Out-of-state students attending Eastern Kentucky University are getting some welcome news. The university has announced it is cutting the tuition for out-of-state students by more than 40 percent.
For the 2025-26 academic year, the out-of-state rate at EKU will be $12,000, only slightly more than the in-state rate of just over $10,000.
Dan Hendrickson is the associate vice president of student success and engagement at EKU. He said the school leaders want to appeal to students outside of the region who might be interested in special programs.
“Because we wanted to be an institution that is a destination for students, a destination for students that are looking to attend some of the more niche programs that we have like aviation or forensic sciences, nursing, things like that,” Hendrickson said.
He said the school wants to expand its reach.
“The spring 2025 graduating class, we had over 42 of the states represented. We have a lot of students from really, all over the United States that come to EKU, and this is really a way to provide that pathway to more of those students, to make it certainly more accessible and more feasible from a financial standpoint.”
EKU previously offered an out-of-state discount to students who met a specific GPA requirement. For Fall 2024, EKU experienced an 8 percent increase in out-of-state new freshmen.
Data from the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education highlights how minimizing the cost of attendance empowers students to graduate sooner and with significantly less debt.
According to U.S. News & World Report, the national average cost to out-of-state students pursuing a degree at a public university in the United States is just over $24,500.
