When Lindsey Schweikert visited her sister, Allison Schweikert, at Ball State University last spring, she fell in love with the school.
However, since that time, the reciprocity agreement that would allow the Western Ohio native to have Indiana tuition at Ball State has been canceled.
The agreement that allowed students from Butler, Darke, Mercer, Preble, Shelby and Van Wert counties in Ohio to attend the university without paying out-of-state tuition, ended at the beginning of the Spring Semester.
Chris Munchel, Ball State's Director of Admissions and Orientation, said students enrolling into Ball State will no longer receive the benefits of the reciprocity that existed between certain Indiana and Ohio universities. The reciprocity allowed Ball State, along with ten other institutions, to give their in-state tuition rates to students who were from specific out-of-state counties.
The decision to end the reciprocity was decided by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education and the Ohio Board of Regents. This decision was based on an unequal amount of students leaving their home states.
Munchel said it was approximately a 12 to 1 ratio of Ohio students coming to Indiana, and Indiana students going to Ohio. The reason for the drastic difference was mostly based on recruitment, he said. While Ball State has targeted their recruitment on those six Ohio counties, universities in Ohio, such as Wright State, have not done the same, Munchel added.
"We treat those six Ohio counties the same as in-state and we try to visit every high school," Munchel said.
Munchel said the two state boards are looking into bringing the reciprocity back, and students who came in under the reciprocity will continue to receive in-state tuition until they graduate or leave Ball State.
For Allison Schweikert, the in-state tuition was what sold her on attending Ball State.
"Ball State was the first college I received any information from," Allison Schweikert said. "I never even thought of going out-of-state until I heard they gave in-state tuition."
Allison Schweikert said she would love it if her sister could attend Ball State, but she feels that it's unfair for her sister to not receive the reciprocity as she currently does.
"I applied to Ball State in case they grandfather me in," Lindsey Schweikert said. "But my parents won't let me attend because the expense is so much higher without the in-state tuition. Ball State is the only school I want to attend."
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