Topeka ? A new “Jayhawk Generations” legacy tuition waiver plan won approval Thursday from the Kansas Board of Regents.

In the plan, a qualifying student who does not live in Kansas would receive a 12 percent tuition discount — $1,952 for a typical student in fall 2008 — if the student received an ACT score of 26 to 29.

Students scoring 30 or higher would receive a 20 percent discount — or $3,254.

A qualifying student must have a parent, legal guardian, stepparent, grandparent or stepgrandparent who graduated from KU, as well as the required score.

“By bringing talented students to KU, we help strengthen the Kansas economy,” said Chancellor Robert Hemenway. “Many of these students will stay in Kansas after graduation, providing the educated work force our state will need to prosper.”

Now, a nonresident student pays $16,272 in annual tuition, as opposed to the actual cost of educating the student, at $12,678. KU officials said the waivers would not reduce the tuition of a nonresident student below the cost of educating that student, so they will continue to subsidize educating Kansas residents.

The program has the potential for generating revenue if it results in increases of the enrollment of nonlegacy students, KU officials said.

“This has to be revenue-positive for us,” said KU Provost Richard Lariviere. “We just can’t afford to do it any other way.”

Lariviere said he anticipated a dramatic downturn in scholarship money available in the next two to three years from KU Endowment, and that those scholarships that would be available would likely focus more on in-state students.

KU intends this to be a two-year pilot program for students entering in fall 2009 and fall 2010, and will then re-evaluate it. Students in those years would receive the waiver for four years of college, assuming they continue to meet eligibility requirements.

Lariviere said he anticipated the program would likely succeed, but that KU may need to tweak some aspects of the program after two years based on the data it receives.