Indiana’s legislative leaders are expressing concerns about the increasing number of out of state students at the state’s universities, which could affect state funding to those institutions.
Of Purdue’s undergraduate students, 44 percent are non-Indiana residents, and at IU-Bloomington, 43 percent of the current freshman class comprises out-of-state and international students.
This high number of out-of-state students could affect funding to such institutions, as legislators have expressed disappointment in these high numbers.
Although these two schools have high numbers of out-of-state students, IU-Kokomo chancellor Susan Sciame-Giesecke says the mission of those two schools are more on research, where regional campuses like hers almost exclusively serve Indiana residents.
Almost 99 percent of IU-Kokomo’s students are Indiana residents and 80 percent will stay in the Kokomo region after graduating. Sciame-Giesecke says programs like nursing are heavily dictated by the needs of the Kokomo community.
“This particular region is dictating the kinds of needs they have in healthcare as Obamacare comes into play,” Sciame-Giesecke said. “There’s going to be a need for nurses and nurse practitioners and doctors and we want to fulfill that mission here in this region.”
Forty-four percent of IU-Kokomo’s budget comes from state funding.