By Ryan Land
Reporter (Fall 2012)
Changes will be made to Crowder’s tuition fees, as the school is currently in the process of dropping the out-of-state tuition fee.
If the proposal passes the vote by the school’s board of trustees, the changes will come into effect as early as the 2013 fall semester for students who live anywhere in the United States other than certain areas of Newton and McDonald counties. The students will pay an out-of-district rate of $29 less per credit hour than the $134 they are currently paying, saving students money.
The in-district tuition rate, along with the service area will remain the same. The in-district rate serves students who live in the local school districts of Neosho, McDonald County, Diamond, Seneca, and East Newton, which are school districts within Newton and McDonald counties.
The international rate, which will continue to cover students who live in any other country than the United States, will also remain the same. Crowder had 59 international students from over 30 countries during the spring 2012 semester.
Dr. Jim Cummins, Vice President of Finance, stated that the changes of tuition rates, along with the perks of having campuses located within minutes of state borders, should bring in great future recruitment numbers from neighboring states.
“I think it’s an excellent opportunity for us to open up our services and opportunities that Crowder provides to a greater number of people without cost being a major factor,” Cummins stated. “It gives us a recruiting opportunity to open up opportunities to people in neighboring states without cost being a barrier.”
Many colleges are taking part in initiatives for students who live in one state to attend a school in another state under an in-state-tuition rate. Missouri Southern State University in Joplin extends their in-state-tuition coverage through half of the states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Illinois, including the Chicago area, through their Lion Pride program.
Cummins also stated that there are no plans in the future to build an out-of-state campus, and will strictly stay in the southwestern Missouri area.
Dr. Alan Marble, President of Crowder, stated that the school is projecting a goal to gain 42 new students at any campus when the changes come into effect, and with northwest Arkansas and northeast Oklahoma being only minutes away from the future McDonald County campus, Marble thinks that there should be no trouble obtaining that goal.
“If we gain the 42 new students, then it (the tuition changes) will be a financially good move on our part, and if we don’t meet that goal, then it will not be a good financial move at all,” said Marble.
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