In-State Tuition or Residency Classification

Tuition classification at Adams State University is determined by the admitting authority at the time of admission based upon information provided on the admissions application. Tuition classification is governed by state law that applies to all public institutions of higher education. Tuition classification is not transferable to another CO institution. Adams State University must comply with CO residency statutes and cannot make exceptions except as permitted by law (https://highered.colorado.gov/colorado-residency-statutes). If you were not classified a resident at the time of admission, you may submit a petition to be considered for classification as an in-state student when you feel you have met the requirements for CO residency and submit a Petition for In-State Tuition Classification along with supporting documentation as indicated on the petition. In-state tuition classification requires domicile (legal primary residence) in CO for the year immediately preceding the first day of class.

Residency Requirements for In-State Tuition

Domicile

  • Domicile is defined as your true, fixed, and permanent home and place of habitation. Domicile is a legal characteristic is used to describe the place where an individual has demonstrated intent to make a permanent home and legal residence. Both physical presence and evidence of intent must be in place to begin the domiciliary year. A “qualified individual” must reside in Colorado with the present intention to make Colorado their permanent home and legal residence.
  • Colorado residency requires a domiciliary period in Colorado for 12 continuous months on or prior to the first day of classes of each semester. Because domicile is defined as a permanent home and legal residence, being in Colorado solely for school purposes and/or temporarily for other purposes does not qualify as domicile for Colorado residency. Additionally, even if you do not qualify for residency in any other state, you are not guaranteed Colorado residency.

Physical Presence

  • Lease agreements
  • Rent Receipts
  • Home Ownership
  • Patronage of CO businesses

Evidence of Intent

  • The present intention to make CO your permanent home as demonstrated by giving up all ties with your former state of residence and establishing these ties in CO. The following are evidence of intent as per statute although this is not an exhaustive list:
    • CO Driver License or CO Identification Card for 12 months prior to the first day of classes in the semester in which you wish to enroll as an in-state student
    • CO motor vehicle registration (even if the student is not the legal owner of the vehicle)
    • Permanent, full-time off-campus employment
    • Voter registration (if you were registered in your former state, you should register in CO).
    • Permanent address in CO for 12 continuous months prior to the first day of classes in the semester in which you wish to enroll as an in-state student.
    • Payment of CO state income taxes as a resident
    • Withholding of CO state taxes from wages
    • Purchase or ownership of CO property

Evidence of Legal Ties Outside CO

  • The following are evidence that ties in your former state of residence have not been severed and are contrary to any claim of intent:
    • Failure to obtain a CO Driver License or CO ID card
    • Failure to file a CO state income tax return
    • Prolonged absence from CO
    • Vehicle registration in another state
    • Returning to your former state during breaks or when not enrolled as a student
    • Failure to withhold CO income taxes from wages

Qualified Individual

  • In order to petition for in-state tuition classification or CO residency, a student must be considered a qualified individual and be eligible to establish domicile separate from his/her parents. You are a qualified individual and eligible to begin the 12-month domiciliary period if you are:
    • 22 years or older
    • Married
    • Legally emancipated
    • A graduate student
    • An unaccompanied homeless youth

Legally Emancipated

  • A legally emancipated student is one who no longer receives support and whose parents make no provision for support. Evidence for non-emancipation includes gifts, trust funds, loans (including Parent Plus Loans), and other assets established by parents or others on the student’s behalf regardless of when these were established.
  • The student is not claimed on state or federal taxes.
  • The student is able to document and prove that s/he is able to meet all financial obligations and is financially independent from any other individual. This means that the student is able to pay, and provide evidence of income that allows him/her to pay for obligations such as:
    • Books, tuition and fees
    • Housing
    • Food
    • Medical expenses
    • Insurance
    • Vehicle & Transportation expenses

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

Guardianship

  • You may qualify for in-state tuition through the domicile of a Colorado guardian only if your guardian has legal custody as defined by Colorado Revised Statutes §19-1-103(73).
  • The court appointing the guardianship must certify that the primary purpose of the appointment is not to qualify the student for in-state tuition.
  • The court must also certify that your parents do not provide substantial financial support.
  • The guardianship must be in effect for one year.

