VANCOUVER, Wash. — Washington State University Vancouver announced on Thursday the expansion of its in-state tuition program. They're calling it the PDX Tuition Advantage.
Current, prospective and transferring students from Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties can apply and receive in-state tuition while attending WSU Vancouver.
The new program is for spring and fall 2021 semesters.
"With this moment in time, with COVID, with the fires, with more students interested in staying closer to home that now really was the time that made sense to move this initiative forward," said Mel Netzhammer, Chancellor of WSU Vancouver.
For the 2020 fall semester there are 3,504 students attending WSU Vancouver, 235 are out-of-state students.
Washington state has what's known as the Border Bill; it allows certain students from 13 different Oregon counties that meet certain requirements to be eligible for in-state tuition at either the Vancouver or Tri-Cities WSU campus. The bill says that students may only take eight credits or fewer.
This new program will allow for students to take more than eight credits per semester.
"As part of a larger strategy, we really began to look at how we might be able to support students who wanted to be more involved on campus," Netzhammer said.
WSU Vancouver is not the first college to offer in-state tuition for out-of-state students. Clark College in Vancouver said they too offer in-state tuition to Oregon students that meet the qualifications and live in a border county.
Out-of-state tuition costs roughly 150% more than in-state, so the savings alone is worth roughly $15,000.
"I think we offer something unique on our side of the river as well. The setting is different," Netzhammer said, "It saves because they get to stay local, they get a WSU education without having to pay the expense of residence halls."
The COVID-19 pandemic hasn't exactly been kind to WSU Vancouver, enrollment is down nearly 100 students this year, which amounts to roughly a million in tuition income. It's the first time in the school's 30 year history they've seen a decline in enrollment. Netzhammer says 9 years ago, they saw a 5% drop in enrollment.
"Looking toward the future and the possibility that students will continue to want to stay close to home. I think one of our goals has been growth," Netzhammer said.
The deadline for students to apply for spring 2021 is Nov. 15. The deadline for students to apply for fall 2021 is Jan. 31. WSU Vancouver's normal admission requirements apply.