RioSlum Studio

Helping Disadvantaged Students

Under current law, the Higher Educational Aids Board (HEAB), University of Wisconsin System (UWS), and Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) oversee several grant and loan programs for minority students. Current law also requires the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and the Marquette University School of Dentistry (MUSD) to each make every effort to ensure that at least five percent of their total enrollments consist of minority students as a condition of certain state assistance. 2023 Assembly Bill 554 modifies these programs so that, rather than apply to minority students, they instead apply to disadvantaged students. The bill does not define the term “disadvantaged” but does provide that in determining whether a student is disadvantaged, the student’s race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or religion may not be considered either directly or indirectly.1