38.24 Fees and tuition.

(1) Definition. In this section, “operational cost" means costs funded by general purpose revenue, property taxes and uniform fees established under sub. (1m) (a) and (b).

(1g) Operational costs. Annually, by January 1, the board shall estimate the statewide operational cost per full-time equivalent student in collegiate transfer programs and postsecondary and vocational-adult programs for the next fiscal year. The board shall furnish each district board with definitions of statewide operational costs per full-time equivalent student and shall establish procedures for determining operational cost per full-time equivalent student.

(1m) Program fees. The district boards shall charge students the fees established by the state board under this subsection. Annually, the board shall establish:

(a) Liberal arts collegiate transfer programs. Uniform fees based on not less than 31 percent of the statewide average operational costs of liberal arts collegiate transfer programs in district schools.

(b) Postsecondary and vocational-adult programs. Uniform fees based on not less than 14 percent of the combined estimated statewide operational cost of postsecondary, exclusive of collegiate transfer, and vocational-adult programs. The board shall maintain statewide uniformity in the program fees charged for postsecondary and vocational-adult credits. Students 62 years old and over shall be exempted from program fees under this paragraph in vocational-adult programs. Students enrolled in adult high school, including students enrolled under s. 118.15 (1) (cm) 3., adult basic education and English as a 2nd language courses shall be exempted from program fees under this paragraph. The board shall establish fees under this paragraph as if students exempt from fees under sub. (4) were not exempt.

(c) Materials fees. Establish uniform fees against all students, including tuition exempted students under par. (b), to cover the cost of consumable materials in addition to program fees. The board shall establish fees under this paragraph as if students exempt from fees under sub. (4) were not exempt.

(d) Programs for inmates. Uniform fees, for vocational programs or courses offered to state prison inmates at a district facility by the department of corrections or the department of health services in cooperation with a district board, equal to the fees established under par. (b).

(1s) Additional fees. A district board may establish and charge a fee in addition to the fees under sub. (1m) for any of the following:

(a) A court-approved alcohol or other drug abuse education program offered to individuals under s. 48.245 (2) (a) 4., 48.345 (13) (b), 48.347 (5) (b), 938.245 (2) (a) 4., 938.32 (1g) (b), 938.34 (6r) (b) or (14s) (b) 3., 938.343 (10) (c) or 938.344 (2g) (a).

(b) A professional development, vocational-adult seminar or workshop, consisting of no more than 24 hours of instruction, offered to individuals who are employed in a related field. Annually the district board shall report to the board the courses for which an additional fee was charged under this paragraph and the amount of the additional fee.

(c) A vocational-adult course intended to improve an individual's skills beyond the entry level if the course is required by state or federal law, rule or regulation, or by a professional organization, to maintain licensure or certification in the individual's field of employment and the state director approves. The additional fee may not exceed an amount equal to the full cost of the course less the fee under sub. (1m).

(1v) Certain fees prohibited. No district board may charge a student a fee associated with accident insurance coverage if all of the following apply:

(a) The student requests that the fee be waived.

(b) The student provides evidence that the student is already insured under a policy providing equivalent accident insurance coverage.

(2) Refunds. The board shall establish fee and tuition refund policies.

(3) Nonresident fees and liabilities; remissions.

(a) Except as provided in sub. (3m), for all students who are not residents of this state, nor subject to reciprocal agreements with the board, annually the board shall establish a fee based on 150 percent of program fees established under sub. (1m) (a) and (b).

(b) Notwithstanding par. (a), the state director may authorize the district board to charge a student who is not a resident of this state and who is subject to a contract with a federal agency under s. 38.14 (3) (a) a fee equal to the contracting district board's direct cost per full-time equivalent student for operating the program in which he or she is enrolled plus an amount equal to the district board's indirect costs per full-time equivalent student attributable to the contract.

(c) The state director may authorize a district board to remit the fees under par. (a), but not the fees under sub. (1m), to any of the following:

1. A number of needy and worthy students. The number of students receiving fee remissions under this subdivision in all districts may not exceed a number equal to 0.5 percent of the full-time equivalent statewide enrollment.

2. Students enrolling under agreements with foreign educational institutions that provide for the exchange of an equal number of students who are residents of this state.

(d) The board shall promulgate rules relating to the remission of fees under par. (c), including rules defining “needy and worthy".

(f) Notwithstanding par. (a), the state director may authorize the district board to charge a student who is not a resident of this state and who is enrolled in a course provided through the use of distance education, as defined in s. 24.60 (1g), a fee that is less than the fee established under par. (a) but not less than the fees established under sub. (1m).

(3m) Nonresident fee exemption for covered individuals.

(a) In this subsection, “covered individual" has the meaning given in 38 USC 3679 (c).

