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Residence Status of Enrolled Students in the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education

(Revised March 24, 1993, and June 28, 1996)

Article XIII-A of the constitution of Oklahoma creates The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education and establishes the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education as the coordinating board of control for all public institutions supported by legislative appropriations.

As one of the institutional responsibilities, the Regents annually prepare and submit to the Legislature a schedule of general fees to be paid by residents of Oklahoma and nonresidents alike, and a separate schedule of tuition charges to be made of nonresident students.

The policy statement set forth in the paragraphs to follow establishes principles, definitions, criteria, and guidelines to assist institutional officials in the classification of students as residents or nonresidents for fee and tuition-payment purposes. Also, the policy statement should be helpful to prospective students in the determination of their own residence status prior to enrollment or for those nonresident students seeking to be reclassified as residents of Oklahoma after having been classified originally as nonresidents. Determination of residence status for purposes of attendance at the institution in the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education is based primarily on the issue of domiciliary intent.

Section I. Philosophy

Since 1890, it has been public policy in Oklahoma to provide comprehensive, low-cost public higher education for citizens, in order to make educational opportunity available for Oklahoma individuals to improve themselves, to help upgrade the knowledge and skill of the Oklahoma work force, and to enhance the quality of life in Oklahoma. Therefore, residents of Oklahoma are afforded subsidies covering a majority of their educational costs at all colleges and universities of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education. Nonresidents of Oklahoma are also provided substantial education subventions, although at lower levels than those provided for permanent residents of the state. Administration of the state's residency policy as it applies to Northeastern State University students is designated to the Office of Admissions. Questions concerning interpretation of the policy should be directed to the admissions director for a ruling.

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Section II. Principles

1. II. 1. Attendance at an educational institution, albeit a continuous and long term experience, is interpreted as temporary residence; therefore, a student neither gains nor loses resident status solely by such attendance.
2. II.2. Students attending an Oklahoma college or university may perform many objective acts, some of which are required by law (i.e. payment of taxes), and all of which are customarily done by some non-residents who do not intend to remain in Oklahoma after graduation but are situationally necessary and/or convenient (i.e. registering to vote, obtaining a driver’s license). Such acts and/or declarations alone are not sufficient evidence of intent to remain in Oklahoma beyond the college experience.
3. II.3. A nonresident student attending an Oklahoma college or university on more than a half-time basis is presumed to be in the state primarily for educational purposes.
4. II.4. An individual is not deemed to have acquired status as a resident of Oklahoma until he or she has been in the state for at least a year primarily as a permanent resident and not merely as a student. Likewise, an individual classified as a resident of Oklahoma shall not be reclassified a nonresident until 12 months after having left Oklahoma to live in another state.
5. II.5. All married persons shall be treated as equal under this policy. Each spouse in a family shall establish his or her own residence status on a separate basis. Exceptions include 1) when a nonresident marries an already established resident of Oklahoma, the nonresident may be considered a resident after documentation of the marriage and proof of domicile are satisfied, and 2) as provided in Section VIII.
6. II.6. The burden of proof of residence status or domicile shall be upon the applicant.
7. II.7. Initial classification as a nonresident student shall not prejudice the right of a person to be reclassified thereafter for following semesters or terms of enrollment as an Oklahoma resident provided that he or she can establish proof of residence in accordance with criteria and procedures as set forth in Sections VIII and IX of this policy.

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Section III. Definition

1. III.1 Resident of Oklahoma—A resident of Oklahoma is one who has lived continuously in Oklahoma for at least 12 months duration and whose domicile is in Oklahoma. A person’s domicile is his or her true, fixed, permanent home or habitation. It is the place where he or she intends to remain and to which he or she expects to return. A person can have more than one residence, but only one domicile. Domicile has two components— residence and the intention to remain. When these two occur, there is domicile.
2. III.2 Independent Person—An independent person is one enjoying majority privileges (or is legally emancipated from the parental domicile) and who is responsible for his or her own care, custody, and support.
3. III.3 Dependent Person—A dependent person is one who is under the care, custody, and support of a parent or other legally sanctioned parental surrogate.
4. III.4 Full-time Student—A full-time undergraduate student is one enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester in an academic year or a minimum of 6 credit hours in a summer session. A full-time graduate student is one enrolled in a minimum of 9 credit hours per semester in an academic year or a minimum of 4 credit hours in a summer session.

