{"id":35103,"date":"2022-08-11T06:00:59","date_gmt":"2022-08-11T11:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=35103"},"modified":"2022-08-11T08:42:20","modified_gmt":"2022-08-11T13:42:20","slug":"texas-students-make-up-enrollment-losses-at-oklahoma-colleges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2022\/08\/11\/texas-students-make-up-enrollment-losses-at-oklahoma-colleges\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas students help make up for enrollment losses at Oklahoma colleges"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px; margin-bottom: 20px; border-radius: 6px; overflow: hidden;\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px;\" src=\"https:\/\/player.captivate.fm\/episode\/cec3a5e1-3a48-4e2c-acfd-d46d35d4ae9d\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><p><em>This story was written by StateImpact&#8217;s Robby Korth in collaboration with Northwest Arkansas NPR member station KUAF reporter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kuaf.com\/people\/anna-pope\">Anna Pope<\/a>.<\/em><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brayden Sieau knows it might be an anecdotal observation. But still, he can\u2019t help but notice something about his fellow drivers around his college campus.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI honestly think that I see more Texas license plates in Norman than Oklahoma license plates,\u201d he said. \u201cIt&#8217;s kind of crazy.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sieau has Texas plates on his Jeep Grand Cherokee. He\u2019s a meteorology student at the University of Oklahoma but he\u2019s originally from Kirbyville, Texas.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt&#8217;s consistently been ranked, like, among the top meteorology schools in the country,\u201d Sieau said of OU. \u201cAnd on top of that, the university itself is a really nice campus. There&#8217;s a lot to offer. And Norman&#8217;s great. I just felt like OU was definitely the best choice.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sieau is hardly alone in leaving the Lone Star State for destinations further north. Almost 13,000 Texas residents were enrolled in Oklahoma colleges last year and 7,100 enrolled at the University of Arkansas alone. And as the total number of students enrolled in Oklahoma\u2018s higher ed institutions <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kgou.org\/education\/2021-10-28\/college-enrollment-appears-to-be-dropping-in-oklahoma\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has declined<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> each year during the pandemic, the number of Texans has actually increased.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><iframe id=\"datawrapper-chart-Fm773\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"Out of state students at Oklahoma colleges\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/Fm773\/1\/\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Interactive line chart\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">!function(){\"use strict\";window.addEventListener(\"message\",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var a in e.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][a]+\"px\"}}}))}();\n<\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_32559\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-32559\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_7193-672x441.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_7193-672x441.jpeg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_7193-1920x1260.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_7193-768x504.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_7193-150x98.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_7193-300x197.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_7193-620x407.jpeg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_7193-1645x1080.jpeg 1645w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Robby Korth \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The University of Oklahoma campus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><b>A strategic decision<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The number of Texas plates on Norman or Fayetteville roads isn\u2019t an accident.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe Texas student is really important to the University of Oklahoma,\u201d said Kimberly West, OU\u2019s director of national recruitment.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_35118\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignright\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-35118\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/1615904196574-672x448.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/1615904196574-672x448.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/1615904196574-1920x1279.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/1615904196574-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/1615904196574-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/1615904196574-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/1615904196574-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/1615904196574-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/1615904196574-1622x1080.jpg 1622w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/1615904196574.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Courtesy OU<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kimberly West, University of Oklahoma Director of National Recruitment<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">OU has made recruiting out-of-state students a top priority \u2014 and Texas is a place where potential targets are plentiful. OU has a half dozen admissions counselors based in the state. West said in the next couple years there will be a drop in high school graduates across much of the country, due to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cupahr.org\/issue\/feature\/higher-ed-enrollment-cliff\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">declining birth rates<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about 18 years ago.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTexas and California are two places that will not really experience that,\u201d she said. \u201cThey will kind of level off, but they don't experience the cliff that the northeast is going to experience, that the Midwest will experience. And so, we're putting a lot of our eggs in that basket in hopes that we can continue to keep the pipeline going.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West herself is from Houston and now works out of Dallas while recruiting Texas high school graduates to OU. There are around 60 colleges with recruiters in the Dallas area, she said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">OU is expecting a record-sized freshman class this fall. West said school officials anticipate it will be about 48% out-of-staters, with roughly half of those students coming from Texas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOur brand is known,\u201d West said. \u201cWe've had students come from places, have excellent experiences here, and then go back home and talk about their experiences.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_35116\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 545px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-35116\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/220613_karen_chen_005_right-545x672.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"545\" height=\"672\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/220613_karen_chen_005_right-545x672.jpg 545w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/220613_karen_chen_005_right-1557x1920.jpg 1557w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/220613_karen_chen_005_right-768x947.