Eastern Michigan University officials hope an 11 percent increase in the financial aid budget will do two things — boost enrollment and attract students from a wider geographic area.

The board approved the request unanimously and without comment, increasing the financial aid budget to $33.7 million for the 2011-12 school year.

Most EMU students, nearly 90 percent, now hail from Michigan, and the majority of those are from Wayne County, a statistical profile of the university released Tuesday showed. Officials hope the increased aid, along with their decision to keep tuition flat for this academic year will help change that.

Bernice Lindke, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, said the university is committed to attracting more transfer students and "students who reside outside of our historical recruitment area," Lindke said. The additional financial aid reflects that commitment, she said.

The breakdown of financial aid for 2011-12 is as follows: scholarships, awards and grants, nearly $21 million; athletic grants in aid; $6.9 million; required federal and state matches, $1 million; and graduate student aid, nearly $4.8 million, the university said in a press release.

Total academic and service-based scholarships and awards were increased by more than $2.8 million, or about 15 percent, while athletics awards remained nearly the same, decreasing by $61,000. Total men's athletic awards are $2.6 million, and total women's awards are $2.3 million.

Among other findings in the 2010 student profile:

• More than half the student body, 58.46 percent, is female.
• The average age for an undergraduate student is 24.26, and 33.16 for a graduate student.
• The bulk of the student body is white — 66.41 percent. The next biggest group is black students at 19.98 percent.
• Only 4.37 percent of students hail from states other than Michigan and Ohio; students from Ohio make up 3.47 percent of the student body. Ohio students are charged the in-state tuition rate.
• Forty-seven percent of students come from Wayne County, with 22 percent coming from Washtenaw County and 11 percent from Oakland County.
• About 18 percent of the student body lives on campus, with another 37 percent living in the area off-campus but nearby. About 45 percent are commuter students.
• Nearly 80 percent live with 50 miles of campus.
• Ninety-one percent of freshmen are enrolled full-time. Eighty-three percent of sophomores are enrolled full-time. That number slides to 72.20 percent for juniors and 59.40 percent for seniors.
• The university has 61 students who come from Ann Arbor Huron High School, the university’s top partner high school, while 48 come from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School. Eighteen students come from Ypsilanti High School.

David Jesse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidjesse@annarbor.com or at 734-623-2534.