NEBHE announces 2017-18 Regional Student Program annual report … The New England Board of Higher Education’s Regional Student Program (RSP), also known as Tuition Break, provided more than $59 million in tuition savings in academic year 2017-18 to 8,654 participating students, according to the recently published 2017-18 Annual Report of the New England Regional Student Program (RSP).
The RSP allows eligible residents of the six New England states to pay a reduced tuition rate when they enroll at out-of-state public colleges and universities within the region and pursue approved degree programs not offered by their home-state public institutions. In some cases, students may be eligible when their home is closer to an out-of-state college than to an in-state college.
Highlights from the 2017-18 RSP annual report:
- Total enrollment in the RSP was 8,654. Enrollment at four-year undergraduate institutions decreased by 2%, following a 6.8% increase last year. Graduate enrollment increased by 11%. Enrollment at community colleges decreased by nearly 9%.
- Participating students and families saved an estimated $59 million on this academic year’s tuition bills, with a full-time student saving an average of $8,157.
- New England public colleges and universities received nearly $97 million in tuition revenue from RSP students enrolled at their campuses.
- Undergraduate programs at four-year state colleges and universities accounted for 59% of RSP enrollment; associate programs, 35%; and graduate programs, 6%.
- In Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island, the highest percentage of residents enrolled under the RSP in undergraduate programs were at the state colleges and universities: 78%, 66%, 60% and 56%, respectively. In Vermont and New Hampshire, the highest percentage of residents enrolled under the RSP were at the community colleges: 52% and 48%, respectively.
The annual report provides current and historic data on RSP enrollment by state, institution and program, as well as RSP tuition savings and revenue by state. NEBHE calculated annual 2017-18 data based on a fall 2017 survey of the participating institutions.
More than 850 undergraduate and graduate degree programs are offered under the RSP, many of them in specialized and high-demand fields. Program offerings expand each year. In 2017, the region’s public colleges and universities approved 33 additional programs.
- Associate degree programs (8): Audio Engineering, Culinary Arts: Baking and Pastry, Entrepreneurship, Fine Woodworking and Furniture Design, Global Studies, International Business, Professional Writing, Video/Film
- Bachelor’s degree programs (13): Accelerated Nursing, Aging Studies, Climate Change Science, Elementary Education: Community Engaged Learning, Environmental Studies and Sustainability, Fine Woodworking and Furniture Design, Fisheries Biology, Health Care Studies, Information Technology International Affairs (dual major), Movement Science: Wilderness Leadership Concentration, Wildlife Biology, World Languages Education (K-12)
- Graduate programs (12): Master’s: Athletic Training, Engineering Management, Exercise and Health Sciences, Genetics and Genomic Counseling, Music Pedagogy, Quantitative Economics, Transnational, Cultural and Community Studies, Urban Planning and Community Development
Doctoral: Computational Sciences, Counseling Psychology, Exercise and Health Sciences, Health Promotion Science
Now in its 61st year, the RSP was established by NEBHE in 1957-58 to fulfill the purposes of the congressionally authorized New England Higher Education Compact forged to expand educational opportunities for New England residents and share higher education resources. The RSP helps the individual New England states avoid the high costs of establishing and operating academic programs already offered in the six-state region.
[ssba]