The New England Board of Higher Education’s program provided 9,293 New England residents with an estimated total savings of $53 million on their 2011-12 out-of-state tuition bills. The average savings for a full-time RSP student ...]]>

This academic year marks the third consecutive year of record-high enrollments in the New England Regional Student Program (RSP), Tuition Break.

The New England Board of Higher Education’s program provided 9,293 New England residents with an estimated total savings of $53 million on their 2011-12 out-of-state tuition bills. The average savings for a full-time RSP student was $6,900. Meanwhile, the region’s public colleges received nearly $62 million in 2011-12 tuition revenue from incoming RSP students.

Enrollment at bachelor’s degree-granting institutions accounted for 51% of this year’s RSP enrollment, and increased by 4% over last year. The 10 most popular RSP bachelor’s degree programs in 2011-12 were: biomedical engineering, pharmacy, hospitality and tourism management, visual arts, criminology and criminal justice, recreation management, zoology, communications/media, marine sciences and legal studies.

In all, more than 700 undergraduate and graduate degree programs are made available under the RSP by New England’s 80 public colleges and universities, many of them in specialized and high-demand fields of study.

The 2011-12 Annual RSP Report, just released by NEBHE, provides data on RSP enrollment and tuition revenue and savings by state, institution and program.

Wendy A. Lindsay is senior director of NEBHE's Tuition Break (Regional Student Program).