The Kansas Board of Regents has approved Wichita State University’s proposal to offer in-state tuition to students from the Kansas City, Missouri, metro area.
The university already offers in-state benefits to students from certain areas in Oklahoma and Texas as a way to boost overall enrollment and develop economic relationships in those areas.
At the board's meeting Wednesday, WSU President John Bardo said the tuition break has helped boost the number of students coming from those states.
“So we’re seeing some movement already," he told the regents. "We recognize this is a long term plan, this is not a, 'Oh boy, give us this today and we can fix it.' This is a long-term plan."
Some regents questioned whether the tuition deal would boost net enrollment overall or just motivate out-of-state students attending other Kansas universities to transfer. They approved the proposal with the caveat that they will watch the program over the next few years to see what the results are.
