An Exploration of Nonresident Student Enrollment and Institutional Finances at Public Universities

Abstract

Many public universities have sought to increase the number of students they enroll from other states, with the assumption that a larger share of nonresident students increases institutional revenues and prestige. In this paper, I examine the extent to which out-of-state undergraduate student enrollment shares are associated with changes in per-student revenue and expenditure patterns at four-year public universities both as a whole and by selectivity and Carnegie classification. I find that an increase in the percentage of students from out of state is associated with decreases in per-student tuition revenue and is often associated with a decline in per-student expenditures.