This file aerial photograph from October 2015 shows the downtown area of Baldwin City at center with the Baker University campus to the north, at top.

In what Baker University officials are calling a “win-win” partnership with the state of Kansas, the university will start offering tuition discounts to state employees and their dependents.

The agreement makes available to state employees a 20 percent tuition discount at Baker’s School of Professional and Graduate Studies and 10 percent discounts for graduate programs at the School of Education and the School of Nursing master of science in nursing program in Topeka. Additionally, state employees and their dependents are eligible for a $2,000 annual scholarship for undergraduate School of Education and College of Arts and Sciences programs at Baker’s Baldwin City campus.

Jake Bucher, dean of Baker’s School of Professional and Graduate Studies, said the university pursued the agreement after taking note of the number of state employees who were enrolled in graduates studies at the university’s satellite campuses in Overland Park, Topeka, Wichita, Lee’s Summit and Kansas City, Mo.

On Baker’s side, the agreement also reflects the school’s pride in being the first university founded in Kansas and the long relationship it has had with the state, Bucher said.

“Baker and Kansas have been growing together for 150 years, and we look forward to continuing serving this great state,” he said. “The state, like all organizations, is looking for opportunities to expand employee benefits. It’s a win-win for us and the state.”

Bucher and Jeanne Mott, Baker senior director of financial aid, said it was too early to gauge the effect of the agreement on enrollment. The school would start getting a sense in August when students start enrolling in graduate programs, Bucher said.

As for the undergraduate scholarships, they wouldn’t be available until the spring 2017 semester, Mott said.

Kansas high school graduates are already eligible for tuition aid through a state comprehensive grant fund when enrolling at Baker or the state’s other private colleges. Mott said students who meet all criteria are eligible for up to $3,500 in tuition aid in an academic year.

That aid does help make Baker more competitive with the state’s Regents universities, Mott said. Baker’s tuition for 12 to 18 hours per semester is $9,190, according to the university’s website. That compares to the $4,789 standard rate tuition in-state Kansas University students will pay for the 2016-2017 academic year.

Very few Baker students are asked to shoulder all their tuition costs, Mott said. The majority of students receive talent, athletic or academic scholarships or other aid, she said.

The university’s financial aid efforts have contributed to what looks to be a promising year for new student enrollment at Baker. Kevin Kropf, Baker senior director of admissions, said it is anticipated the university will have about 230 incoming freshmen on campus next month.

That would be a significant bounce-back from last year, when Baker enrolled 184 new freshman, a decline Kropf in part attributed to a smaller-than-normal number of high school graduates in Kansas in 2015.

The university’s enrollment of new transfer students also looks strong, Kropf said.

“We’ve done a great job this year,” he said.