Springfield, IL  (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – A pilot program that offers select out-of-state residents in-state tuition is being expanded at the University of Illinois Springfield.

In 2023, the U of I System initiated a three-year program to offer UIS resident-tuition rates to students in St. Charles and St. Louis counties in Missouri, which includes much of the St. Louis metropolitan area. It also extended the offer to students in Scott County, Iowa, which includes the Davenport area.

The expansion, approved Thursday by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, adds Lake, LaPorte and Porter counties in Indiana; Clinton and Muscatine counties in Iowa; and Marion County in Missouri.

According to a news release from UIS, undergraduate students from the newly added counties will see a nearly 50% reduction in tuition. The current in-state undergraduate tuition rate at UIS is $9,957 per academic year, compared to $19,995 for out-of-state students based on full-time enrollment of 15 credit hours a semester.

The U of I System says the move was made so UIS can remain competitive as other universities expand their footprint in a similar manner.

The in-state tuition program applies only to on-campus undergraduate students at UIS, not at the other two U of I System universities in Urbana and Chicago.