AB 186

Under current law, the Technical College System (TCS) Board establishes

program fees that the technical college districts must charge students. With

exceptions, the fees for nonresidents are 150 percent of the fees for residents. The

TCS Board must establish procedures to determine the residence of students

attending technical colleges, but statutes specify that certain students must be

considered residents of this state, including veterans verified by the Department

Veterans Affairs as being residents for purposes of receiving specified benefits.

Current law also provides for full fee remission at technical colleges for certain

resident veterans and qualifying family members under certain circumstances.

This bill requires technical college districts to charge resident fees to: 1) a

veteran living in this state, regardless of whether the veteran is a resident, if the

veteran was discharged or released from at least 90 days of active service within the

three years before the date of enrollment in the technical college; and 2) the veteran's

spouse or child, living in this state, who is eligible for certain federal benefits by

virtue of his or her relationship to the veteran.

For purposes of item 1), above, the date of enrollment is the date on which the

student's fees deposit is received. After a veteran or qualifying spouse or child is

enrolled at a technical college, the technical college district must continue to charge

resident fees for as long as the veteran or spouse or child is continuously enrolled.

Current law allows the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin (UW)

System to charge different tuition rates to resident and nonresident students. In

general, to receive resident student tuition, an adult student must have been a bona

fide Wisconsin resident for at least 12 months before the semester of enrollment

begins and the student's presence in Wisconsin principally to obtain an education

does not count toward this 12-month residency period. However, current law also

includes nonresident tuition exemptions under which certain nonresidents pay

resident tuition rates, including the following exemptions for members of the armed

forces and veterans: 1) nonresident members of the armed forces and persons

engaged in alternative service who are stationed in this state on active duty, and

their spouses and children, are entitled to an exemption while stationed in this state;

2) nonresident persons who served in active duty in the armed forces for at least ten

years, who were honorably discharged within four years before applying at an

institution, and who meet other criteria, and their spouses and children, are entitled

to an exemption; and 3) a veteran meeting certain criteria who was a resident of this

state at the time of entry into active duty and who resides in this state at the time

of registration is entitled to an exemption.

This bill specifies that, for purposes of determining the date of enrollment of a

student under federal law relating to resident tuition for nonresident veterans, the

Board of Regents must consider the date of enrollment at a UW System institution

to be the date on which the student's academic fees deposit or tuition deposit is