(b) The district boards shall charge covered individuals living in this state the fees established under sub. (1m) (a) and (b).

(d) This subsection does not affect any other fee exemption or fee remission for which a covered individual may be eligible under this section.

(4) Fee exemptions. A graduate of an associate degree program or vocational diploma program who is a resident of this state is exempt from the fees under sub. (1m) (b) and (c) for up to 6 credits within the same occupational program for which the degree or diploma was awarded if the graduate applies for the exemption within 6 months of graduation and any of the following applies:

(a) Within 90 days after his or her initial employment, the graduate's employer certifies to the district board that the graduate lacks entry-level job skills and specifies in writing the specific areas in which the graduate's skills are deficient.

(b) The graduate certifies that all of the following apply:

1. The graduate has not secured employment in the occupational field in which he or she received the degree or diploma.

2. The graduate has actively pursued employment in that occupational field.

3. The graduate has not refused employment in that occupational field or in a related field.

4. The graduate has actively sought the assistance of the district placement office.

(4m) Auditor's fee exemption. The board shall permit a person who is 60 years of age or older to audit a course, other than a community service program, without paying an auditor's fee if the person is a resident of this state, as determined by the board by rule, space is available in the course and the instructor approves.

(5) Fee remissions for survivors.

(a) In this subsection:

1g. “Correctional officer" has the meaning give in s. 102.475 (8) (a).

1j. “Emergency medical services technician" means an individual under s. 256.01 (4p) or (5).

1m. “Fire fighter" means any person employed by this state or any political subdivision of this state as a member or officer of a fire department whose duties include fire fighting or fire fighting training or a member of a volunteer fire department whose duties include fire fighting or fire fighting training.

2. “Law enforcement officer" has the meaning given in s. 165.85 (2) (c).

(b) The district board shall grant full remission of fees under sub. (1m) (a) to (c) to any resident student who is enrolled in a program leading to an associate of arts degree, a collegiate transfer program or a vocational diploma program and who is any of the following:

1. The child of an ambulance driver, correctional officer, fire fighter, emergency medical services technician or law enforcement officer who was killed in the line of duty in this state or who qualified for a duty disability benefit under s. 40.65 (4), under the Wisconsin Retirement System, the Employees' Retirement System of the city of Milwaukee, or the Milwaukee County Employee's Retirement System and died as a result of the qualifying disability. The student must be the child of an ambulance driver, correctional officer, fire fighter, emergency medical services technician or law enforcement officer who was so killed or who died as a result of the qualifying disability when the child was under the age of 21 or before the child was born.

2. The surviving spouse of an ambulance driver, correctional officer, fire fighter, emergency medical services technician or law enforcement officer who was killed in the line of duty in this state or who qualified for a duty disability benefit, as defined in s. 40.65 (4), under the Wisconsin Retirement System, the Employees' Retirement System of the city of Milwaukee, or the Milwaukee County Employee's Retirement System and died as a result of the qualifying disability.

(c) The fee remission under par. (b) shall remain in effect until completion of a sufficient number of credits to complete the program in which the student is enrolled, except that a student must be in good academic standing to receive the remission for the next semester and may not receive a remission for more than 3 consecutive years.

(d) If the appropriation under s. 20.292 (1) (am) in any fiscal year is insufficient to fully fund the fee remissions under par. (b), the district board shall notify the joint committee on finance.

(6) Fee remissions for funeral assistants. The district board shall grant a $25 remission of fees under subs. (1m) and (3) to a student for each valid voucher issued to the student under s. 45.60 (3).

(7) Fee remission for spouse, surviving spouse, and children of certain veterans.

(a) In this subsection:

1m. “Eligible veteran" means a person verified by the department of veterans affairs to be either of the following:

a. A person who has served on active duty under honorable conditions in the U.S. armed forces, in forces incorporated as part of the U.S. armed forces, in the national guard, or in a reserve component of the U.S. armed forces; who was a resident of this state at the time of entry into that service or resided in this state for at least 5 consecutive years after the person attained the age of 18; and who, while a resident of this state, died on active duty, died as the result of a service-connected disability, or died in the line of duty while on active or inactive duty for training purposes.

b. A person who was a resident of this state at the time of entry into service described in subd. 1m. a. or resided in this state for at least 5 consecutive years immediately preceding the beginning of any semester or session for which the person's spouse or child described in par. (b) 1., 2., or 3. registers at a technical college, and who the U.S. department of veteran affairs has awarded at least a 30 percent service-connected disability rating under 38 USC 1114 or 1134.

