In most if not all states, in-state students receive a substantially subsidized tuition rate while out-of-state students pay quite a bit more. That’s the case in North Carolina, which puts a limit on the percentage of out-of-staters each school is allowed to have, with a monetary penalty for going over.

That has led to a minor problem at UNC-Wilmington, a popular school because of its proximity to the ocean. It has recently enrolled too many out-of-staters and therefore faces the funding penalty. What to do? In today’s Martin Center article, Ashlynn Warta examines that question.

She concludes that as a business move, UNCW should continue enrolling those out-of-staters:

In any case, UNCW’s move doesn’t appear to have been an unwise one. Data show that N.C. taxpayers are not funding non-resident education, that tuition is high enough to cover those costs, and that the university has room for more students. The only possible question is whether housing is sufficient. However, as long as N.C. taxpayer dollars are not funding housing projects designed exclusively for the benefit of OOS students, there doesn’t appear to be a true issue there either.