Eric W. Fulcomer, PhD, WAICU President and CEO

Our state’s longstanding commitment to the Wisconsin Grant Program demonstrates a clear priority: ensuring that students, including those with the greatest financial need, can pursue a college degree. That investment matters. It has changed the lives of generations of students.

However, there is a growing group of students who are from low- to middle-income families who earn too much to qualify for Pell Grants and other need-based aid, yet not enough to comfortably afford college. They are often first-generation college students and individuals balancing coursework with jobs, caregiving responsibilities, and rising living costs.

These students frequently face the full burden of tuition, housing, transportation, and textbooks with limited external support. Financial aid professionals across Wisconsin consistently point to this group as the most financially fragile. A single unexpected expense such as a car repair or medical bill can disrupt an entire semester or even derail a college career altogether.

Importantly, these are not students who lack ability or ambition. They are academically qualified, career-driven, and motivated to succeed. Yet the financial pressure they face forces too many to delay enrollment, reduce course loads, stop out temporarily, or abandon their studies entirely. In effect, our current financial aid system unintentionally supports students at the lowest and highest income levels while leaving the middle in a challenging situation.

A proposed Undergraduate Assistance Grant Program offers a practical and equitable solution. This initiative would support students attending Wisconsin’s private, nonprofit colleges and universities while targeting the same income range already served by a similar program within the Universities of Wisconsin (UW System).

Private, nonprofit colleges already invest heavily in their students through institutional aid. In many cases, that aid fills gaps left by federal and state programs that are just out of reach. However, institutional aid alone cannot fully close the affordability gap for middle-income students. A modest, predictable state grant layered on top of existing aid would make a measurable difference. It would improve retention, accelerate time to degree, reduce student debt, and increase graduation rates.

Financial aid professionals from Wisconsin’s private colleges have testified that even small, consistent grants can change behavior. When students can rely on transparent, predictable support, they are better able to plan, persist, and succeed.

The stakes extend beyond individual students. Higher education remains the most reliable pathway to upward mobility. College graduates earn higher lifetime wages, experience greater job stability, and enjoy better health outcomes. For first-generation and middle-income students, a degree is often transformational, reshaping not just their own future, but the trajectory of their families, impacting future generations.

Strengthening access for these students is not an act of charity; it is sound economic strategy. Wisconsin’s long-term competitiveness depends on a well-educated workforce and a strong talent pipeline. By closing this longstanding aid gap, lawmakers have an opportunity to invest in workforce readiness, promote equitable access, and support economic growth.

When we invest in students who are doing their part by working hard, staying committed, and striving for a better future, Wisconsin benefits in return.