1p. “Fees" means the amount charged to a resident student under sub. (1m) (a) to (c) to enroll in a course leading to an associate degree, collegiate transfer, or vocational diploma. In the case of a distance education, online, or other course for which the amount charged to enroll in the course equals at least 100 percent of the cost of offering the course, “fees" includes the regular fees charged to a resident student under sub. (1m) (a) to (c) to enroll in the course and any additional fees charged to that student under sub. (1m) (a) to (c) to enroll in that course.

(am) In determining a person's residency at the time of entry into service under par. (a) 1m. a. or b., the state from which the person entered service is irrelevant.

(b) Except as provided in pars. (bd) and (bg), the district board shall grant full remission of fees for 128 credits or 8 semesters, whichever is longer, less the number of credits or semesters for which the person received remission of fees from any other district board under this subsection and from the Board of Regents under s. 36.27 (3n) (b) and less the amount of any fees paid under 38 USC 3319, to any resident student who maintains a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 and is also any of the following:

1. A spouse of an eligible veteran.

2. An unremarried surviving spouse of an eligible veteran.

3. A child of an eligible veteran, if the child is at least 17 but not yet 26 years of age.

(bd) If an eligible veteran was not a resident of this state at the time of entry into service described in par. (a) 1m. a., the district board may grant a remission of academic fees and segregated fees under this subsection only if the eligible veteran's spouse or child described in par. (b) 1., 2., or 3. has resided in this state for at least 5 consecutive years immediately preceding the spouse's or child's enrollment in a technical college.

(bg) Before the district board may grant a remission of fees under par. (b), the district board shall require the resident student to apply to the payment of those fees all educational assistance to which the resident student is entitled under 38 USC 3319. If that educational assistance covers 100 percent of those fees for a credit or semester, that credit or semester shall not count against the 128 credit or 8 semester limit provided in par. (b). If that educational assistance covers less than 100 percent of those fees for a credit or semester and the remission under par. (b) covers the remainder of those fees, the credit or semester shall count against that limit in the proportion that the remission bears to the total fees charged for that credit or semester. This requirement applies notwithstanding the fact that the resident student may be entitled to educational assistance under 10 USC 16132a, 10 USC 16163a, or 38 USC 3500 to 3566 as well as under 38 USC 3319, unless the resident student has 12 months or less of eligibility remaining for educational assistance under 10 USC 16132a, 10 USC 16163a, or 38 USC 3500 to 3566.

(bm)

1. For a resident student who is entitled to educational assistance under 10 USC 16132a, 10 USC 16163a, or 38 USC 3500 to 3566 and under 38 USC 3319, if the amount of educational assistance, other than educational assistance for tuition, to which the resident student is entitled under 10 USC 16132a, 10 USC 16163a, or 38 USC 3500 to 3566 is greater than the amount of educational assistance, other than educational assistance for tuition, that the resident student received under 38 USC 3319, as determined by the higher educational aids board, in the academic year the higher educational aids board shall reimburse the resident student for the difference in those amounts of educational assistance, as calculated by the higher educational aids board, from the appropriation account under s. 20.235 (1) (fz). The higher educational aids board shall make that determination and calculation in consultation with the board and district board.

2. If in any fiscal year there are insufficient moneys available in the appropriation account under s. 20.235 (1) (fz) to provide full reimbursement under subd. 1. to all resident students who are eligible for that reimbursement, the higher educational aids board and the district board shall reimburse those resident students as provided in s. 39.50 (4).

(c) The higher educational aids board shall reimburse the district board for all fees remitted under par. (b) as provided in s. 39.50 (2) and (3m).

(8) Fee remission for veterans.

(a) In this subsection:

1g. “Fees" has the meaning given in sub. (7) (a) 1p.

1r. “Veteran" means a person who is verified by the department of veterans affairs as being a resident of this state for purposes of receiving benefits under ch. 45; as being a resident of this state at the time of his or her entry into the U.S. armed forces or forces incorporated in the U.S. armed forces or as being a resident of this state for at least 5 consecutive years immediately preceding the beginning of any semester or session for which the person registers at a technical college; and as meeting any of the following conditions:

a. The person has served on active duty for at least one qualifying term of service under subd. 1r. b. to d. under honorable conditions in the U.S. armed forces or in forces incorporated as part of the U.S. armed forces during a war period or in a crisis zone.

b. The person has served on active duty in the U.S. armed forces or in forces incorporated in the U.S. armed forces under honorable conditions, for 2 continuous years or more or for the full period of his or her initial service obligation, whichever is less.

c. The person has served on active duty for 90 days or more under honorable conditions in the U.S. armed forces or in forces incorporated in the U.S. armed forces during a war period or for any period of service under section 1 of executive order 10957 dated August 10, 1961.

d. The term of service in the U.S. armed forces or in forces incorporated as part of the U.S. armed forces under honorable conditions entitled the person to receive the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, established by executive order 10977 on December 4, 1961, the Vietnam Service Medal established by executive order 11231 on July 8, 1965, the Navy Expeditionary Medal, the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, or an equivalent expeditionary or service medal.

e. The person was honorably discharged from the U.S. armed forces or from forces incorporated in the U.S. armed forces for a service-connected disability, for a disability subsequently adjudicated to have been service connected, or for reasons of hardship.

f. The person was released under honorable conditions from the U.S. armed forces or from forces incorporated in the U.S. armed forces due to a reduction in the U.S. armed forces.

