BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — A State Senate bill is creating the possibility for Northeastern State University’s Broken Arrow Campus to become a 4-year university if it’s passed.

“Broken Arrow is one of the largest, if not the largest, city in the country that does not have the ability to offer a public 4-year university and our citizens actually voted for NSU-BA campus to be a 4-year university, so this has been in the works for years and years,” said Broken Arrow Mayor Debra Wimpee.

Mayor Wimpee said Senate Bill 701, which would allow the campus to become a 4-year university, is a big deal for Broken Arrow.

“Our city has grown exponentially and there is no reason a city our size should not have a 4-year public university and be able to provide 1st and 2nd year courses for students.”

The bill would allow the Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education to offer lower division courses at Northeastern State University’s Broken Arrow Campus in addition to the upper division and graduate-level courses the school already offers.

Senator John Haste of Broken Arrow, who introduced the bill, said in a statement:

“Expanding course availability at NSU-Broken Arrow is a critical step in ensuring that students in our community have the academic resources they need without having to travel long distances. By giving the State Regents the ability to offer a full spectrum of undergraduate and graduate courses, we’re providing more flexibility and opportunities for students to earn their degrees and strengthen Oklahoma’s workforce.”

Mayor Wimpee said that if the bill passes, the change wouldn’t be automatic since various logistics still need to be sorted out to make the NSU-BA campus a four-year university.

“Unfortunately, we lose a lot of our students. Even if they don’t stay at OU or OSU or TU, they completely leave our state and if we can make NSU-BA an actual 4-year campus where they can get those first and second year courses, then we can retain some of our workforce in our city.”

During Tuesday’s Broken Arrow City Council meeting, the city councilors passed a resolution in support of State Senate Bill 701.

“My top priority as president is to get the Broken Arrow campus opened up,” said NSU President Rod Hanley.

“In Broken Arrow, we are about 23,000 bachelors’ degrees behind the national average and having a 4-year university has the opportunity to have the impact on the workforce where we can create new jobs in a thriving and growing environment is what education systems like Northeastern State University is all about,” said NSU’s vice president of university relations Danny Mabery.

State Senate Bill 701 will now proceed to the Senate floor. If passed, it will then move to the House.