A university drops out of state tuition

[Yanji]

I've got mixed feelings on this, especially as a Mississippi resident and native. The fact that JSU has a lot of improving to do aside, where is this cost reduction going to be made up? The money has to come from somewhere..

Their enrollment has been plummeting, and B&M schools have a lot of fixed costs. It's better to put bums in seats at half price instead of not filling them at all. Otherwise, they'd need to cut staff/faculty, student services, sell property (not worth much), raise fees, or other things detrimental to students. It's one reason a lot of small schools invest heavily in online programs, because they both cost less to deliver and there's few geographical barriers. Even some big and highly-respected institutions, like Mizzou, have had to invest in online programs because of plummeting enrollment, which threatens their AAU and other affiliations.

Having said that, I worked in Jackson for most of 2018, (obviously, I don't know nearly as much as you Mississippi natives) and I seriously doubt there are more than a few hundred out-of-state students studying at JSU. I can't see any reason for a student from a neighboring state, let alone the rest of the country, to come to Jackson to study at JSU. Perhaps there may be an uptick in international students. Anyway, this decision says more about their difficult situation than anything.