Wichita State University is focusing on the I-35 corridor for its next recruitment strategy.
WSU is offering reduced out-of-state tuition rates for Texas and Oklahoma residents--the same break it currently gives those from neighboring states like Missouri. Students who attend Wichita State from those states will pay one-and-a-half times the in-state tuition costs.
WSU Senior Vice President and Provost Tony Vizzini says recruiting along the Interstate 35 corridor makes sense.
"We know that if you bring students up to Kansas to educate them in Kansas, there’s a likelihood that they’ll stay in Kansas. That likelihood is compounded if they are coming to areas similar and that transit path is there," he says.
Vizzini says the university is also specifically targeting potential students in Oklahoma City and Tulsa by offering an even greater tuition reduction.
The official headcount at the university this fall shows a 3.4 percent decrease in students compared to last year. Current enrollment is 14, 495 students.
Vizzini says the university has spent about $1.6 million the past two years for out-of-state recruitment efforts. He says the marketing firm Royall has been instrumental in increasing the number of applicants from what he calls “hard-to-reach” regions.
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