AB 398

Under current law, the Higher Educational Aids Board (HEAB) administers

the Academic Excellence Higher Education Scholarship Program under which

HEAB awards scholarships to certain scholars, designated on the basis of grade

point average, who enroll, on a full-time basis, in a public or private institution of

higher education in this state. Under the program, a higher education scholarship

recipient who enrolls in a technical college district school is exempt from all tuition

and fees, up to $2,250 per academic year, for each year, up to three years, that the

recipient is enrolled full time, maintains at least a 3.000 grade point average, and

makes satisfactory progress toward an associate or a bachelor's degree or a

vocational diploma. Under that program, HEAB pays the institution of higher

education attended by a scholar up to $1,125 per academic year and the institution

must match the amount paid to the institution by HEAB.

Currently, those scholarships may be awarded: 1) to the senior with the highest

grade point average from each high school in this state enrolling at least 80 but fewer

than 500 pupils; 2) to the two seniors with the two highest grade point averages from

each high school in this state enrolling at least 500 but fewer than 1,000 pupils; 3)

to the three seniors with the three highest grade point averages from each high

school in this state enrolling at least 1,000 but fewer than 1,500 pupils; 4) to the four

seniors with the four highest grade point averages from each high school in this state

enrolling at least 1,500 but fewer than 2,000 pupils; 5) to the five seniors with the

five highest grade point averages from each high school in this state enrolling at least

2,000 but fewer than 2,500 pupils; and 6) to the six seniors with the six highest grade

point averages from each high school in this state enrolling 2,500 or more pupils. In

addition, those scholarships may be awarded to the senior with the highest grade

point average from the school operated by the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and

Visually Impaired and the school operated by the Wisconsin Educational Services

Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and not more than ten scholarships

statewide may be awarded to seniors with the highest grade point averages from

high schools enrolling fewer than 80 pupils.

This bill creates a Technical Excellence Higher Education Scholarship Program

under which HEAB awards scholarships to certain scholars, designated on the basis

of level of proficiency in technical education subjects, who enroll, on a full-time basis,

in a technical college district school. Under the Technical Excellence Higher

Education Scholarship Program, the number and amounts of scholarships awarded,

the duration for which a scholarship may be awarded, the conditions for continued

receipt of a scholarship, and the institutional match requirement are the same as

under the Academic Excellence Higher Education Scholarship Program.