In-State Tuition Classification Petition Process and Deadlines

  • If you were admitted to Adams State as a non-resident, but you now meet the requirements for in-state residency, you must fill out a Petition for In-State Residency. If you are appealing your residency classification due to an error at the time of admission, appeals can be made to the Admissions Office https://www.adams.edu/admissions/request-information/.
  • Petitions should be reviewed for completeness and to ensure that all requested documentation, as noted on the petition, is included and that the petition is signed prior to submission. The deadline to petition for in-state tuition classification is the census date for Adams State University. This date is identified as the last day to add or drop regular session classes and is published in the Adams State Class Schedule for each semester. Once submitted, the petition along with all supporting documentation will be reviewed and a decision will be communicated via email no later than 6 weeks after submission.
  • If additional information is needed, the student will be contacted either via email or telephone and asked to submit this information within two weeks of the request.
  • Decisions made by the Tuition Classification Officer may be appealed to the University’s Residency Appeals Committee. Contact information is provided on all denial notifications. The decision of the Residency Appeals Committee is final.
IN-STATE RESIDENCY PETITION

Residency Exceptions

Immigrants and Permanent Residents

  • Lawful permanent residents or refugees are eligible to establish domicile for tuition classification as in-state students.
    Permanent Residents are eligible to establish domicile for tuition classification as in-state students.
    Individuals who are not yet Permanent Residents but who have filed the Application for Adjustment of Status are el eligible to establish domicile for tuition classification as in-state students.

Non-Immigrant Status

  • Persons who are lawful permanent residents or who are admitted as refugees are eligible to establish domicile for tuition purposes. Non-immigrants are typically ineligible to establish domicile for the purposes of in-state tuition classification unless they are in CO for purposes other than education. Individuals in the following visa categories are ineligible to establish CO domicile for the purposes of in-state tuition classification: F-1, F-2, H-3, H-4 (if the visa holder is the spouse or child of an H-3), J-1 and J-2 (if the J-1 visa holder is a student or trainee), M-1, and M-2.

Refugees and Asylees

  • Colorado Senate Bill 18-087, passed in 2018, grants eligibility for in-state tuition status to refugees and special immigrants admitted to the United States pursuant to federal law who have settled in Colorado.

Members of American Indian Tribes with Historical Ties to Colorado

Military members and Dependents

  • Eligible active duty armed forces include:
    • US Army
    • US Navy
    •  US Air Force
    • US Marine Corps
    •  US Coast Guard
    • US Public Health Service
    • US NOAA Corps
    •  Members of the Canadian Military stationed in CO
    • Active Duty Military stationed in CO
  • Active duty members of the US and Canada on duty station in CO are eligible for in-state tuition classification regardless of domicile or length of residence in CO.  Active duty status must be certified by the military education officer.  Active duty military on TDY (temporary duty) are ineligible for the College Opportunity Fund (COF) and upon termination of their CO assignment, are no longer eligible for in-state status unless they are eligible via a different section of statute.
  • Active duty members, their dependents and spouses who were the member’s spouse at the time the member was stationed in CO and at the time the spouse is requesting in-state classification, as well as any child under the age of 22 who enrolls in a public institution of higher education within twelve years after the member was stationed in CO.
  • After qualifying, a member, spouse or dependent shall not lose his/her in-state status if the member retires or separates from the military.
  • Permanent change of duty station includes permanent assignment to a CO base and maintenance of a full-time, principal residence in CO.

  Veterans and Dependents

  • Any honorably discharged veteran who demonstrates CO domicile regardless of length of time, shall be granted in-state tuition classification.
  • The veteran may also petition on behalf of his/her spouse and dependents if the veteran has established CO domicile.
  • A dependent is an unmarried undergraduate student under the age of 23 on or before the first day of class in the semester in which they petition.

