2.2 Residency

PURPOSE:

Riverland Community College abides by MnSCU Policy 2.2 for determining tuition rates to be charged to individual students. This policy provides standards for the initial classification of students as state residents or non-residents, determination of appropriate tuition charges, and the procedures to be followed in order to change the state residency status of students.

APPLICABILITY:

Students who meet one or more of the following conditions on the date they apply for admission to be classified as residents of Minnesota.

1. Students who resided in the state for at least one calendar year immediately prior to applying for admission, or dependent students who have a parent or legal guardian residing in Minnesota on the date the students apply. Residency in the state during this period must not have been solely or primarily for the purpose of attending a college or university.
2. Minnesota residents who can demonstrate that they were temporarily absent from the state without establishing residency elsewhere.
3. Persons who moved to the state for employment purposes and, before moving and before applying for admission to a public postsecondary institution, accepted a full-time job in the state, or students who are spouses or dependents of such persons.

Students who are classified as Minnesota state residents shall be charged the resident tuition rate.

Students who are residents of states with which the state of Minnesota has a reciprocity agreement shall be charged the appropriate reciprocity tuition rate. All other students shall be charged the non-resident tuition rate, unless they qualify under one of the exceptions provided below.

Non-Resident Students Allowed to Pay the Resident Tuition Rate

Non-residents of Minnesota who meet one or more of the following conditions shall be charged the resident tuition rate unless otherwise prohibited by applicable state or federal law or regulations.

1. Current and Former Service Members: Current and former members of the U.S. military, their spouses, and dependent children, or any person eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill, or Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship.
2. Migrant Farmworkers: Students who have been in Minnesota as migrant farmworkers, as defined in the Code of Federal Regulations, title 20, section 633.104, over a period of at least two years immediately before admission or readmission to a Minnesota public postsecondary institution, or students who are dependents of such migrant farmworkers.
3. Minnesota High School Graduates: A student who graduated from a Minnesota high school, if the student was a resident of Minnesota during the student's period of attendance at the Minnesota high school and the student physically attends a Minnesota State College or University.
4. Employment-related Relocation: Persons who were employed and were relocated to the state by the person's current employer.
5. Refugees and Asylees: Students who are recognized as refugees or asylees by the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
6. Prosperity Act (Minnesota DREAM Act): Students, other than nonimmigrant aliens within the meaning of United States Code, title 8, section 1101, subsection (a), paragraph (15), who meet the following requirements established in Minnesota Statutes 135.043.
   1. High school attendance within the state for three or more years;
   2. Graduation from a state high school or attainment within the state of the equivalent of high school graduation; and
   3. In the case of a student without lawful immigration status: (i) documentation that the student has complied with selective service registration requirements; and (ii) if a federal process exists for the student to obtain lawful immigration status the student must present the higher education institution with documentation from federal immigration authorities that the student has filed an application to obtain lawful immigration status.

Note:

Riverland Community College has MnSCU Board of Trustees approval to charge a single rate of tuition for all students. This includes international students.

SCOPE: All

DOES THIS POLICY HAVE A PROCEDURE? No

LIST RELATED POLICIES, PROCEDURES OR FORMS:

Minnesota State Board Policy 2.2

Date Implemented: 3/12/2015

Responsible Division / Author: Student Affairs / Dean of Student Affairs

Date Revised: 3/11/2022 new template