Beginning in the fall of 2024, the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW-M) will cover the full cost of an undergraduate degree for Wisconsin residents who are members of federally recognized Wisconsin Indian tribes, the University announced on Monday.

The offer will pay eligible students’ tuition and fees as well as their housing, meals, books and other educational expenses.

In addition, a 5-year pilot program will cover in-state tuition and fees for J.D. (law) and M.D. (medical) students who are in-state residents and members of federally recognized Wisconsin tribes.

The timing of the announcement comes just days after the Universities of Wisconsin System agreed to a controversial deal with Republican lawmakers that would limit the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts in exchange $800 million in new state funding.

Dubbed the Wisconsin Tribal Educational Promise program, the initiative relies on no taxpayer funding, according to UW-M’s announcement. Instead, it will be funded through other institutional resources and private donations.

Student eligibility for the program will not be based on financial need; support will be provided regardless of family income. Beginning next fall, the program will cover students already on campus in addition to new students.

The university reports its current cost of an undergraduate undergraduate for Wisconsin residents to be $28,916 annually. The new program will provide four years of financial support for students entering as freshmen and two years of support for transfer students.

For professional students pursuing a J.D. or M.D. degree, the pilot program will pay the cost of in-state tuition and fees, but not books or living expenses. Currently, tuition and fees are $35,197 annually for J.D. students and $42,198 for medical students. The program will cover three years of resident tuition for full-time J.D. students and four years for M.D. students.

“As a university, we are deeply committed to a future of mutual respect and cooperation with the American Indian tribes in Wisconsin,” said UW-M Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin, in the announcement. “This program is another tangible, meaningful step in that direction.”

In developing the program university leaders consulted on several occasions with the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, a consortium that includes the tribal chairperson or president of each of the 11 federally recognized American Indian tribes in Wisconsin.

“The creation of this program marks a significant step in the partnership between the American Indian tribes in Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin–Madison,” says Shannon Holsey, president of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians and chairwoman of the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council. “While several other states have programs with similar goals, we are not aware of another effort that goes this far financially to help Native students afford higher education. This program sends a strong message that our students are important to the state’s flagship university.”

The university was not able to provide a preliminary estimate of the cost of the program primarily because it’s not known how many new students who qualify for the aid will enroll.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, about 650 UW-Madison students currently identify as American Indian, but that number includes Native American students from other states as well as some students who don’t meet the program’s documentation requirements.

With the offer, UW-M joins a growing number of institutions in states such as Colorado, Oregon, California, Montana, Michigan, Minnesota and Maine recently introducing financial aid programs to cover or substantially reduce undergraduate tuition in an attempt to improve college attendance and completion rates for Native American students. But the Wisconsin program is among the most generous because it covers the total cost of education rather than tuition only, which is the case with most other programs.

According to the Postsecondary National Policy Institute, only 22% of Native Americans ages 18 to 24 were enrolled in college as of 2020, compared to 40% of the overall U.S. population of the same age, and Native undergraduate enrollment declined by 40% between 2010 and 2020. Supporting more Native Americans to participate successfully in college has been the goal of national organizations such as the Native Forward Scholars Fund (formerly the American Indian Graduate Center) and the American Indian College Fund, both of which focus on providing financial aid and other support services to Native Americans.