(am) In determining a person's residence at the time of entry into service under par. (a) 1r., the state from which the person entered service is irrelevant.

(b) Except as provided in par. (bg), the district board shall grant full remission of the fees charged for 128 credits or 8 semesters, whichever is longer, less the number of credits or semesters for which the person received remission of fees from any other district board under this subsection and from the Board of Regents under s. 36.27 (3p) and less the amount of any fees paid under 10 USC 2107 (c), 38 USC 3104 (a) (7) (A), or 38 USC 3313, to any student who is a veteran and maintains a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0.

(bg) Before the district board may grant a remission of fees under par. (b), the district board shall require the student to apply to the payment of those fees all educational assistance to which the student is entitled under 38 USC 3313. If that educational assistance covers 100 percent of those fees for a credit or semester, that credit or semester shall not count against the 128 credit or 8 semester limit provided in par. (b). If that educational assistance covers less than 100 percent of those fees for a credit or semester and the remission under par. (b) covers the remainder of those fees, the credit or semester shall count against that limit in the proportion that the remission bears to the total fees charged for that credit or semester. This requirement applies notwithstanding the fact that the student may be entitled to educational assistance under 10 USC 16131 to 16137, 10 USC 16161 to 16166, or 38 USC 3001 to 3036 as well as under 38 USC 3313, unless the student has 12 months or less of eligibility remaining for educational assistance under 10 USC 16131 to 16137, 10 USC 16161 to 16166, or 38 USC 3001 to 3036.

(bm)

1. For a student who is entitled to educational assistance under 10 USC 16131 to 16137, 10 USC 16161 to 16166, or 38 USC 3001 to 3036 and under 38 USC 3313, if the amount of educational assistance, other than educational assistance for tuition, to which the student is entitled under 10 USC 16131 to 161310 USC 16161 to 16166, or 38 USC 3001 to 3036 is greater than the amount of educational assistance, other than educational assistance for tuition, that the student received under 38 USC 3313, as determined by the higher educational aids board, in the academic year the higher educational aids board shall reimburse the student for the difference in those amounts of educational assistance, as calculated by the higher educational aids board, from the appropriation account under s. 20.235 (1) (fz). The higher educational aids board shall make that determination and calculation in consultation with the board and district board.

2. If in any fiscal year there are insufficient moneys available in the appropriation account under s. 20.235 (1) (fz) to provide full reimbursement under subd. 1. to all students who are eligible for that reimbursement, the higher educational aids board and the district board shall reimburse those students as provided in s. 39.50 (4).

(c) The higher educational aids board shall reimburse the district board for all fees remitted under par. (b) as provided in s. 39.50 (2) and (3m).

(9) Late receipt of student's veterans benefits. If a student receives federal veterans benefits that may be applied against the student's payment obligations for any fees under sub. (1m), the technical college in which the student is enrolled may not take any adverse action against the student as a result of the district board's failure to receive payment of the federal veterans benefits by the deadline established by the district board for payment of the fees.

History: 1971 c. 154, 211, 228; 1975 c. 39, 224; 1977 c. 29, 418; 1981 c. 20; 1983 a. 27; 1985 a. 29; 1987 a. 27; 1989 a. 31, 107, 336; 1991 a. 39 ss. 1103 to 1108m, 1117; 1993 a. 16, 223, 491; 1995 a. 27 s. 9126 (19); 1995 a. 77, 228; 1997 a. 27, 163, 292; 1999 a. 32 s. 97; 1999 a. 130, 154; 2003 a. 42; 2005 a. 22, 25, 253, 320, 468; 2007 a. 20 ss. 738mr to 741, 9121 (6) (a); 2007 a. 130; 2009 a. 28, 276; 2011 a. 32; 2013 a. 20, 173; 2015 a. 21, 55; 2017 a. 12, 24, 59; 2019 a. 47.

VTAE schools (technical colleges) are not “district schools" within the meaning of Art. X, s. 3. 64 Atty. Gen. 24.

Apprentices indentured under ch. 106 may be charged tuition at VTAE schools (technical colleges) for related instruction received at such schools that is required as a condition of their apprenticeship. 65 Atty. Gen. 37.