AB 998

This bill requires the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

to establish a program, identified as the student success and access fund, to ensure

that students from every region of this state have access to an affordable education

within the UW System, with particular attention to rural and underresourced

regions of the state and the UW System branch campuses. A UW System institution

may apply to the Board of Regents for additional funding if student success and

access is at risk due to any factor, including if any of the institution's campuses is

operating at a deficit, at risk of insolvency, underserved and unable to meet the needs

of students, or undergoing significant programmatic changes. For granted

applications, the Board of Regents must allocate funding on the basis of a campus's

need, the severity of the risk factors the campus faces, and the funds available. If

funding is insufficient, the Board of Regents must request supplemental funding

from the Joint Committee on Finance. The Board of Regents must annually report

to JCF and the applicable legislative standing committees its distribution of funding

in the prior year.