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ÃÈÃÃÉçÇø Tuition & Residency


Residency Verification for ÃÈÃÃÉçÇø Tuition Rates

Your Texas residency status directly determines whether you will be charged the resident or non-resident tuition rate at ÃÈÃÃÉçÇø. The Texas Legislature establishes the guidelines and standards for residency and tuition classifications.

Please note that the review process for determining residency can vary, and final decisions may not be available before tuition and fee deadlines. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that appropriate payment arrangements are made on time. 

What Texas Residents Need to Know

Even if you live in Texas, you might be classified as a nonresident if you don't fully meet the residency criteria as defined by Chapter 21 of the It is critical that you complete every question in the residency section of your admission application accurately and completely.

Double-check your email and postal addresses on your application to catch and correct any mistakes early, ensuring you receive the correct tuition classification.

What Out-of-State Residents Need to Know

Tuition for out-of-state students in Texas can be significantly higher than for residents—with nonresident tuition and fees at ÃÈÃÃÉçÇø exceeding $11,000 per semester for a full course load. Keep in mind that leasing an apartment for a year alone may not meet the residency qualifications. Out-of-state applicants must fully commit to becoming Texas residents by satisfying one of the established residency criteria to qualify for in-state tuition rates.

Texas Residency

Texas law classifies each person who applies for admission to a Texas public college or university as:

  • A resident of Texas
  • A nonresident
  • A foreign (international) student

How you’re classified is important because it determines whether you pay nonresident tuition or in-state tuition. Being a resident also qualifies you to apply for financial aid awarded by the state.

Determining Residency

When you apply for admission, the university uses information you provide on the admission application to make an initial determination about residency. This determination will remain on your student record and continue each semester in which you are enrolled, if no changes are made.

Rules for Texas residency classification for University tuition are different from residency rules for voting, obtaining a Texas driver’s license, or tax purposes.establish how residency is determined for higher education in the state of Texas and includes the following provisions covering some of the more common residency situations. They are neither exhaustive nor complete. Some edits have also been made to enhance readability.

Establishing Texas Residency

Individuals can establish residency in two basic ways, one based on establishing domicile and the other based on graduation from high school. The option related to establishment of domicile is available to citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. and to international students who hold certain types of visas.

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This option for establishing Texas Residency is available to citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. and to international students.

Requirements

To establish residency through high school graduation, you must:

  1. Graduate from a Texas high school or receive a GED in Texas; and
  2. Live in Texas for 36 months immediately before high school graduation; and
  3. Live in Texas for 12 months immediately before the census date (usually the 12th class day) of the semester in which you enroll at the university (or another college or university).

If you are an international student seeking residency through high school graduation, you must submit a  stating that you will apply for permanent residency when you are eligible to do so.

Military

A member of the United States Armed Services whose Home of Record with the military is Texas is presumed to be a Texas resident, as are his or her spouse and dependent children. A member whose Home of Record is not Texas but who provides the institution Leave and Earnings Statements that show the member has claimed Texas as his or her place of residence for the 12 consecutive months prior to enrollment is presumed to be a Texas resident, as are his or her spouse and dependent children.

A member who did not select Texas as their Home of Record when they entered the service, and has not taken steps to change their permanent residence with the military to Texas, may still qualify for a waiver under Texas statutes. Information about requesting a reclassification of residency status is provided in the next section.

Requesting Reclassification

Sometimes students submit incorrect information or information that makes it appear as though they are nonresidents, when they actually do qualify for Texas residency. In other cases, students who were initially ineligible for Texas Residency classification upon admission may later become eligible. If a student currently classified as a nonresident believes they qualify for Texas Residency, they have the option to request residency reclassification.

To request a residency review, submit a   Residency Reclassification Request  form, along with a completed Core Residency Questionnaire. Additional supporting documentation is required to show the student, or the parent or court-appointed legal guardian of a dependent student, has met the requirements to be classified as a Texas resident.

