Not unique in having curricula built around co-ops. Drexel and Cincinnati also have that.
Tulsa may have been trying to follow the USC playbook by offering big NM-based scholarships to raise its student profile (USC’s NM-based scholarships are no longer as big since it has succeeded in becoming a desired school for many high end students, unlike a few decades ago). But it took more than a few years for that to work at USC.