Although UW-Madison students who are undocumented immigrants may qualify for in-state tuition, the rate of such students using this option remains relatively low.
According to David Giroux, UW System spokesperson, the new law only applies to students who have lived in Wisconsin for at least three years, have graduated from a Wisconsin high school, have been admitted into a UW System school and have signed an affidavit vowing to seek U.S. citizenship as soon as possible.
Students who meet these criteria are then able to pay in-state tuition at UW System schools, but are not able to receive federal or state financial aid.
The law was included in the 2009-'11 biennial state budget, which was signed by Gov. Jim Doyle in June.
According to Giroux, the number of students who attend UW-Madison under this law is around four, but the UW System has not yet gathered the information to announce the official numbers.
He said although this number is low, it is not surprising.
""The simple reason is that we're talking about a very small segment of the population overall,"" he said, adding that the number of people within this population who meet the criteria is even smaller.
""We're talking about the very narrow end of the funnel, and there are not a lot of people at the big end of the funnel to begin with,"" he said.
Giroux said the undocumented students who apply to UW System schools under this provision are not treated any differently in the admissions process, and they must be well-rounded students like any other applicants.
He added the UW System takes the affidavit document seriously as well.
""They are members of our society, but they are here illegally and that means they need to fix that, they need to pursue citizenship,"" he said.
Even though the law was only recently put into effect within the UW System, members of the UW Board of Regents have historically supported the idea, according to Giroux.
""If they're going to live here, work here, and pay taxes … we might as well provide them with some opportunity to get a better education, and to get a better paying job so that they can become better members of our society,"" he said.
