A state lawmaker introduced legislation Thursday to allow veteran students first priority when registering for classes at schools within the University of Wisconsin System.
State Rep. Dianne Hesselbien, D-Middleton, a member of the Assembly Veterans Committee, said she introduced the bill because veterans attending UW System schools often have difficulty finishing school while they are still eligible for veteran-based funding, which usually expires after four years.
According to a statement from Hesselbien, the main difficulty student veterans experience is that classes fill up too quickly, leaving veterans without the necessary credits to graduate and no way of paying for additional classes.
Hesselbien said her bill would fix this problem and help veterans, who have already spent time to serve their country, pursue a full education while they are still receiving education funding from veterans’ programs.
“Veterans have served our country and made personal sacrifices many of us can only imagine; they have earned this added measure of support from our public university system,” Hesselbien said in the statement.
