Wichita ? A new program designed to persuade Wichita’s students and residents to stay home and attend Wichita State University has paid dividends.

The university has given nearly $970,000 to 550 Wichita freshmen, transfer students or first-year, part-time students.

Two years ago, President Donald Beggs decided the university should offer $2,000 to first-time, full-time students and $1,000 to part-time students to keep Wichita people at the school, bolster a community improvement effort and increase enrollment at Wichita State.

The number of Sedgwick County residents attending the university increased from 8,874 in 2005 to 9,265 this school year, up 4.4 percent. That boosted Wichita State’s total enrollment from 14,076 to 14,298.

The scholarships were the main reason for the increases, said Ronald Kopita, Wichita State’s vice president for campus life and university relations.

Everybody who asked for a scholarship this year received one, Kopita said, even though the university had budgeted only $550,000 for the first year. University officials have budgeted $970,000 for the 2007 year and are thinking about offering the scholarships for two years, rather than only one.

One of the students who accepted the scholarship was Arianna Meyer, an 18-year-old freshman who wanted to stay in Wichita and was glad to take some of the financial burden off her parents.

“It also made me feel more secure financially,” she said.

Meyer said hearing about the scholarship offer solidified her inclination to go to Wichita State.

“Paying for college is really hard,” she said. “When I heard about it, I thought, ‘Wow, that’s an opportunity.’ It was a real incentive.”

The money for the scholarships comes from the 1.5 mill property tax that Sedgwick County levies to support Wichita State.