Norwich — Starting with the fall semester, college students from Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York will be able to attend Three Rivers Community College and six other Connecticut community colleges and pay in-state tuition rates, half the cost of out-of-state tuition rates.

The plan, approved by the state Board of Regents for Higher Education in the spring, expands a pilot program started last fall at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield that offered Massachusetts students in-state Connecticut tuition rates. The move jumped Asnuntuck's Massachusetts enrollment by 34 percent last fall and 52 percent this past spring, according to the Board of Regents meeting minutes.

Three Rivers officials hope for similar results, though perhaps a bit slower at the start, for at least Rhode Island student enrollment. And while New York may seem to be a two-plus-hour drive away along congested Interstate 95, Three Rivers already is on the radar for Fishers Island high school students.

Each year during high school spring vacation, Fishers Island sends a busload of high school students to Three Rivers' career fair held in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, said Peg Stroup, director of admissions at Three Rivers.

Steve Finton, acting dean of student services, said applications from the three bordering states already have tripled current enrollment, albeit with low numbers. Three Rivers currently has six students from those states — four from Rhode Island, one each from Massachusetts and New York, a Fishers Island student. So far, 17 others from those states have applied for the fall semester, Finton said.

Three Rivers will hold its fall semester “Super Saturday” registration blitz from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the college. Applicants can register for classes, apply for financial aid, meet with advisers, buy books, take placement English and math tests and have student ID photos taken. Classes begin Aug. 29 for the fall semester.

To help spread the word about the in-state tuition offer, Three Rivers purchased the lists of graduating seniors from Rhode Island high schools in towns near the Connecticut border, Stroup said, and has been sending emails to them throughout the summer.

Three Rivers offers 79 degrees and certificates, including the award-winning nuclear engineering technology degree program, the only one of its kind in New England and one of three in the country. For the nuclear engineering program, Dominion, owner of the Millstone nuclear power station, offers 18 scholarships. Other students who don't receive the scholarship also are enrolled in the program, Finton said.

The 50 percent tuition savings translates to students paying $159 per credit hour or $2,178 per full-time semester of 12 or more credits, Three Rivers officials said.

In addition, Three Rivers for decades has been part of the New England Board of Higher Education, which offers reduced out-of-state tuition for eligible students in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont at $238.50 per credit hour, or $3,247 per full-time semester of 12 or more credits.

“It's good for the state,” Finton said. “It's good for the college, and it's good for the students.”

One incentive for the program is the demographic studies showing expected declines in high school age and college-age students over time. Finton said Three Rivers' enrollment has remained stable at 4,200 students thus far, and hopes the addition of students from bordering states will boost enrollment.

The Board of Regents on March 29 approved expanding the Asnuntuck pilot program to Three Rivers, Quinebaug Valley, Norwalk, Housatonic, Naugatuck Valley and Northwestern community colleges.

“We anticipate that this will encourage students, who are in general commuters, to cross the state borders to attend these colleges,” the Board of Regents minutes stated, “as demonstrated by the Asnuntuck pilot program.”

c.bessette@theday.com