MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Indigenous students from any of Wisconsin’s 11 tribes will be able to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison for free beginning next fall, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced Monday.

Bucky’s Pell Pathway program covers the full financial needs of students from low-income families through grants, scholarships and work-study opportunities.

The announcement comes less than a week after Universities of Wisconsin regents reached an agreement with Republican legislators to freeze diversity hires across campuses and shift at least 43 diversity positions to “student success” positions in exchange for money to fund employee raises and construction projects, including a new engineering building at UW-Madison.

Mnookin said Monday that the Indigenous coverage plan has been in the works for at least a year, but that it shows how UW-Madison remains committed to diversity.

He added that tribes sometimes frown upon college because students often leave their native culture behind and that tribal leaders need to do more to encourage Indigenous youth to seek post-secondary education.

The report cites academic preparation and the cost of college as two major barriers to Indigenous enrollment, noting that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health reported the median household income for Indigenous people was $49,906 in 2019.

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