Maricopa Community Colleges

Public Stewardship

Online Policy Manual

APPENDICES - STUDENTS

S-1 - Residency for Tuition Purposes

Implementation
Definitions
Criteria for Determining Residency
Alien In-State Student Status
Presumptions Relating to Student Status
Proof of Residency

All students are classified for tuition purposes under one of the following residency classifications:

  1. Maricopa County resident
  2. Out-of-County resident
  3. Out-of-State resident (including F-1 non-immigrant students)
  4. Unclassified, Out-of-County, Out-of-State (1-6 credit hours system-wide)

Residency for tuition purposes is determined in accordance with state law (A.R.S. §§15-1801 et seq.) and regulations of the Maricopa Community Colleges Governing Board. State law now requires that a person who is not a citizen or legal resident of the United States or who is without lawful immigration status is not entitled to classification as an in-state student pursuant to A.R.S. §15-1802 or entitled to classification as a county resident pursuant to A.R.S. §15-1802.01.* All of the Maricopa Community Colleges are subject to the above statutes and regulations. Students who have questions about their residency should contact the Office of Admissions and Records for clarification.

*La ley ahora require que una persona que no sea ciudadano/a o residente legal de los estados unidos o que esté sin estado de inmigaración legal, no tiene derecho a clasificación como estudiante dentro del estado de acuerdo a la sección A.R.S. §15-1802 o derecho a clasificación como residente del condado de acuerdo a la sección A.R.S. §15-1802.01.

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Implementation

  1. Domicile status must be established before the student registers and pays fees. It is the student's responsibility to register under the correct domicile status.

  2. Enforcement of domicile requirements shall be the responsibility of the Chancellor of the Maricopa Community Colleges. The Chancellor has charged the Director of Admissions and Records or other designee at each college to make the initial domicile classification. In determining a student's classification, the college may consider all evidence, written or oral, presented by the student and any other information received from any source which is relevant to determining classification. The college may request written sworn statements or sworn testimony of the student.

  3. A request for review of the initial classification may be made to a district review committee. The request must be in writing, signed by the student and accompanied by a sworn statement of all facts relevant to the matter. The request must be filed with the admissions officer of the college within ten days of receipt of notification of classification as a non-resident. Failure to properly file a request for review within the prescribed time limit constitutes a waiver of review for the current enrollment period. The decision of the review committee shall be final.

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Definitions

"Armed Forces of the United States" means the army, the navy, the air force, the marine corps, the coast guard, the commissioned corps of the United States public health services, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association, the National Guard, and any military reserve unit of any branch of the armed forces of the United States.

"Continuous attendance" means enrollment at one of Maricopa Community Colleges as a full-time or part-time student for a normal academic year since the beginning of the period for which continuous attendance is claimed. Students need not attend summer sessions or other such intersession beyond the normal academic year in order to maintain continuous attendance.

"County resident" means an individual who has lived in the county for at least fifty (50) days before the first day of classes of the semester.

"Domicile" means a person's true, fixed, and permanent home and place of habitation. It is the place where he or she intends to remain and to which he or she expects to return when he or she leaves without intending to establish a new domicile elsewhere.

"Emancipated person" means a person who is neither under a legal duty of service to his parent nor entitled to the support of such parent under the laws of this state.

"Full-time student" means one who registers for at least twelve (12) credit hours per semester.

"Part-time student" means one who registers for fewer than twelve (12) credit hours per semester.

"Parent" means a person's father, or mother, or if one parent has custody, that parent, or if there is no surviving parent or the whereabouts of the parents are unknown, then a guardian of an unemancipated person if there are not circumstances indicating that such guardianship was created primarily for the purpose of conferring the status of an in-state student on such unemancipated person.

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Criteria for Determining Residency

In-State Student Status

  1. Except as otherwise provided in this article no person having a domicile elsewhere than in this state is eligible for classification as an in-state student for tuition purposes.

  2. A person is not entitled to classification as an in-state student until he or she is domiciled in this state for one year preceding the official starting day of the semester, except that a person whose domicile is in this state is entitled to classification as an in-state student if:

    1. His or her parent's domicile is in this state and his parent is allowed to claim him or her as an exemption for state and federal tax purposes.

    2. He or she is an employee of an employer which transferred him or her to this state for employment purposes or he or she is the spouse of such employee.

    3. He or she is an employee of a school district in this state and is under contract to teach on a full-time basis, or is employed as a full-time non-certified classroom aide, at a school within that school district. For purposes of this paragraph, he or she is eligible for classification as an in-state student only for courses necessary to complete the requirements for certification by the state board of education to teach in a school district in this state. No member of his or her family is eligible for classification as an in-state student if he or she is eligible for classification as an instate student pursuant to this paragraph.
  3. The domicile of an unemancipated person is that of such person's parent.

  4. An unemancipated person who remains in this state when such person's parent, who had been domiciled in this state, removes from this state is entitled to classification as an in-state student until attainment of the degree for which currently enrolled, so long as such person maintains continuous attendance.

