In recent years, Oklahoma colleges have served a growing number of students from other states. At the University of Oklahoma, a majority of freshmen are non-residents for the second consecutive year, and a near-majority of OU freshmen were from other states or countries in prior years.

State appropriations to Oklahoma colleges and universities subsidize those out-of-state students, at least indirectly. As a result, critics worry that Oklahoma taxpayers are effectively subsidizing workforce development in other states.

But a college leader defended that practice during a budget hearing held by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education this week.

“We’re not just educating Oklahomans,” Sean Burrage, chancellor and chief executive officer for Oklahoma’s state system of higher education, told lawmakers. “We’re importing talent and growing our workforce with individuals who choose to stay and build their lives in Oklahoma. No other state entity, private or public, can say they are importing workforce at this rate or at this scale.”

Data presented at the hearing indicated that most non-resident students leave Oklahoma following graduation, reducing the economic benefit to Oklahoma.

Within one year of graduation from an Oklahoma college, nearly half of non-Oklahoma students have left the state, often returning to their home states. Data presented by Burrage showed that 51 percent of non-resident students remain in Oklahoma within a year of college graduation.

Within five years of graduation, 37.7 percent of non-resident graduates remain in Oklahoma. In contrast, 83.5 percent of Oklahoma residents who graduate from an Oklahoma college remain in the state five years after graduation.

Many of the out-of-state students attending Oklahoma colleges are from neighboring Texas, but that is not the only state contributing to Oklahoma’s college enrollment.

“We know that both the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University do a great job of recruiting and obviously retaining Texans,” Burrage said. “We also know that Oklahoma State University, I believe, does a great job of recruiting California.”

The dramatic surge in out-of-state students at Oklahoma colleges, particularly at the University of Oklahoma, has been viewed in part as a revenue-boosting effort by university officials since out-of-state students pay significantly more than Oklahoma students—at least on paper.

At OU, resident students living on campus face an average of $31,733 combined in direct costs, including tuition, fees, books and supplies, and housing costs, according to OU, and that figure rises to $38,999 when “indirect” costs such as transportation and loan fees are included.

But OU reports that non-resident students from other states who live on campus pay an even higher amount: an average of $23,490 in tuition and $49,853 in combined tuition, fees, books and supplies, and housing costs.

Out-of-state and international students have accounted for 71 percent of freshman-enrollment growth at OU since 2014.

However, Burrage indicated that colleges may not reap as much financial benefit from out-of-state enrollment as some officials might expect.

“There’s a strategy at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University: The tuition goes up, but then they discount a large portion of it, depending on how good of an out-of-state student you are,” Burrage said. “But the amount they’re paying is always more than an Oklahoman would pay, even with the big discount. It’s a discount strategy. It’s just part of the marketing plan.”

At one point during the hearing, state Sen. Adam Pugh, an Edmond Republican who chairs the Senate appropriations subcommittee on education, noted that college officials are requesting “a 34 percent increase” in state appropriations this year.

State Sen. Jonathan Wingard, R-Ada, noted that Oklahomans do not see much direct benefit from increased state appropriations to state colleges and universities.

“They take taxpayer money and then turn around and raise tuition costs,” Wingard said. “I think a lot of Oklahomans have issues with that.”

While Oklahoma State University has not raised tuition in recent years, officials at the University of Oklahoma have increased tuition for five straight years, regardless of the level of state appropriation provided to the school.

State college officials routinely defend that practice, saying Oklahoma colleges remain more affordable than universities in many other states.

But a recent report indicates that state colleges and universities are out of reach for many Oklahomans.

A 2025 report by finance site WalletHub, “States with the Most and Least Student Debt,” showed that Oklahoma is the state with the 13th-highest level of student debt. In a related finding, WalletHub found the home ownership rate of Oklahomans between the ages of 25 and 34 is in the bottom half of the country, ranking 28th, despite homes being far more affordable in Oklahoma than in most states.

Only four states had a higher share of student-loan balances that are past due or in default than Oklahoma, according to the WalletHub report.

During the budget hearing, Burrage noted that over 400,000 Oklahomans have attended college and earned credits without getting a degree.

While college officials defended their budget request as a tool of economic development, arguing that as more people in the state obtain college degrees, economic outcomes will improve, data presented during the hearing indicated that Oklahoma’s college system has produced far fewer in-state degree holders than their counterparts across the nation.

Citing U.S. Census data, Burrage said 29.3 percent of Oklahomans have a bachelor’s degree or higher. That’s a lower rate than all but six other states. The national average is 36.8 percent. 

“That puts us at a competitive disadvantage when companies are deciding where to locate or expand,” Burrage said. “Businesses are looking for states with a deep talent pool, and right now other states are outpacing us.”