The     regarding residency requires a student (or their parent or spouse) to be physically present and establish domicile in Texas for   12 months prior  to term in which they are enrolling. Therefore, please do not submit your residency request prior the dates listed below for the specified semester:

 

Semester Enrolling Date Reclassification Requests are Accepted
Spring November 1
Summer April 1
Fall July 1*

 

*Applicants who are high school seniors who will graduate in May/June may submit residency requests for the Fall term beginning in June.

An incomplete Residency Reclassification Request form, core residency questionnaire, and/or insufficient documentation will delay the review and processing of the request.

Deadlines

ÃÈÃÃÉçÇø must submit the Residency Reclassification Request form, a core residency questionnaire, and supporting documentation no later than the first class day of the semester for which they are seeking reclassification. Any residence status changed after the census day will apply the next applicable semester.

 

Review Process

The Residency Office will review the Residency Reclassification Request, the core residency questionnaire, and the supporting documentation. After this initial review, and throughout the review process, additional documentation may be requested. The decision made by the Residency Office is final.

Supporting Documents

Residency Documentation

ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTATION TO DEMONSTRATE PHYSICAL PRESENCE IN TEXAS FOR 12 CONSECUTIVE MONTHS

  • Texas Voter Registration Card
    Must be issued at least 12 months prior to census date of the semester in which you enroll.
  • Utility Bills
    Must list your name and Texas Address for the 12 consecutive months preceding the census date of the semester in which you enroll.
  • Texas Bank Statements
    Must list your name and Texas Address for the 12 consecutive months preceding the census date of the semester in which you enroll.
  • Apartment Lease or Rental of Residential Property
    Must list your name and Texas Address for the 12 consecutive months preceding the census date of the semester in which you enroll.

ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTATION TO DEMONSTRATE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF DOMICILE IN TEXAS FOR 12 CONSECUTIVE MONTHS
(Must have documentation for one of the three listed categories)

  1. Significant Gainful Employment Documentation
    • Employer written statement of dates of employment in Texas (including the beginning and current or ending dates, average hours worked per week, and annual salary) for the 12 consecutive months preceding the census date of the semester in which you enroll   OR
    • Pay stubs for the 12 consecutive months preceding the census date of the semester in which you enroll   OR
    • Proof of other earned income such as pensions, veterans' benefits, social security, and savings from previous earnings for the 12 consecutive months preceding the census date of the semester in which you enroll   OR
    • For a person who is unemployed and living on public assistance, written statements from the office of one or more social service agencies in Texas for the 12 consecutive months preceding the census date of the semester in which you enroll
  2. Residential Property Ownership Documentation
    • Warranty Deed or Screenshot of county tax appraisal district with the owner’s name, address, and purchase date
  3. Ownership of a Business Entity Documentation
    • Documentation of filing with the Texas Secretary of State or other official documentation that provides evidence of the organization of a business in Texas

ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTATION FOR NON-CITIZENS, NON-PERMANENT RESIDENTS AND INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ELIGIBILITY FROM   

  • Copy of I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence that has not been rejected
  • Copy of  to Domicile
  • Copy of I-797 Notice of Action or other USCIS paperwork

Residency Glossary

Census date
The date in an academic term for which an institution is required to certify a person's enrollment in the institution for the purposes of determining formula funding for the institution.

Clear and Convincing Evidence
That degree of proof that will produce a firm conviction or a firm belief as to the facts sought to be established. The evidence must justify the claim both clearly and convincingly.

Coordinating Board or Board
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Core Residency Questions
The questions promulgated by the Board to be completed by a person and used by an institution as a significant aid in determining if the person is a Texas resident. The core questions shall be those set forth in the ApplyTexas Application or posted on the Board web site.

Deferred action
Discretionary determination to defer a removal action of an individual as an act of prosecutorial discretion. An individual who has received deferred action is authorized by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be present in the United States, and is therefore considered by DHS to be lawfully present during the period deferred action is in effect.