  5. A person who is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States and who is stationed in this state pursuant to military orders or who is the spouse or a dependent child of a person who is a member of the armed forces of the United States and who is stationed in this state pursuant to military orders is entitled to classification as an in-state student. The student does not lose in-state student classification while in continuous attendance toward the degree for which he or she is currently enrolled.

  6. A person who is a member of the armed forces of the United States or the spouse or dependent of a member of the armed forces of the United States in entitled to classification as an in-state student if the member of the armed forces has claimed this state as the person's state of home record for at least twelve consecutive months before the member of the armed forces, spouse or dependent enrolls in a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona Board of Regents or a community college under the jurisdiction of community college district governing board. For purposes of this subsection, the requirement that a person be domiciled in this state for one year before enrollment to qualify for in-state student classification does not apply.

  7. A person who is honorably discharged from the armed forces of the United States shall be granted immediate classification as an in-state student on honorable discharge from the armed forces and, while in continuous attendance toward the degree for which currently enrolled, does not lose in-state student classification if the person has met all of the following requirements:

    1. Declared Arizona as the person's legal residence with the person's branch of service at least one year prior to discharge from the armed forces.

    2. Demonstrated objective evidence of intent to be a resident of Arizona, which for the purposes of this section, include at least one of the following:

      1. An Arizona driver's license.
      2. Arizona motor vehicle registration.
      3. Employment history in Arizona.
      4. Arizona voter registration.
      5. Transfer of major banking services to Arizona.
      6. Change of permanent address on all pertinent records.
      7. Other materials of whatever kind or source relevant to domicile or residency status.

    3. Filed an Arizona income tax return with the Department of Revenue during the previous tax year.
  8. A person who is a member of an Indian tribe recognized by the United States Department of the Interior whose reservation land lies in the state and extends into another state and who is a resident of the reservation, is entitled to classification as an in-state student.

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Alien In-State Student Status

  1. An alien shall be classified as an in-state student if the alien can establish that on or before the official starting date of the semester the alien meets one of the following situations:

    1. Has been domiciled in the state for at least one year immediately preceding the official starting date of the semester.

    2. Is domiciled in this state and:
      • The parent is entitled to claim the alien as an exemption for federal and state tax purposes.

    3. The alien is domiciled in this state and the alien is:
      • An employee of an employer which transferred the alien to this state for employment purposes,
        or
      • The spouse of such an employee.
    4. Qualifies as an in-state refugee student by virtue of having been granted refugee status in accordance with all applicable laws of the United States and having met all other requirements for domicile in this state;
  2. In establishing domicile, the alien must not hold a visa that prohibits establishing domicile in this state. After meeting other residency requirements, students holding valid, unexpired visas in the following categories may be classified as in-state students:
  1. Students who hold visas other than those listed above, or who were issued a visa of a type other than those of the foregoing categories and have submitted an I-485 to Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) or have been out of status for at least one year, may establish domicile by complying with the paragraphs A1, A2 or A3 above.

In the event a student who is not a United States citizen intends to establish domicile under paragraphs A. 2.a. (dependent of parent -- parent domiciled in Arizona), the student's parent in order to establish domicile, must hold a valid, unexpired visa in one of the categories listed in paragraph B. above. To be eligible to establish domicile, the parent must hold a valid visa of a type as listed in paragraph B.

  1. A person's status as an undocumented or illegal alien shall not preclude that person from being able to qualify as an in-state student on the same terms as other persons.
  2. An alien is entitled to classification as an in-state refugee student if such person has been granted refugee status in accordance with all applicable laws of the United States and has met all other requirements for domicile.

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Presumptions Relating to Student Status

Unless there is evidence to the contrary, the registering authority of the community college or university at which a student is registering will presume that:

  1. No emancipated person has established a domicile in this state while attending any educational institution in this state as a full-time student, as such status is defined by community college district governing board or the Arizona Board of Regents, in the absence of a clear demonstration to the contrary.
  2. Once established, a domicile is not lost by mere absence unaccompanied by intention to establish a new domicile.
  3. A person who has been domiciled in this state immediately before becoming a member of the Armed Forces of the United States shall not lose in-state status by reason of such person's presence in any other state or country while a member of the Armed Forces of the United States.

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Proof of Residency

When a student's residency is questioned, the following proof will be required:

  1. In-State Residency
    1. An affidavit signed by the student must be filed with the person responsible for verifying residency
    2. Any of the following may be used in determining a student's domicile in Arizona:
      1. Income tax report
      2. Voter registration
      3. Automobile registration
      4. Driver's license
      5. Place of graduation from high school
      6. Source of financial support
      7. Dependency as indicated on federal income tax return
      8. Ownership of real property
      9. Notarized statement of landlord and/or employer
      10. Bank accounts
      11. Other relevant information
  2. County Residency
    1. An affidavit signed by the student must be filed with the person responsible for verifying domicile to prove continuous residency in a county for fifty (50) days, and

    2. Any of the following may be used to determine a student's county residency:

      1. Notarized statements of landlord and/or employer
      2. County voter registration
      3. Source of financial support
      4. Place of graduation from high school
      5. Ownership of real property
      6. Bank accounts
      7. Other relevant information

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Amended by the Administrative Regulation approval process on August 18, 2008

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