Out-Of-State tuition a thing of the past at MUW

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Students from neighboring states can get an education bargain if they decide to attend Mississippi University for Women in Columbus.

After a proposal was approved by the Institute of Higher Learning, MUW no longer has out-of-state tuition fees, a move it hopes will grow and diversify the student body.

Out of state tuition is downright intimidating, but with this change MUW hopes in the next year students from all over will make the choice to further their education in the friendly city.

“We’re really excited about the prospect of it,” said Admissions Director, Shelley Moss. “We think it will provide a lot of clarity within the admissions process for our out-of-state students that there’s the one rate, and the out-of-state tuition fee was quite a hefty one.”

That out-of-state fee ran students around $11,500 a year ($11,541).

With that gone, The University for Women is hoping to catch the eyes of more potential students across state lines.

“It’s going to make it a lot easier for us to market our programs,” said Senior Vice President Administration, Nora Miller.

In 2012 and 2014, there were efforts to waive the fees for students with specific qualities like being a child or grandchild of an alumni or military personnel.

“And so now, you don’t have to worry about those specific areas,” we asked Miller. “You just wiped it all together?”

“We just wiped it altogether,” she said, “and a lot of times students would have sticker shock when they see that nonresident fee and they wouldn’t even pursue it to see if there could be a scholarship or waiver. This way, they’re going to look at it and just see the one rate whether you’re a resident or nonresident.”

“Enrollment has continued to climb,” said Moss. “It’s recently been very steady. We’ve added a lot of new programs, so this is a great time to make that change to hopefully boost enrollment.”

MUW is the last regional university in the state to make this change.

Already Alcorn State, Delta State, and Mississippi Valley State have waived their out-of-state fees and are seeing larger enrollment classes, and that’s something Miller would like to see for her campus.

Another question asked is ‘How will the school make up for the funds lost for this change?’

Miller tells us that with more students coming due to this waived tuition AND a new athletic program, there should be no problem making up lost ground.