MSU is producing a five-year “Vision Statement.” The goal is to plan and develop three university-wide priorities: Recruitment, Retention, and Quality Enhancements. “All of these priorities are essential to providing access and success for our students.” My focus below is on recruitment of out-of-state students. Here is the context.

Across America, states pay an ever-declining proportion of university expenses. For some schools, it’s a pittance; some states pay less than ten percent of a student’s costs. Those knowledgeable about universities’ finances may lament this shift, but few will argue its occurrence.

Given the increasing importance of higher ed to one’s life chances, this is a major problem, especially to families of modest means. We in Montana, however, are twice lucky.

First, our university system is relatively efficient, i.e., our cost per student is low. Wyoming, for example, expends 1.6 times as much per student as Montana, while Washington spends almost twice.

Second, given the demonstrated quality of education our students receive, MSU is an extraordinarily good place for out-of-state students. And these out-of-staters subsidize those from Montana. Here’s the data.

MSU Bozeman currently spends approximately $8,500 per student per year. The State appropriation in FY03 is $4,645 per resident student. The tuition for a resident student is $3,256. So, the net on a resident student is –$599. On average, we need to find another $600 for each Montana student admitted.

Nonresident tuition is $11,731. Therefore, for each out-of-state student, MSU nets, on average, $3,231. This covers the shortfall for about five resident students.

Since political funding is in serious decline, there is an increasing premium on entrepreneurship in the academic arena. Clearly, this means that funded research, for example from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, foundations, and corporations, is ever more important. These research grants pay substantial overhead on each grant, up to 41 percent. MSU is projecting $92 million in grant expenditures in fiscal year 2004 and expects this to top $130 million in 2009. Ten years ago, MSU had $30.6 million in grant expenditures.

MSU’s five-year plan includes increasing the proportion of nonresidents to one-third of the student body. How might we attract full-fare undergraduates, those who pay far more than it costs to educate them? Here is a possibility. Bozeman is one of America’s most attractive towns, especially for those who love the outdoors and our culture. We can capitalize on this.

Nearly every good high school in America offers Advanced Placement courses taught by specially certified teachers. Let’s design a program to attract AP teachers here for a summer educational experience. Each would receive credits from MSU. This would count toward their advanced training and hence increase their salary.

Here’s an example that can be expanded to out-of-state teachers. Last summer, Bozeman High School Social Studies teacher Walker Asserson was FREE’s DeCrane Summer Fellow. He attended and helped with our seminars for federal judges and law professors. He heard and interacted with scholars from top-tier universities, such as Tom Schelling of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and the University of Maryland, Phil Heymann of Harvard Law School, Eugene Skolnikoff from MIT’s political science department, Robert Thompson, former dean of agriculture at Purdue and former director of rural development at the World Bank, and equally qualified MSU professors like Dave Sands and Bill Costerton.

During the summer, Walker used the materials from our conferences to develop lesson plans for his philosophy students. In the process, he earned seven graduate credits from MSU. The University also built its relationship with the local K-12 system.

Expanding this program to include AP teachers from target-rich out-of-state schools would expose them to some of the University’s excellent academic resources. When these high-school teachers return to Seattle, Denver, or Bethesda, they will have highly positive feelings toward MSU. They will very likely recommend their students consider MSU. This will help the University attract well-prepared, out-of-state freshmen.

Entrepreneurs discover niches and mobilize resources to capitalize on their potential. As the environment for higher ed changes, and state funding dwindles, entrepreneurial talent will increasingly contribute to success. The above example is merely one of a great many possibilities for improving opportunities for Montana kids to earn a degree and prosper.