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/220613_karen_chen_005_right-1246x1536.jpg 1246w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/220613_karen_chen_005_right-1661x2048.jpg 1661w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/220613_karen_chen_005_right-122x150.jpg 122w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/220613_karen_chen_005_right-243x300.jpg 243w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/220613_karen_chen_005_right-620x764.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/220613_karen_chen_005_right-876x1080.jpg 876w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/220613_karen_chen_005_right.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 545px) 100vw, 545px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Courtesy OSU<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Karen Chen, Oklahoma State University Vice President of Enrollment<\/p>\n<\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Up Interstate 35 in Stillwater, Texas plates are becoming more common, too.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oklahoma State has made the Lone Star State a similar priority. In fact, Texas students have been a big driver in maintaining enrollment at the state\u2019s two biggest universities as overall enrollment has fallen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">OSU Vice President of Enrollment Karen Chen said they\u2019re an important part of Stillwater.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe love our Texas families and our students,\u201d Chen said. \u201cThey have such a great experience on campus and they share those stories. And so it goes beyond our region. It goes beyond the borders of Texas, too.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">OSU has fewer Texas students than OU or U of A. The university is also expecting a record freshman class, made up of roughly two-thirds in-state students. But, the college is putting more efforts into recruiting south of the Red River.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe want to continue to expand the opportunities for our students to receive an OSU education that is first and foremost in Oklahoma and Texas, around the nation and the world,\u201d Chen\u00a0 said.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_35108\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-35108\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_1085-672x504.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"504\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_1085-672x504.jpeg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_1085-1920x1440.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_1085-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_1085-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_1085-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_1085-150x113.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_1085-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_1085-620x465.jpeg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_1085-1440x1080.jpeg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Anna Pope \/ KUAF<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Old Main at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville campus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><b>Arkansas attracts thousands of Texans<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">About 24% of the total number of students at Arkansas in 2021 were Texas residents. Susan McCray, the university\u2019s vice president of enrollment management, says the incoming freshman class will have the highest number of students from Arkansas.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u201cThe majority of people coming from a state will be coming from Arkansas,\u201d McCray said. \u201cBut Texas will be next. And we are excited about that pipeline.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the past decade, students from Texas were the second highest number of students enrolled at U of A. McCray said there is strong competition for students in Texas, because while the university has three recruiters there, some other schools in the SEC have more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">McCray said sustaining connections with graduated students from in and out of the state is important for the university and the state.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like OU and OSU, U of A is expecting the largest freshman class in its history with a record-breaking 30,000 total students this fall. About 900 of these students will live off-campus in nearby complexes because on-campus housing is full.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chris Demarest, president of the Northwest Arkansas Board of Realtors and a longtime resident of the region, said some students call the region home after graduation.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYou know, they\u2019ve just moved here from Texas to go to college, and then decide to stay. And so that then, a lot of times, their parents migrate here as well because of grandkids and other things,\u201d Demarest said.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_35109\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-35109\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/3-672x504.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"504\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/3-672x504.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/3-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/3-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/3-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/3-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/3-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/3-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/3-620x465.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/3-1440x1080.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Anna Pope \/ KUAF<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Construction equipment at a new housing subdivision in Fayetteville, Arkansas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><b>A changing college town<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the university is an attraction, students are not the main cause of population growth. The region gains an average of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nwacouncil.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/nwa_engage_diversity_report_final.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">30 people<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> daily and Demarest said while more people move to the region, housing prices are<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/share.arvest.com\/newsroom\/skyline-report-reveals-record-home-sales-despite-rising-prices\/#:~:text=Arvest%20Bank%20recently%20released%20its,the%20inception%20of%20the%20Skyline%E2%80%A6\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> going up<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt does create some struggles for folks that are \u2026 on the lower end of the homebuyer scale, because there's a lot of competition right now,\u201d Demarest said. \u201cIt's difficult\u2026\u00a0 We used to go out and we would show 10 or 12 homes to folks, and now, it's like, it's just one or two available, and it's like there's 10 or 12 people trying to buy it.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arkansas is home to a handful of Fortune 500 companies, and Walmart, JB Hunt and Tyson Foods are based in the northwest region, attracting talent from in-state and around the world. Mervin Jebaraj, the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the Walton College of Business, said according to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/flowsmapper.geo.census.gov\/map.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">census<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, most people who move to Northwest Arkansas are from other parts of the state.