Residency and Eligibility

Residency status must be determined upon admission; an applicant must first satisfy the admission requirements. In determining resident student status to charge tuition, the burden of proof lies with the applicant for admission. The institution may request proof that the applicant meets the stipulations for admission.

I. In-State Tuition:

A student’s residency status will be presumed for one full academic year of his/her most previous enrollment unless there is evidence that the student subsequently has abandoned resident status (for example, registering to vote in another state). A student failing to reenroll within one full academic year must establish eligibility upon re-enrollment.

A.  To be eligible for in-state tuition, an applicant must meet one of the following criteria:

1. Applicants must have resided in the State of Alabama for at least 12 continuous months immediately preceding application for admission OR
2. Applicants must be a minor whose parents, parent, or legal guardian of such minor dependent * has resided in the State of Alabama for at least 12 continuous months immediately preceding application for admission. If the parents are legally separated or divorced, residence will be determined  by the residency of the parent to whom the court has granted custody OR
   1. A single individual under 19 years of age and a married individual under 18 years of age, but excludes an individual whose disabilities of non-age have been removed by a court of competent jurisdiction for a reason other than establishing a legal residence in Alabama.
   2. Supporting Person: Either or both parents of the student, if the parents are living together or if the parents are divorced or living separately, then either the parent having legal custody or, if different, the parent providing the greater amount of financial support. If both parents are deceased or neither has legal custody, the supporting person shall mean, in the following order, the legal custodian of the student, the guardian, and the conservator.
3. The institution shall determine eligibility for in-state tuition by evaluating the presence or absence of connections with the State of Alabama. This evaluation shall include the consideration of the following connections:
   1. Payment of Alabama state income taxes as a resident;
   2. Ownership of a residence or other real property in the state and payment of state ad valorem taxes on the residence or property;
   3. Full-time employment in the state;
   4. Residence in the state of a spouse, parents, or children;
   5. Previous periods of residency in the state continuing for one year or more;
   6. * The term “dependent” is defined in accordance with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service code.
   7. Voter registration  and voting in the state; more significantly, continuing voter registration in the state that initially occurred at least one year prior to the initial registration of the student in Alabama at a public institution of higher education;
   8. Possession of state or local licenses to do business or practice a  profession in the state;
   9. Ownership of personal property in the state, payment of state taxes on the property, and possession of state license plates;
   10. C continuous physical presence in the state for a purpose other than attending school, except for temporary absences for travel, military service, and temporary employment;
   11. Membership in religious, professional, business, civic, or social organizations in the state;
   12. Maintenance in the state of checking and savings accounts, safe deposit boxes, investment accounts, or
   13. In-state address shown on selective service registration, driver’s license, automobile title registration, hunting and fishing licenses, insurance policies, stock and bond registrations, last will and testament, annuities, or retirement plans.
4. An applicant who has graduated from an Alabama high school or who has obtained a GED in the State of Alabama within three years of the date of his/her application for admission in accordance with the requirements outlined in the Code of Alabama will be allowed to pay the in-state tuition rate. The applicant will be required to provide evidence that he/she has met the requirements of this paragraph.

II. In-State Tuition-Non-Resident Student

A non-resident student, one who does not meet the standard of having resided in the State of Alabama for at least 12 continuous months immediately preceding application for admission, shall be charged the in-state tuition rate established by the Alabama Community College System if the student satisfies one of the following criteria or if the student is a dependent (as defined by the Internal Revenue Code). The person supporting the student satisfies one of the following criteria under the following circumstances:

1. The student or the person(s) supporting the student is a full-time permanent employee of the institution at which the student is registering OR
2. The student or the person(s) supporting the student can verify full-time permanent employment in Alabama and will commence said employment within 90 days of registration OR
3. The student or the person(s) supporting the student is an accredited member of a consular staff assigned to duties in Alabama OR
4. The student meets one of the following criteria pertaining to military status:

• A veteran using education assistance under either Chapter 30 (Montgomery GI Bill® Active Duty Program) or Chapter 33 (Post 9/11 GI Bill®) of Title 38, United States Code, who lives in Alabama while attending a school located in Alabama (regardless of his/ her formal state of residence).
• Anyone using transferred Post 9/11 GI Bill® benefits (38 U.S.C. 3319) who lives in Alabama while attending a school located in Alabama (regardless of his/her formal state of residence).

The student is eligible for in-state tuition if the student resides outside of Alabama in a state and county within 50 miles of a campus of the Alabama Community College System institution the student plans to attend.

III. Out-of-State Tuition

Any applicant for admission who does not meet the residency requirements in I and II shall be charged tuition at 2.00 times the in-state tuition rate, rounded up to the nearest dollar. Students initially classified as ineligible for resident tuition will retain that classification for tuition purposes until they provide documentation that they have qualified for resident tuition.