ASSET In-State Tuition Rate for Undocumented Students

  • ASSET or Senate Bill 13-033 allows student who are undocumented and who meet all eligibility requirements to qualify for in-state tuition classification at Adams State University.  Additionally, while undocumented students are ineligible for federal financial aid, they can be considered for grants, scholarships as well as state and institutional aid.
  • Eligibility
    • An undocumented student must have attended a CO high school for at least 3 years immediately preceding graduation or completion of a GED in CO (3 years is defined as six academic terms from three separate years).
    • Been admitted to a CO post-secondary institution within 12 months of graduating from a CO high school or completing a GED in CO.
    • Graduated from a CO high school or completed a GED in CO before 9/1/2013 and have continuous physical presence in CO for 18 months preceding the start of the semester in which you plan to enroll.
    • Applied for College Opportunity Fund (COF) and completed an affidavit (https://cof.college-assist.org/) with the COF indicating that you have applied for legal presence or will apply as soon as you are eligible to do so
    • DACA students should not use their SSN and should instead request a COF ID#.

Olympic Athletes

  • Colorado Statute 23-7-105 grants eligibility to any athlete to be classified as an in-state student for purposes of tuition if the athlete is:
    • (a) In residence and in training at the United States Olympic training center at Colorado Springs
    • (b) In residence in Colorado Springs and in training at the Olympic training center at Colorado Springs in a program approved by the governing body for the athlete’s Olympic sport; or
    • (c) In residence in Colorado Springs and in training at a facility in Colorado Springs approved by the governing body for the athlete’s Olympic sport and in a program approved by such body.
  • If a student is classified as an in-state student pursuant to this section, he or she may be counted as a resident student for any purpose; except that no such student shall be entitled to receive state financial aid.23-7-113.

Tuition classification for Peace Corps Volunteers

  • (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article 7 to the contrary, a student shall be classified as an in-state student for tuition purposes if the student was certified by the director of the Peace Corps as having served satisfactorily as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
  • (b) A student who is classified as an in-state student pursuant to this section must not be counted as a resident student for any purpose other than tuition classification.
  • (c) The governing board of each state-supported institution of higher education shall grant in-state tuition status to students classified pursuant to this section

12-month Domicile Requirement Exceptions

Four-Year Rule

  • If your parents (or court-appointed legal guardians) maintain Colorado domicile for four years and establish domicile elsewhere, you will remain eligible for in-state tuition if:
    • Your parents leave Colorado after your junior year of high school and if you enroll at a Colorado public college or university within three years and six months after your parents leave Colorado .

OR

  • You maintain continuous Colorado domicile. This provision will generally be met if you continue to reside in Colorado after your parents leave or if you reside outside the State only temporarily (for example, to attend college or for military service) while maintaining Colorado domiciliary connections such as voter registration and income tax filing.

 

Attended CO High School for Senior Year

A student (other than a nonimmigrant alien) who meets the below criteria is eligible for in-state tuition classification. This includes U.S. Citizens, permanent resident aliens, and students without lawful immigration status.

  • Attended a public or private high school in Colorado for at least one year before graduation, or was physically present in Colorado for at least one year before successfully completing a high school equivalency exam in the state.
  • Has been physically present in Colorado for at least 12 consecutive months before enrolling in a college.

Please note that HB 22-1155 doesn’t make it necessary for a student to be admitted to college within 12 months of graduation. The act also removes the exception for students without lawful immigration status who graduated or completed the equivalency exam before September 1, 2013.

CO Employment & Relocation by Parents of Dependent Student

  • In-state tuition classification may be granted if the student moved to CO during his/her senior year of High School as a result of the student’s parents or legal guardian relocating to CO for employment.
    • The parent or legal guardian moved the family to CO for the purposes of accepting a job in CO during the student’s senior year of high school
    • The student moved with their parent or legal guardian to CO during his/her senior year of high school and they graduated from a CO high school
    • The student is a legal resident of the US.

Economic Incentive Program

  • Employees whose employer moved their company operations to CO as a result of receiving an incentive from the CO Office of Economic Development are eligible for in-state tuition classification.  The employee must have been moved by the employer prior to the relocation and demonstrate that they have established CO domicile.

New Faculty at a State Supported Institution

  • The dependent child of a new faculty member (but NOT the faculty member of spouse) at a state-supported institution of higher education is eligible for in-state classification for tuition purposes.
    • A faculty member is defined as academic faculty with regular and special appointments of 50% time or greater.
      • A dependent child is an unmarried undergraduate student and is 22 years of age or younger on or before the first day of classes in the semester in which they wish to be classified as in-state.

Additional Resources