Oklahoma State University exploring ways to drastically reduce student debt

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State University aims to graduate 60% of its students debt free beginning in 2026 and increase graduation rates by 10% under a new strategic plan announced Wednesday.

President Kayse Shrum and Senior Vice President Jerome Loughridge unveiled the plan, which they said would convert OSU into the country's "preeminent land-grant university."

OSU, the state's second-largest college, will orient itself toward boosting enrollment, student retention, limiting student debt and growing Oklahoma's workforce, particularly in STEM — science, technology, engineering and math.

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By fall 2025, OSU will create eight new bachelor of technology degrees, three new bachelor of science degrees, eight new non-degree certificate programs in "mission-critical" areas of the economy and eight new online program offerings.

Workforce development is a top policy priority for Gov. Kevin Stitt and Allison Garrett, chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education.

"Our state’s workforce needs to grow at the same pace as our businesses," Stitt said in his State of the State address this year. "That means we have to be bold. Our entire education system must be aligned and motivated to meet this challenge head on."

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Only 26% of Oklahoma adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, well below the national average of 33%, according to U.S. Census data.

OSU intends to enroll a minimum of 5,000 new first-year students by fall 2026, expand scholarships to alleviate financial hardship and by 2027 grow the six-year graduation rate by 10%.

Retaining and graduating more students is crucial to meeting Oklahoma's workforce needs, said Loughridge, who helped direct development of the strategic plan.

"We believe that no one needs graduates more than Oklahoman needs them," Loughridge said in a broadcast announcement Wednesday.

OSU had a 65% six-year graduation rate in 2016, the most recent data available from the university. Just over half of new freshmen graduated in four years in 2018. The university enrolled 4,643 new freshmen this year.

With a plan to "scholarship like we've never scholarshipped before," Loughridge said the university aims to graduate 60% of students debt free starting in fall 2026 and, for those with debt, to limit it to no more than $3,000 per year, or $12,000 after a four-year degree.

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This follows a national trend of relieving student loan burdens. About 40 million Americans, of the 43 million with student loans, are expected to benefit from President Joe Biden's one-time student loan forgiveness plan, which would eliminate $10,000 or $20,000 depending on a person's income and whether they received a Pell Grant in college.

OSU's general education courses will be realigned to solving "grand challenges" rather than being "something of an academic hodgepodge," Loughridge said.

The university identified four priority areas of enhancing human and animal health, powering the world with sustainable and responsible energy, innovating to nourish the world and leading in aerospace.

College of Arts and Sciences Dean Keith Garbutt said general education courses are "every bit as important" as degree-specific classes, but their purpose must be clearer.

"If we reimagine general education, we can move from a place where, let's be honest, students don't necessarily understand why they take their general education courses," Garbutt said in the announcement broadcast. "... The skills that come out of general education are the ones that help you as you move forward in your life. Your degree is going to get you your first job or into your graduate school, but your general education — the skills of communication, the ability to interact with other people — those are going to be the things that allow you to proceed and succeed in your profession."

Shrum said the plan reinforces the land-grant institution's fundamental commitment to serve societal needs.

Enhancing the land-grant mission has been a leading priority for Shrum since she was tapped in 2021 to succeed longtime OSU President Burns Hargis.

Land grant universities were created through the Morrill Act of 1862 with free allotments of federally donated land, much of which had been taken from Native American tribes, according to the U.S. National Archives.

These colleges emphasized studies in agriculture and mechanics and were founded to educate working-class Americans. OSU was founded Dec. 25, 1890, at the site of its flagship Stillwater campus.

"The goal was to provide those in rural and agricultural areas with an education relevant to everyday life," Shrum said. "Today is about building on our impactful legacy with uncommon preeminence for the common good."

Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. Have a story idea for Nuria? She can be reached at nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @NuriaMKeel. Support Nuria’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Want to avoid student loan debt? OSU initiative plans to fix that