State university system

A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, or a similar entity such as the District of Columbia. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country. Each state supports at least one such system.

State university systems should not be confused with federally funded colleges and universities, at which attendance is limited to military personnel and government employees. Members of foreign militaries and governments also attend some schools. These schools include the United States military academies, Naval Postgraduate School, and military staff colleges.

A state university system normally means a single legal entity and administration, but may consist of several institutions, each with its own identity as a university. Some states—such as California and Texas—support more than one such system.

State universities get subsidies from their states. The amount of the subsidy varies from university to university and state to state, but the effect is to lower tuition costs below that of private universities for students from that state or district. As more and more Americans attend college, and private tuition rates increase well beyond the rate of inflation, admission to state universities is becoming more and more competitive.

Ball State University

Ball State University, commonly referred to as Ball State or BSU, is a public coeducational research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States, with two satellite facilities in Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, industrialists and founders of the Ball Corporation, acquired the foreclosed Indiana Normal Institute for $35,100 and gave the school and surrounding land to Indiana. The Indiana General Assembly accepted it in the spring of 1918, with an initial 235 students enrolling at the Indiana State Normal School – Eastern Division on June 17, 1918.

Ball State is classified by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as a high research activity university and a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. The university is composed of seven academic colleges, including the College of Architecture and Planning, the College of Communication, Information, and Media, the Miller College of Business, and Teachers College. Other institutions include Burris Laboratory School, the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities, and the Center for Business and Economic Research.