Dependent
A person who:
     a. is less than 18 years of age and has not been emancipated by marriage or court order; or
     b. is eligible to be claimed as a dependent of a parent of the person for purposes of determining the parent's income tax liability under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Domicile
A person's principal, permanent residence to which the person intends to return after any temporary absence.

Eligible for Permanent Resident Status
A person who has filed an I-485 application for permanent residency and has been issued a fee/filing receipt or notice of action by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) showing that his or her I-485 has been reviewed and has not been rejected.

Eligible Nonimmigrant
A person who has been issued a type of  by the USCIS that permits the person to establish and maintain domicile in the United States.

Established domicile in Texas
Physically residing in Texas, with the intent to maintain domicile in Texas, for at least the 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the census
date of the term of enrollment, allowing for documented temporary absences.

Gainful employment
Employment intended to provide an income to a person or allow a person to avoid the expense of paying another person to perform the tasks (as in child care) that is sufficient to provide at least one-half of the individual's tuition, fees and living expenses as determined in keeping with the institution's student financial aid budget or that represents an average of at least twenty hours of employment per week. A person who is self-employed or who is living off his/her earnings (present or past - such as pensions, veterans' benefits, social security, and savings from previous earnings) may be considered gainfully employed for purposes of establishing residency, as may a person whose primary support is public assistance. Employment conditioned on student status, such as work study, the receipt of stipends, fellowships, or research or teaching assistantships does not constitute gainful employment for purposes of residency determination.

General Academic Teaching Institution
As defined in Texas Education Code §61.003(3).

Independent institution
As defined in Texas Education Code §61.003(15).

Institution or institution of higher education
Any public technical institute, public junior college, public senior college or university, medical or dental unit, or other agency of higher education as defined in Texas Education Code §61.003(8).

Legal guardian
A person who is appointed guardian under the Texas Probate Code, Chapter 693, or a temporary or successor guardian.

Maintain domicile
Physically residing in Texas such that the person always intends to return to the state after a temporary absence. The maintenance of domicile is not interrupted by a temporary absence from the state.

Managing conservator
A parent, a competent adult, an authorized agency, or a licensed child-placing agency appointed by court order issued under the Texas Family Code, Title 5.

Nonresident tuition
The amount of tuition paid by a person who is not a Texas resident and who is not entitled or permitted to pay resident tuition under this subchapter.

Nontraditional secondary education
A course of study at the secondary school level in a nonaccredited private school setting, including a home school.

Parent
A natural or adoptive parent, managing or possessory conservator, or legal guardian of a person. The term would not otherwise include a step-parent.

Possessory conservator
A natural or adoptive parent appointed by court order issued under the Texas Family Code, Title 5.

Private high school
A private or parochial school in Texas.

Public technical institute
As defined in Texas Education Code §61.003(7).

Regular semester
A fall or spring semester, typically consisting of 16 weeks.

Residence
A person's home or other dwelling place; where a person resides.

Residence Determination Official
The primary individual at each institution who is responsible for the accurate application of state statutes and rules to individual student cases.

Resident tuition
The amount of tuition paid by a person who qualifies as a Texas resident under this subchapter.

Residential real property
Real property on which a dwelling fit for long-term human habitation is

Temporary absence
Absence from the State of Texas by a person who previously met the criteria for in-state residency, with the intention to return, generally for a period of short duration (i.e., less than one year). However, in some situations, the absence can be significantly longer. For example, the temporary absence of a person or a dependent's parent from the state for the purpose of service in the U. S. Armed Forces, U. S. Public Health Service, U. S. Department of Defense, U. S. Department of State, as a result of an
employment assignment, or for educational purposes, shall not affect a person's ability to continue to claim that Texas is his permanent residence.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
The bureau of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that is responsible for the administration of immigration and naturalization adjudication functions and establishing immigration services policies and priorities.