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt's (Texas) probably outside of Arkansas, the next biggest state that sends people to Washington County, but it's not necessarily over-represented to the extent that you might think,\u201d Jabaraj said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas had one of the highest moving rates, and most people who left the state moved to Arkansas, according to the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nar.realtor\/blogs\/economists-outlook\/8-9-million-people-relocated-since-the-beginning-of-the-pandemic#.X9DQk-H1NCI.mailto\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> National Realtors Association<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In the same report, Texas also received the greatest number of Arkansans who moved.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Northwest Arkansas has been called \u201cthe next Austin.\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/nw-arkansas\/2021\/09\/30\/new-ad-campaign-stem-workers-move-northwest-arkansas\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Billboards<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> marketing the region\u2019s lower cost of living are up in the capital of Texas. Nelson Peacock, president and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council, said the council picked places such as Austin, Dallas, Seattle, Denver and Minneapolis for the campaign because in larger markets like New York it was cost prohibitive.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat we did is we identified markets where our companies are recruiting from, we identified markets with a lot of the stem and creative and entrepreneurial talent that we're looking for, and also a place where our higher quality of life, and also lower cost of living would resonate,\u201d Peacock said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The University of Arkansas is growing, and so is the area around it. Other state universities enrollment numbers declined in 2021, but U of A experienced a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/senate.arkansas.gov\/senate-news\/posts\/2021\/september\/state-colleges-and-universities-report-fall-semester-enrollment\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5.5%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> increase.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jobs, quality of life and a lower cost of living are draws to the region, but this growth is driving up housing prices and adding to the affordable housing demand. In addition to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/share.arvest.com\/community\/skyline-report-nwa-commercial-vacancy-rate-at-record-low\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">falling vacancy rates<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the region\u2019s median home prices jumped nearly 29% from May 2021 - May 2022, outpacing that of Tampa, Florida; Orlando, Florida and Las Vegas, according to a Re\/Max National Housing <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/remaxnews.cdn.prismic.io\/remaxnews\/dcc12f52-08ec-4602-97b8-5c6247530877_May+2022_REMAXNHR_FINAL.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Peacock says although more people are coming to the area, growth is not guaranteed.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u201cAnd so, when we look at how we attract talent here, how do we attract the jobs of the future here? That's what we're focused on; to make sure that the next 15 years are as good economically and for the people that live here as the last 15,\u201d Peacock said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The council introduced a new regional <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nwacouncil.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/NWAC_RegionalStrategy2022.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">strategy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and one of its goals is to address the challenges of growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-35112\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_9510-672x537.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"537\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_9510-672x537.jpeg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_9510-1920x1536.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_9510-768x614.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_9510-1536x1229.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_9510-2048x1638.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_9510-150x120.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_9510-300x240.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_9510-620x496.jpeg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2022\/08\/IMG_9510-1350x1080.jpeg 1350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><b>The future<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For flagship universities in Oklahoma and Arkansas, out-of-state students are incredibly important to one thing: the bottom line. Over the last decade, Oklahoma\u2019s legislature has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2020\/05\/29\/state-budget-cuts-put-oklahomas-higher-education-funding-back-in-the-20th-century\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">slashed higher education funding<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, in Arkansas it\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/14LrA1OkJldrIANJaBEgTO2OEODxIAb3pUNRhwI_7mSw\/edit?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a similar story<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> where higher education funding had been flat before rising in the last couple of years.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That means there\u2019s less taxpayer money available as the price of educating students rises. And that leads to increasing tuition bills - which are largely borne by out-of-state students. So, incentives like scholarships and financial aid become important.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rising cost of college tuition is certainly felt by students like Sieau at OU. As OU\u2019s Board of Regents debated potential tuition increases this summer, they chose to only protect in-state students with a freeze, hiking out-of-staters\u2019 like Sieau\u2019s tuition and fees by 3%. But Sieau said he still wouldn\u2019t trade his education in Norman for one at a Texas school.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYeah, it would have been cheaper to go to a Texas school, but, you know, I don't regret it,\u201d he said. \u201cYou get what you pay for.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><em>This story was written by StateImpact's Robby Korth in collaboration with Northwest Arkansas NPR member station KUAF reporter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kuaf.com\/people\/anna-pope\">Anna Pope<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This story was written by StateImpact&#8217;s Robby Korth in collaboration with Northwest Arkansas NPR member station KUAF reporter Anna Pope.Brayden Sieau knows it might be an anecdotal observation. But still, he can\u2019t help but notice something about his fellow drivers around his college campus.\u201cI honestly think that I see more Texas license plates in Norman [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":209,"featured_media":35106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[492,17],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35103"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/209"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35103"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35127,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35103\/revisions\/35127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}