It’s no secret that ASU appeals to students from just about anywhere in the country.
While ASU is primarily an in-state, commuter student school, there are plenty of non-Arizonans looking to soak up some sun in January as their friends bundle up just about everywhere else.
If becoming a Sun Devil is as highly sought as it seems, then there’s potentially some good news for prospective students outside the Grand Canyon State.
The Arizona Board of Regents will vote on whether to permanently raise the cap on out-of-state students to 40 percent for all three state universities. This increase may draw grumbles from current students, but it was practically a given that the ASU empire would continue to grow. Subsequently, it makes sense for ABOR to take this step.
The decision to increase the number of out-of-state students is mostly economic. With $400 billion cut from the state university system since 2008, ASU is certainly strapped for cash. Out-of-state students are traditionally seen as a bonus for the University’s coffer. With tuition, for example, out-of-state students pay $10,129 per semester, compared to the $3,897 that in-state students pay. Though resident student tuition is not cheap, it looks much prettier when compared to the out-of-state cost.
It would be a shame to fault the universities for trying to make ends meet. Since we aren’t getting much love from the state Legislature, maybe out-of-state students will give us a little more support than those who work at the state’s Capitol.
It’s true that we are still seen as a “party school,” but our academic prowess has increased significantly over the past few years.
Although ASU’s acceptance rate is sky high — in the area of 90 percent — the programs ASU has to offer are nothing less than world class. The W. P. Carey School of Business is top notch: the U.S. News and World Report ranked the MBA program 27th out of 426 programs. The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication enjoys a sterling reputation, along with the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, which was ranked in the top 8 percent of nursing graduate schools by the U.S. News and World Report.
This begs the question: Why shouldn’t we increase the percentage of out-of-state students enrolled at ASU?
Beyond this, the universities can bring new faces to Arizona’s future. By attracting students from different parts of the country and all corners of the world, there exists the real possibility that our state’s economy could improve as a result.
This requires giving students a reason to stay in Arizona. The stronger Arizona’s economy is, the more jobs and opportunities we have to offer those who moved here for school.
The university system might see increasing the cap on out-of-state students as mostly just a business decision, but it comes with many benefits for Arizona.
