This is one of the things that came out of the battle between Republicans and the University of Wisconsin over DEI issues.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports:

New law guarantees top Wisconsin students a spot on a UW campus

UW-Madison must accept all Wisconsin high school students who finish in the top 5% of their class, and other UW system colleges must admit students who finish in the top 10% of their class under legislation Gov. Tony Evers signed Tuesday.

The new law is one of several required under a deal brokered between legislative Republicans and UW system President Jay Rothman that authorizes about $800 million for the UW system in exchange for the reclassification of several diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, positions.

In a statement, Evers said the new law will help bolster the state’s workforce and that to “make sure it can meet the needs of the 21st Century means working to keep our state’s homegrown talent right here in Wisconsin.”

“Our UW System is a critical partner in this work as a major economic driver and a critical resource for building our state’s next-generation workforce by helping train and retain the talented students we already have here in Wisconsin,” Evers said.

The UW system’s Board of Regents in December approved the deal, which raises wages for about 35,000 UW system staff and funds several construction projects, including a new engineering building for UW-Madison.

In addition to reclassifying 43 DEI staff as “student success” employees, other concessions include the UW system instituting a three-year hiring moratorium on new administrators and DEI employees, and eliminating from admissions applications any “diversity statements,” which often serve as an opportunity to describe an applicant’s experience and understanding of diversity and equity issues.

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