Governor Jim Doyle’s mother was a teacher.  First Lady Jessica Doyle has been an educator for over 25 years.  Governor Doyle is a product of Wisconsin’s public schools, and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

He knows the value of education.  The value of a Wisconsin education.

As Governor, he has fought to put the dream of a college or technical college education within reach of any Wisconsin kid who wants to work hard for it.

The Wisconsin Covenant: Making College Accessible to All Wisconsin Children 

Governor Doyle has proposed an innovative new program called the Wisconsin Covenant that will make sure that any kid who works hard, does well, and plays by the rules can afford to go to college.

Students who sign up for the Covenant in the 8th grade, and who maintain a B average in high school, complete a core curriculum, and apply for state and federal financial aid, are guaranteed to receive from the state a financial aid package that meets their financial needs for tuition at any University of Wisconsin system school, Wisconsin's Technical Colleges, and Wisconsin's private colleges and universities.

Helping Families Afford the Cost of College  

The Wisconsin Covenant is an exciting and innovative program.  But Governor Doyle’s commitment to making college more affordable for Wisconsin families goes much further than that.

Governor Doyle:

• Has doubled funding for financial aid for University of Wisconsin students over the last four years – giving more students than ever before the opportunity to get a great college education.  As a result of Governor Doyle’s efforts the state’s commitment to financial aid for the UW system has increased from $21.8 million to nearly $44 million;
• Provided 6 percent annual increases to the amounts available for tuition grants to Wisconsin Technical College System students and private college students in the 2005-07 budget;
• Dramatically increased the state’s individual income tax deduction for college tuition – increasing it to the cost of an average University of Wisconsin System tuition.  This year he's increased the deduction by nearly 50 percent; and
• Governor Doyle also expanded the EdVest college savings program, giving families more options to save for and finance their child’s education.

Investing in the University of Wisconsin System
   
The UW System is the best in America.  Governor Doyle is committed to keeping it that way.  

That’s why Governor Doyle’s 2005-07 budget added more state funding to the UW System and financial aid than it did to the Department of Corrections budget.  That’s the first time that’s happened in more than a decade.

And when the Republican Legislature cut $72 million out of Governor Doyle's proposed 2005-07 state budget for the University of Wisconsin, the Governor used his veto to restore almost half of the cut.

And Governor Doyle has made strategic investments to improve the University of Wisconsin, including:

• Creating a $5 million fund in the 2005-07 biennial budget for the UW System to maintain its best faculty and to remain a world-wide leader;
• Provided $2.5 million in the 2005-07 biennium to support Alzheimer’s disease research; and
• Secured $150 million funding to start building the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery at UW-Madison, a multi-disciplinary research facility that will bring together biotechnology, computer science, engineering, and other emerging fields to keep UW at the forefront of research.