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Residency Requirements

Proposition 300 Tuition Assessment

Cochise College's registration procedure for credit classes complies with the requirements of Proposition 300. Approved by Arizona voters in November 2006, Proposition 300 requires verification of eligibility for in-state tuition rates for U.S. citizens and qualifying legal immigrants.

The law does not prevent anyone from enrolling at Cochise College. It does require that students who are not citizens or legal residents pay out-of-state tuition rates. The law further states that persons who are not citizens or legal residents are not entitled to tuition waivers, fee waivers, grants, scholarship assistance, financial aid, tuition assistance, or any type of financial assistance that is subsidized with state monies.

A list of qualifying documents to verify eligibility for in-state tuition is available online at www.cochise.edu/tuition. Documentation can be returned to the Registration Office or scanned and emailed to the attention of the registrar at adm@cochise.edu or reg@cochise.edu. Call (800) 593-9567 for more information.

Each applicant shall have legal residency determined prior to the time of registration and payment of fees. It is the student's responsibility to register under the correct residence determination. Enforcement of residency requirements and regulations are the responsibility of the Cochise College president.

Appeal of residency interpretation or judgments rendered by the college administration shall be handled through appeal channels as established by the district governing board in accordance with the Arizona Revised Statutes, which determine classification for tuition purposes.

Definitions

Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS 15-1801 et seq.) and Cochise College policies determine classification for tuition purposes.

Adult means a person who is 18 years of age or older.

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, and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association. (ARS 15-1801)

Continuous attendance means enrollment at an educational institution in this state as a full-time student, as such term is defined by the governing body of the educational institution, for a normal academic year since the beginning of the period for which continuous attendance is claimed. Such person need not attend summer sessions or other such intersession beyond the normal academic year in order to maintain continuous attendance. (ARS 15-1801)

Domicile means a person’s true, fixed and permanent home and place of habitation. It is the place where he/she intends to remain and to which he/she expects to return when he/she leaves without intending to establish a new domicile elsewhere. (ARS-15-1801)

State resident means a person who is domiciled in the State of Arizona for not less than one year or 365 days. (ARS 15-1802)

County resident means a person who is domiciled in the State of Arizona for not less than one year and who has been physically present in the county for at least 50 days prior to the first day of classes of the semester. (R7-1-23)

Dependent means any person (son, daughter, or legal ward) who receives more than half of his/her support for the calendar year from a parent or guardian, as documented on the federal income tax form, and who is domiciled in Arizona.

Alien means a person who has been granted refugee status in accordance with all applicable laws of the United States, has met all other requirements for domicile, and who is entitled to classification as an in-state refugee student.

Emancipated person means a person who is neither under a legal duty of service to his/her parent nor entitled to the support of such parent under the laws of this state. (ARS-15-1801)

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 no circumstances indicating that such guardianship was created primarily for the purpose of conferring the status of an in-state student on such unemancipated person). (ARS 15-1801)

Residency Status

In-State Status

Except as otherwise provided in this catalog, no person having a domicile elsewhere than in this state is eligible for classification as an in-state student for tuition purposes. (ARS 15-1802)

A person is not entitled to classification as an in-state student until he/she is domiciled in this state for one year, unless he/she meets one of the following requirements:

  1. His/her parent’s domicile is in this state for not less than one year and his/her parent is entitled to claim him/her as an exemption for state and federal tax purposes.
  2. He/she is an employee of an employer that transferred him/her to this state for employment purposes or he/she is the spouse of such employee.
  3. The domicile of an unemancipated person is that of such person’s parent. Any unemancipated person who remains in this state when such person’s parent, who had been domiciled in this state, moves 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 enrollment.
  4. A person who is a member of the armed forces of the United States stationed in this state pursuant to military orders, or who is the spouse or dependent child as defined in section 43-1001 of a person who is a member of the armed forces of the United States stationed in this state pursuant to military orders. The student, while in continuous attendance toward the degree for which currently enrolled, does not lose in-state student classification.
  5. A person who is honorably discharged from the United States armed forces and provides a DD Form 214 with honorable discharge notation.
  6. A person who is a member of an Indian tribe recognized by the United States Department of the Interior, whose reservation land lies in this state and extends into another state and who is a resident of the reservation.

Proof of Residency

Students must file a domicile affidavit with the Admissions Office verifying continuous residency in the state for a 12-month period. At least three of the following items will be used to establish proof of residency:

  1. Filing of state income tax report for the previous year
  2. Current registration of motor vehicle in Arizona
  3. Current registration as a voter in the state
  4. Arizona driver’s license issuance date
  5. Graduation from an Arizona high school
  6. Bank statement (checking or savings) from an Arizona banking institution
  7. Source of support (employer)
  8. Dependency as indicated on federal income tax declaration for dependents.

Concurrent Enrollment: Nonresident Tuition

It is unlawful for any nonresident student to register concurrently in two or more public institutions of higher education in this state, including any university or community college, for a combined student credit-hour enrollment of more than six semester hours without payment of nonresident tuition at one of such institutions.

Any nonresident student desiring to enroll concurrently in two or more public institutions of higher education in this state, including any university or community college, for a combined total of more than six semester hours and who is not subject to nonresident tuition at any of such institutions shall pay the nonresident tuition at the institution of his/her choice. The amount will be equivalent to nonresident tuition at such institution for the combined total of semester hours for which the nonresident student is concurrently enrolled. (ARS 15-1807)