SP 507 - Student Residency Status

In determining a community college resident or non-resident classification, the primary determination is the reason a person is in the state of Iowa. The second determination will be the length of time a person has resided in Iowa. If a person is in the state primarily for educational purposes, that person will be considered a non-resident. The burden of establishing the reason a person is in Iowa for other than educational purposes rests with the student.

A. The Dean of Students or designee shall require written documents, affidavits or other related evidence deemed necessary to determine why a student is in Iowa. The burden of proof is on the student.

A student will be required to file at least two documents to determine his/her residency status. No two documents may come from the same source. The following are examples of acceptable documentation.

1. Written and notarized documentation from an employer that the student is employed in Iowa or a signed and notarized statement from the student describing employment and sources of support.
2. Iowa state income tax return.
3. An Iowa driver’s license.
4. An Iowa vehicle registration card.
5. An Iowa voter registration card.
6. Proof of Iowa Homestead credit on property taxes.

In all events to be determined a resident of Iowa, the individual must document residing in the state of Iowa for at least 90 days prior to the beginning of the term for which he/she is enrolling.

B. If a student gives misleading or incorrect information for the purpose of evading payment of non-resident fees, they must pay the non-resident fees for each term the student was not officially classified as a non-resident.

C. These regulations shall be administered by the Dean of Students. Resident and non-resident tuition rates shall be printed and available in the catalog or another major college publication.

Section III: Residency of Minor Students.

The domicile of a minor shall follow that of the parent with whom the minor resides except where emancipation of said minor can be proven. The word “parent” herein used shall include legal guardian or others in cases where the lawful custody of a minor has been awarded to persons other than actual parents.

A minor living with a resident of Iowa who is legally responsible for the minor shall be granted resident status if the minor has lived with the Iowa resident for at least 90 days immediately prior to enrollment.

The residency status of an emancipated minor shall be based upon the same qualifications established for a person having attained majority
 

Section IV: Residency of Students Who Are Not Citizens of the United States.

A. A person who is a refugee or who is granted asylum by an appropriate agency of the
United States must provide proof of certification of refugee or asylum grantee status. A person may be accorded resident status for admission and tuition purposes when the person comes directly, or within a reasonable time, to the state of Iowa from a refugee facility or port of debarkation and has not established domicile in another state.

B. A person who has immigrant status and their spouse or dependents may establish Iowa residency in the same manner as a U.S. citizen.

C. A person who has non-immigrant status and who holds a non-student visa and their spouse or dependents may establish residency in the same manner as a United States citizen. An alien who has non-immigrant status and who primary purpose for being in Iowa is educational is classified as non-resident. A “student visa” is prima facie evidence of non-residency (i.e., in a rare case, a student holding the visa could overcome the presumption of non-residency.)

Section V: Residency of Federal Personnel and Dependents.

A person and their spouse who have moved into the State of Iowa as the result of military or civil orders from the federal government and the minor children of such persons are entitled to Iowa residency status.

Active duty military personnel, as well as their spouses and dependent children, are considered to be Iowa residents for admission, tuition and fee purposes.

Section VI: Veterans’ Exemptions.

A veteran of military service or the National Guard or their spouse or dependent children shall be classified as a resident if the veteran is domiciled in Iowa and one of the following conditions is met:
 

1. The veteran has separated from a U.S. military force with an honorable discharge or a general discharge, is eligible for benefits, or has exhausted benefits, under the federal Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 or any other federal authorizing veteran educational benefits program.
    
2. The individual is an active duty military person, or activated or temporarily mobilized National Guard member.

To be eligible for the exemption, a dependent child must be claimed as a dependent on an eligible veteran’s Internal Revenue Service tax filing for the previous year.

All military service, as well as their spouses and dependent children, are considered to be Iowa residents for admission, tuition and fee purposes.

Section VII: Reclassification of Residency Status.

It is the responsibility of a student to request a reclassification of residency status. If a student is reclassified as a resident for tuition purposes, such classification shall be effective beginning with the next term for which the student enrolls. In no case shall reclassification to residency status be made retroactive for tuition and fee purposes, even though the student could have previously qualified for residency status had the student applied.
 

Section VIII: Appeal.

The decision on the residency status of a student for admission, tuition and fee purposes may be appealed to a review committee established by the community college. The findings of the review committee may be appealed to the community college board, whose decision shall be a final administrative decision.
Source- Iowa Community College Uniform Policy on Student Residency Status

DATE OF ADOPTION: 4/21/80
REVISED: 5/19/97; 6/16/03; 12/15/08; 9/19/11; 4/21/14; 5/11/15; 1/28/19;
4/17/23
REVIEWED: 6/19/00; 1/22/07; 5/21/12
LEGAL REFERENCE: (Code of Iowa) 260C.14