UA adds all states to tuition cut in '17

Arkansan ranks won’t diminish

FAYETTEVILLE -- Reduced out-of-state tuition will be offered to qualifying first-year students from all states beginning next year at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

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The goal of UA's new "Extended States" award program is not to expand but rather to diversify next year's freshman class, said Suzanne McCray, UA's vice provost for enrollment and dean of admissions.

"We're going to move slowly, so I don't think you'll see a striking difference in where students are from next year," McCray said. "But I think over the next three or four years, we'll see a shift."

Similar public universities in other states also enroll large numbers of out-of-state students and award them scholarships or aid.

"Pretty much all public research universities give nonresident students substantial institutional aid awards," said Ozan Jaquette, an assistant professor of education at the University of California, Los Angeles.

UA already offers students from nearby states New Arkansan Non-Resident Tuition Award grants, and that program will remain unchanged. This fall, 1,871 freshmen received the award out of a total degree-seeking class of 4,967.

Until now, the number of Texans has far exceeded undergraduate students from other states besides Arkansas.

Last fall, more than 4,800 UA undergraduates had a legal residence of Texas. Among faraway states, 148 undergraduates were from California, 66 from Florida and 55 from Georgia.

"We're very much eager to be an institution that draws from across the country," McCray said.

The number of out-of-state students, especially from Texas, has helped fuel the university's recent run of rapid enrollment growth. Chancellor Joe Steinmetz, UA's top leader since Jan. 1, has said universities rely on tuition dollars from increased enrollment during an era of declining state funding support.

Arkansans made up 49 percent of this fall's incoming class of 4,967 first-time, degree-seeking freshmen, according to preliminary numbers. The percentage is identical to the split in fall 2015.

Steinmetz has said a 50-50 split is fine for undergraduates, but he does not want the percentage of out-of-state students to increase.

The new award program "allows us to keep to our 50-50 split but sort of adjust the 50 percent and make it more national," McCray said.

The financial awards program that's being expanded to all states reduces the difference between out-of-state and in-state tuition. This fall, out-of-state tuition costs $21,552 yearly compared with $7,204 for in-state students. Those figures do not include room, board and other costs.

Students from nearby states will continue to be eligible for awards covering 70, 80 or 90 percent of the tuition gap. New freshmen from Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas will be eligible for this award.

Qualifying students from all other states now are eligible for awards of either 50 or 80 percent of the tuition gap.

Students from outside the region must meet a higher standard to qualify. They need a 3.6 grade-point average and a 26 on the ACT to qualify for the 50 percent award offered as part of the Extended States New Arkansan Non-Resident Tuition Award. To qualify for the 80 percent award, they need to score at least a 28 on the ACT as well as have a 3.6 grade-point average.

Students from nearby states need a 3.2 grade-point average and 24 ACT to qualify for the 70 percent award, a 3.4 grade-point average and 28 ACT for the 80 percent award, and a 3.6 grade-point average and 30 ACT for the 90 percent award.

Students receive the awards without a separate application, so long as they meet the criteria and are accepted for admission.

UA last year added Illinois to the list of nearby states for purposes of the New Arkansan award, but the university now groups Illinois with states from outside the region.

A 50 percent "Extended States" award would amount to a yearly grant in the amount of $7,174; an 80 percent award would be valued at $11,478.

Last fall, the University of Alabama enrolled a freshman class that included 2,508 Alabamans and 4,606 students from other states, a spokesman said. The university has several scholarships available for out-of-state students, according to its website, and does not distinguish in awarding them between students from nearby or faraway states.

It awarded 1,730 out-of-state scholarships, according to spokesman Chris Bryant.

Jaquette, the California education professor, who has studied nonresident enrollment growth at colleges and universities, said most institutions set up their aid programs for nonresidents without distinguishing between nearby and faraway states.

He called the Arkansas nonresident awards "generous" compared with similar schools, noting that many universities seek to maximize revenue from out-of-state students.

"There is empirical research saying that nonresident students are less sensitive to price than resident students," Jaquette said.

However, "the competition for out-of-state students is getting pretty fierce," he said. In addition to the University of Alabama, schools in Mississippi also have a large nonresident enrollment, he said.

For UA, "I think you're competing with them largely on price," Jaquette said.

Last fall, UA enrolled 4,803 undergraduate students with a legal residence of Texas. The number of Texans has more than doubled since fall 2010, when there were 2,297 undergraduates from Texas.

Missouri residents totaled 1,398 undergraduates last fall.

Arkansan undergraduates totaled 12,284 in fall 2015, according to UA, about 55 percent of the university's 22,159 undergraduates.

Metro on 09/14/2016

photo

NWA Democrat-Gazette

Suzanne McCray is shown in this file photo.

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