Kent State cuts tuition for some Pa., W. Va. students

Staff report

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Kent State University is reducing tuition this fall by more than $6,000 annually for residents of Western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia when they attend one of its regional campuses.

The tuition will decrease across the board to reflect an 80 percent reduction in the surcharge normally assessed to out-of-state students. For example, a full-time student taking upper division classes, which are currently $13,478 a year, now will pay $7,324.

“This reduction in tuition will allow students just outside our state lines an opportunity to take advantage of our world-class resources,” said President Lester A. Lefton.

The reduction is available to all permanent residents of northern West Virginia who reside in Brooke, Hancock and Ohio counties. Western Pennsylvania residents in Mercer, Lawrence, Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Crawford and Erie counties also will benefit.

In the past, the University Award Scholarship Program, which provided support for 50 percent of the out-of-state surcharge, was available to qualifying students. However, the scholarship mainly targeted full-time students.

“The Regional Campuses, especially the Ashtabula, Trumbull, Salem and East Liverpool campuses, are in very close proximity to these regions,” said Dean Wanda Thomas, who is interim executive dean for Kent State’s Regional Campuses. “It makes a lot of sense for students from these regions to take advantage of our campuses, versus having to drive farther to attend a school in their own state.”