A plan proposed by a working group in the National Collegiate Athletic Association on whether to require student athletes to prove unmet financial need in order to qualify for an extra stipend worth up to $2,000 will be up for approval next week.

Revised from an earlier proposal submitted last fall by a NCAA board, the plan was strongly rejected by over half of the Division I institutions. Under the former plan, universities were allowed to provide the money to full-scholarship athletes only, regardless of their need.

According to the report obtained by the Chronicle for Higher Education, the NCAA will maintain current regulations and exemptions concerning individual financial aid limits regarding cost of attendance, as well as existing definitions of a full grant-in-aid for tuition, books and other fees.

Financial “need,” according to the NCAA’s proposal, is defined as the total price of attending college after subtracting financial aid calculated through a Free Application for Student Financial Assistance, grants, scholarships and the student’s Estimated Family Contribution.

While this amount may seem like any other student’s college costs, there are already additional NCAA and university alumni-based funds available exclusively to collegiate athletes. This stipend would be applied to pay any outstanding costs of attendance not covered by these other means, according to the report.

Justin Doherty, University of Wisconsin Athletics spokesperson, said the department supports this change, “but there are a variety of circumstances, such as equity and financial viability, which we would need to address before implementing the change if it passes.”

If the proposal is passed into action, UW would be forced to find a way to make it work from a financial sense, Doherty said.

The NCAA’s modified plan would provide the additional money, capped at $2,000 per student, only to athletes who can prove they have at least that much left beyond their financial aid coverage.

Therefore, colleges can give out funding to partial scholarship athletes as well, for their proportionate amount of extra costs.

For example, a student receiving a half scholarship could earn up to $1,000 if he or she can prove need. In contrast, an athlete with a difference of only $500 in additional attendance costs would only merit this amount.

If passed, the plan would likely go into effect for the next 2013-14 academic year, giving NCAA universities time to adjust the costs into their budgets. For UW, this plan would affect almost 500 current students if implemented today, Doherty added.

Even in the current economic circumstances, Doherty said the proposed change would not have a huge impact on the amount of financial aid student athletes need based on the fact that there is already an enormous amount of student assistance funding available to help students.

“I don’t know that it is as much a current economic situation as it is a student-by-student situation,” Doherty said.