Ohio University will increase its scholarships for out-of-state students for the next academic year, following a trend of other universities in Ohio competing to increase non-resident enrollment.
In 1993, non-resident undergraduates constituted 13 percent of OU's student body; in 2003, that population had dropped to 9 percent, according to OU's Office of Institutional Research Web site, www.ohio.edu/instres. In 2006, 10 percent of OU's 16,763 undergraduates were out-of-state students.
To counter decreasing enrollment of non-residents, in 2003 OU began offering a $3,000 scholarship to out-of-state students who graduated in the top 25 percent of their classes and had ACT scores of 24 or greater or an SAT equivalent. Since 2003, about 20 percent of eligible students have accepted the scholarship, said Sondra Williams, director of student financial aid at OU.
For the 2006-07 school year, the university will offer $4,500 to non-residents with ACT scores of 25 or higher or SAT scores of 1130 or higher through its Gateway Trustee Award. In 2005, out-of-state tuition at OU was $26,163, including an $8,964 surcharge. In-state tuition was $8,235 total.
There's a push here at the university to attract more out-of-state students than we have in the past
Williams said.
OU is aware of the trend to attract non-Ohio students and observes programs of other universities, Williams said.
We have to stay in the ball game she said. We don't want to fall behind.
Other Ohio universities, including Kent State University and the University of Akron, have implemented scholarship programs to attract these students, all citing the importance of a diverse undergraduate population and nationally stronger ties with alumni.
An increase in (non-resident) enrollment will increase the academic profile of our first-time entering students and having more academically talented students will enhance the agenda of regional campus
said Sharon Johnson, Akron's vice president of student affairs.
About five years ago, Kent State instituted its University Award Program, said Chuck Rickard, the university's associate vice president of enrollment management. The program offers a 50-percent reduction on the out-of-state surcharge to 17 states adjacent to Ohio. To be eligible, students must be admitted to the university, which requires that entering students have a 2.5 high school GPA and an ACT score of 21 or better.
Under this program, an out-of-state student would pay $11,670 ' $3,716 less than the undergraduate non-resident tuition fee. This year, about 15 percent of Kent State's 36,000 undergraduates are out-of-state students.
Following the trend, Akron began its Advantage Program with the 2004-05 school year. The Gold Program offers an elimination of the surcharge to academically eligible students, and the Blue Program offers a 60-percent surcharge reduction under different requirements. In 2005, 82 of 18,123 undergraduates ' 0.45 percent ' were out-of-state students.
The numbers of our out-of-state students have been very small
Johnson said. We need to encourage good out-of-state students to consider the University of Akron.
17
Archives
Maria Gallucci
