percent.

Under the bill, public and private schools in Wisconsin would e required to develop a class ranking system based on grade point average, ACT scores, course work, and other factors. Schools would have to notify students finishing in the top five percent of their high school class of their ranking.

The guaranteed admission is for first-year undergraduate students at UW schools.

Ahead of the bill’s passage, UW officials were unable to provide a financial estimate of the impact of the bill because they didn’t know what would be required of the colleges at the time they made the estimate. The state’s technical colleges didn’t expect there to be a big financial impact because its programs already allow for open access.

The amended bill passed committee 5-3 before being adopted by the state Legislature. It now heads to Gov. Tony Evers.