Higher tuition rates will no longer be a deterrent for prospective out-of-state Âé¶¹´«Ã½ wishing to attend Eastern Illinois University.
The EIU Board of Trustees on Friday approved a tuition rate change for all undergraduate Âé¶¹´«Ã½ from the five states bordering Illinois - Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin - from three times the in-state rate to the in-state rate.
The change will take effect in Fall 2011.
Previously, Eastern assessed undergraduates from any state the in-state rate only if they met Honors College admissions standards. That policy will continue.
However, in an effort to be more competitive for new Âé¶¹´«Ã½, EIU President Bill Perry on Friday recommended to trustees that the in-state tuition rate also be extended to all undergraduates in the five bordering states.
Similar moves have or are being considered by many other schools - both in and outside of Illinois -- in an effort to recruit more Âé¶¹´«Ã½. This past year, for example, Indiana State University increased its applicant pool by 1,000 individuals due, in part, to offering Illinois applicants in-state tuition there.
"Clearly, we must do everything we can to increase the number of Illinois residents who apply to Eastern, but with out-of-state institutions becoming very aggressive in recruiting our Âé¶¹´«Ã½, we need to consider doing more," said Blair Lord, provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Fall 2010 figures at EIU reflect an on-campus enrollment of 10,511 and an off-campus count of 1,119 for a total of 11,630. A year ago, the number of Âé¶¹´«Ã½ taking on- and off-campus classes was 10,788 and 1,178, respectively, for a total enrollment of 11,966 -- very near EIU's optimum enrollment of 12,000.
Eastern's current enrollment from the five bordering states includes Indiana, 45; Iowa, 7; Kentucky, 7; Missouri, 26 and Wisconsin, 18.
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