Expanding UWM International Student Enrollment via Articulation Agreements:
Funding Options for Schools/Colleges
Background: Articulation agreements (1+3, dual or joint degree, short-term non-degree study, and admissions agreements) institutionalize student recruitment channels through partnerships with overseas educational institutions. They function as a low-cost, sustainable alternative to employing recruiting agents and are an important strategy in a comprehensive international student recruitment plan.
When UWM negotiates articulation agreements, the partner institution regularly requests a financial benefit for its students in the form of tuition exemptions (the effect of a student exchange), remissions, free housing, or scholarships. The financial benefit enhances the prestige of the partner institution, which can claim credit for the benefit with its students. When offered as a scholarship, it enhances the students’ own prestige and may influence competitive students to enroll at UWM. It acts as a dual incentive: for the partner institution to foster the relationship with UWM, and for the students to enroll. Typically, the stronger the partner institution’s reputation is, the greater is its expectation that its students will be offered financial benefits under articulation agreements.
This summary clarifies international student funding options available to UWM schools and colleges as they negotiate articulation agreements with overseas partners.
Funding Options: The following options are available to schools and colleges to incentivize international student enrollment. To date, very little, if any, support has been earmarked specifically to international undergraduates.
a)Global Partners Scholarships: (undergraduate only)
Administered through the Center for International Education, the new, merit-based Global Partners Scholarship Program will use Third Party Billing to credit student recipients’ PAWS accounts. It is open to any international students matriculating to or enrolled at UWM under an undergraduate admissions, 1+3, or dual degree agreement that clearly specifies that participating students are eligible to apply.*
Financial Impact: Funding for this program derives from eligible students’ tuition revenue. It is deducted from UWM’s undergraduate tuition revenue pool on a basis of $1000 per eligible student per semester prior to calculations for marginal tuition revenue, thus spreading the impact across the tuition pool.The net impact is expected to be an expansion of the tuition pool due to the anticipated increase in students paying out-of-state tuition rates.
* This program is intended to expand numbers of degree-seeking international students at UWM. Non-degree study program agreements and online degree program students are not eligible for participation at this time.
b)School-funded Scholarships:(undergraduate or graduate)
Units may use allowable non-GPR fundsto offer scholarships. This has also been done at the university level (e.g. using the Spectrum Funds (Fund 136) as Chancellor’s Scholarships.) Under the Block Grants, Financial Aid GPR funds have been converted/consolidated into Fund 101-9. UW System has advised that we may use other Fund 101 or Fund 131 (Tuition Revenue) sources (besides the converted Fund 101-9) as Aid. Funds will be credited to students’ accounts via the Third Party Billing mechanism.
Financial Impact: Scholarships “flow back” to the university and the units as tuition revenue. The cost to the units under our current tuition revenue model is basically 20% of the total scholarship, as 80% would be returned as tuition revenue. However, the true return would be 80% of the TOTAL tuition paid by the student less 20% of the scholarship amount. Each area would have to consider their own strategies and capacity to determine what makes financial sense for their unique situation.
c)ExistingScholarships:(undergraduate or graduate)
Units may consider whether existing scholarships available to students at the program, department, or unit level could be open and advertised to international student applicants. They may also include international student scholarship funding among their development priorities.
d)Graduate School Fellowships: (graduate)
The Graduate School offers competitive fellowship opportunities to graduate students nominated by their programs. International students are eligible for awards, including:
Distinguished Graduate Student Fellowship:
Chancellor’s Graduate Student Award:
Dissertation Fellowship: (for students with dissertator status only)
e)Non-Resident Tuition Remissions: (undergraduate or graduate)
The Dean may agree to provide non-resident tuition remission to students entering UWM under an articulation agreement.
Financial Impact: Any tuition remission granted by a school/college is forgone tuition revenue. Also, UW-Milwaukee annually exceeds its legislative cap for tuition remissions. There is an annual charge to the university which results in approximately 25% of the remission being charged back to the unit. The resident portion of tuition paid by the student result in 80% of this amount being returned to the units conveying the credits through the current Marginal Tuition Revenue model. Each unit should carefully consider whether it makes financial sense to issue a NRTR. There are also non-financial considerations, such as diversifying the student body in a particular unit.
f)Graduate Assistantships:(graduate only)
Departments regularly award Graduate Assistantships to international students seeking admission to UWM graduate programs. Earmarks of one or more assistantships can be used to incentivize enrollment under graduate admissions or dual degree agreements.
g)Research Assistantships: (graduate only)
Departments award Research Assistantships to domestic and international students too work with faculty on grant-supported research projects. At 33% or higher appointment levels, these assistantships provide income, cover both in-state and out of state tuition and provide health insurance.
UWM Center for International Education - 01/04/2013