http://www.timesnews.net/article.dna?_StoryID=3575301
By SAM WATSON
NET News Service
JOHNSON CITY - Students from nine Virginia and North Carolina locales adjacent to Tennessee will pay in-state rates at East Tennessee State University starting next fall.
The change will affect both current and new students from Avery, Madison, Mitchell, Watauga and Yancey counties in North Carolina and Lee, Scott and Washington counties and the city of Bristol in Virginia.
"For many years, ETSU has sought a financially attractive way to meet the needs of out-of-state students in our service area," ETSU President Paul Stanton said in a news release. "We are pleased that next fall we can begin to offer a special regional tuition rate to students in bordering counties.
"We have always considered the residents of Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina as an integral part of our ETSU family. This opportunity will further solidify this relationship."
The Tennessee Board of Regents, which governs ETSU and other state higher education institutions outside the University of Tennessee system, approved ETSU's request for the tuition discount Friday at its quarterly meeting at Walters State Community College in Morristown.
The change will apply to academically eligible students in undergraduate and graduate programs except the James H. Quillen College of Medicine and the new ETSU College of Pharmacy.
Non-Tennessee residents pay more than $6,900 in tuition and fees per semester to attend ETSU as undergraduates, compared to about $2,250 for in-state students. Out-of-state graduate students pay more than $7,500, compared to the in-state rate of nearly $2,900.
About 230 students from the nine affected locales are enrolled at ETSU this semester.
Nancy Dishner, ETSU vice provost for enrollment services, said because the university will lose revenue from the out-of-state tuition portion of the students' payments, the Regents will allocate funding to ETSU just as if the students were Tennessee residents.
"It's a huge factor in the decision," Dishner said.
Dishner said ETSU administrators had been discussing such a measure for at least 15 years, but in past instances when the Regents offered the opportunity, the board had different criteria that prevented ETSU from participating, including the state funding.
ETSU's assessments indicated that the previous options were not financially feasible to provide the level and quality of service ETSU desired, she said, so the university was not in the position to participate.
This time, however, the plan provided more financial flexibility and did not cap the number of students who could participate. For example, the offer is available not only to new students, but also those already enrolled.
"We didn't want to include some and not include others," Dishner said.
Although some of the students enrolled from the areas are on scholarship, lessening the impact, ETSU will lose some tuition revenue from current students by offering the in-state rate. So administrators hope the plan will attract additional students from the areas, bringing in more revenue from fees and state allocations.
"Our initial goal is to recruit enough from theses counties to offset the tuition loss from those currently enrolled," Dishner said, later adding that administrators hope to attract at least 135 additional students from the nine locales by fall 2007. After offsetting the initial losses, any increase in enrollment would result in increased revenue, she said.
Revenue aside, the program's overall goal is to increase access to higher education for residents in the affected areas. As evidence of how ETSU's service area extends beyond the state's borders, Dishner said the 75-mile radius of the university's main campus in Johnson City strikes just 15 Tennessee counties, compared to 30 counties in the other states. The areas also tend to be underserved by higher education institutions, particularly at the four-year level, limiting access for students.
So, Dishner said, ETSU has a significant impact on educational opportunities and economic development in the neighboring states.
ETSU plans to promote the in-state rate not only at high schools and community colleges in the areas, but also on radio and television, Dishner said, because some adult students will want to take advantage of the opportunity to continue their education or enter graduate studies.
Students will have to meet the established academic standards to be eligible for the in-state rate. The academic standards are available at www.etsu.edu/admissions and www.etsu.edu/gradstud on the Internet or by phone at 1-800-462-3878 for undergraduate admissions or 439-4221 for graduate admissions.
To be considered for the in-state rate, students must be admitted to ETSU, meet academic standards, and file a "Request for In-State Tuition" form. Students must remain in good academic standing to remain eligible each semester.
Students who do not meet the academic standards for the in-state rate may still be admitted to ETSU under regular admissions standards. Such students would pay at the out-of-state rate. A limited number of other out-of-state tuition waiver opportunities will be available, though, and ETSU will provide assistance in filing for federal student aid.
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