DETERMINATION OF RESIDENCE FOR NONRESIDENT TUITION PURPOSES

The following statement of the rules regarding residency determination for nonresident tuition purposes is not a complete discussion of the law, but a summary of the principal rules and their exceptions. The law governing residence determination for tuition purposes by The California State University is found in Education Code Sections 68000-68090, 68121, 68123, 68124, and 89705-89707.5, and in Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, Sections 41900-41912. A copy of the statutes and regulations is available for inspection at the campus Admissions Office.

Legal residence may be established by an adult who is physically present in the state and who, at the same time, intends to make California his or her permanent home. Steps must be taken at least one year prior to the residence determination date to show an intent to make California the permanent home with concurrent relinquishment of the prior legal residence. The steps necessary to show California residency intent will vary from case to case. Included among the steps may be registering to vote and voting in elections in California; filing resident California state income tax forms on total income; ownership of residential property or continuous occupancy or renting of an apartment on a lease basis where one's permanent belongings are kept; maintaining active resident memberships in California professional or social organizations; maintaining California vehicle plates and operator's license; maintaining active savings and checking accounts in California banks; maintaining permanent military address and home of record in California if one is in the military service.

The student who is within the state for educational purposes only does not gain the status of resident regardless of the length of the student's stay in California.

In general, the unmarried minor (a person under 18 years of age) derives legal residence from the parent with whom the minor maintains or last maintained his or her place of abode. The residence of a minor cannot be changed by the minor or the minor's guardian, so long as the minor's parents are living.

A married person may establish his or her residence independent of his or her spouse.

An alien may establish his or her residence, unless precluded by the Immigration and Nationality Act from establishing domicile in the United States. An unmarried minor alien derives his or her residence from the parent with whom the minor maintains or last maintained his or her place of abode.

Nonresident students seeking reclassification are required by law to complete a supplemental questionnaire concerning financial independence. The general rule is that a student must have been a California resident for at least one year immediately preceding the residence determination date in order to qualify as a "resident student" for tuition purposes. A residence determination date is set for each academic term and is the date from which residence is determined for that term. The residence determination dates are:

Quarter Term Campuses

Fall				September 20
Winter				January 5
Spring				April 1
Summer				July 1

Fall				September 20
Winter (Stanislaus only)	January 5
Spring				January 25

There are exceptions from nonresident tuition, including:

• Persons below the age of 19 whose parents were residents of California but who left the state while the student, who remained, was still a minor. When the minor reaches age 18, the exception continues for one year to enable the student to qualify as a resident student.

• Minors who have been present in California with the intent of acquiring residence for more than a year before the residence determination date, and entirely self-supporting for that period of time.

• Persons below the age of 19 who have lived with and been under the continuous direct care and control of an adult or adults, not a parent, for the two years immediately preceding the residence determination date. Such adult must have been a California resident for the most recent year.

• Dependent children and spouses of persons in active military service stationed in California on the residence determination date. The exception, once attained, is not affected by retirement or transfer of the military person outside the state.

• Military personnel in active service stationed in California on the residence determination date for purposes other than education at state-supported institutions of higher education. Effective January 1, 1994, this exception continues until the military personnel has resided in the state the minimum time necessary to become a resident.

• Dependent children of a parent who has been a California resident for the most recent year. This exception continues until the student has resided in the state the minimum time necessary to become a resident, so long as continuous residence is maintained at an institution.

• Graduates of any school located in California that is operated by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, including, but not limited to, the Sherman Indian High School. The exception continues so long as continuous attendance is maintained by the student at an institution.

• Certain credentialed, full-time employees of California school districts.

• Full-time state university employees and their children and spouses; state employees assigned to work outside the state and their children and spouses. This exception applies only for the minimum time required for the student to obtain California residence and maintain that residence for one year.

• Certain exchange students.

• Children of deceased public law enforcement or fire suppression employees who were California residents and who were killed in the course of law enforcement or fire suppression duties.

The California State University
Office of General Counsel
400 Golden Shore
Long Beach, California 90802-4275

within 120 calendar days of notification of the final decision on campus of the classification. The Office of General Counsel may make a decision on the issue, or it may send the matter back to the campus for further review. Students classified incorrectly as residents or incorrectly granted an exception from nonresident tuition are subject to reclassification as nonresidents and payment of nonresident tuition in arrears. If incorrect classification results from false or concealed facts, the student is subject to discipline pursuant to Section 41301 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations. Resident students who become nonresidents, and nonresident students qualifying for exceptions whose basis for so qualifying changes, must immediately notify the Admissions Office. Applications for a change in classification with respect to a previous term are not accepted.

The student is cautioned that this summation of rules regarding residency determination is by no means a complete explanation of their meaning. The student should also note that changes may have been made in the rate of nonresident tuition, in the statutes, and in the regulations between the time this catalog is published and the relevant residence determination date.