Wisconsin is a part of a growing number of states looking to streamline the college admissions process for both students and parents.
The University of Wisconsin system will use $100,000 from Lumina Foundation’s Great Admissions Redesign initiative to improve Direct Admit Wisconsin. The program has already offered admission to more than 60,000 students based on their high school performance.
Melanie Heath, strategy director for the foundation, said a key component of their efforts is direct admissions where students receive acceptance offers based on grade-point average before applying.
"Direct admissions has been shown to be most meaningful for students who may or may not decide that college is for them," Heath explained. "Then all of a sudden they get a notification that not only are you already accepted but all of these colleges believed you're college material."
Working with local high schools, the University of Wisconsin system will use artificial intelligence tools to better identify math courses to prepare students for college-level work. Administrators said inconsistencies in identifying the courses have proved to be especially hindering for students in under-resourced communities who are trying to access higher education.
Heath added admissions reform has expanded from a few pilot programs to efforts in nearly 28 states. Wisconsin is one of nine states in the 2026 cohort. While earlier reforms focused on isolated fixes in the application process, Heath noted states like Wisconsin are expanding to focus on making planning for college readiness also simpler.
"They're not interested in just solving the single puzzle piece of admissions," Heath observed. "They want to use admissions as a lever to solve for multiple barriers within the college-going journey."
Health underscored the model is rapidly growing reaching 27 million students across the country. The initiative is part of Lumina’s broader national effort to increase access to higher education.
Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.