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Section IV. Independent Persons

If a person enjoying majority privileges and who is independent of parental domicile can provide adequate and satisfactory proof of his/her having come to Oklahoma with the intention of establishing domicile, he/she may be granted resident student classification at the next enrollment occurring after expiration of 12 months following the establishment of domicile in Oklahoma. The spouse of such person must establish proof of his or her own domiciliary status on a separate basis.

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Section V. Dependent Persons

The legal residence of a dependent person is that of his/her father, or that of his/her mother if his/her father be not living or if the parents are separated and the dependent person habitually resides with the mother; or, if both parents are dead, that of his/her legally appointed guardian or anyone else with whom he/she habitually resides in the absence of formal legal designation. A dependent person may become emancipated (freed from his/her parental domicile) through marriage, formal court action, abandonment by parents, or positive action on his/her own part evidential of his/her alienation of parental domicile. To qualify under the latter category, a dependent person must have completely separated himself/herself from the parental domicile and have proved that such separation is complete and permanent. Mere absence from the parental domicile is not proof of its compete abandonment. If an applicant can provide adequate and satisfactory proof of complete emancipation and his/her having come to Oklahoma with intention of establishing domicile, he/she may be granted resident student classification at the next enrollment occurring after expiration of 12 months, following establishment of domicile in Oklahoma.

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Section VI. Foreign Nationals

An individual who is not a United States national may become eligible for classification as an Oklahoma resident provided that he/she holds permanent resident status as defined by the Immigration and Naturalization Services, evidenced by whatever documents may be required under applicable federal law, who has resided in Oklahoma for a least 12 consecutive months, and who meets any other applicable criteria for establishment of domicile as set forth in this policy or who has come to Oklahoma for the purpose described in Section VIII of this policy.

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Section VII. Military Personnel

A student attending an institution while on full-time active duty in the armed forces is considered as having a temporary residence in the state in which he/she is attending school; therefore, a student neither gains nor loses resident status solely by such military service. Members of the armed services stationed in Oklahoma, their spouses and dependent children shall be admitted without the payment of nonresident tuition so long as they continue to be stationed in the state in full-time military service and under military orders.

While the policy clearly states that nonresident tuition will be waived for military personnel, such a waiver does not constitute Oklahoma residence status.

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Section VIII. Full-time Professional Practitioner or Worker

An individual who provides evidence of having come to Oklahoma to practice a profession on a full-time basis, conduct a business full time, or work on a full-time basis shall be declared an Oklahoma resident along with his/her spouse and dependent children so long as the individual continues in such full-time employment capacity.

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Section IX. Proof of Residence

The burden of proof of establishing Oklahoma residence or domicile, including providing any supporting documentation, shall be upon the applicant. Since residence of domicile is a matter of intent, each case will be judged on its own merit by the appropriate institutional official(s) consistent with this policy. No definitive or “magic” set of criteria can be established as sufficient to guarantee classification as a resident of Oklahoma.

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Section X. Reclassification

In addition to the aforementioned criteria, an independent person seeking to be reclassified as a resident of Oklahoma must meet the following criteria for the current and immediately preceding year.

1. X.1 The person must not have been claimed as an exemption for state and federal tax purposes by his or her nonresident parents.
2. X.2 The person must be self-supporting as evidenced by having provided the majority of funds for his or her own upkeep.
3. X.3 The person must have maintained a continuous residence in Oklahoma for the period set forth in Section V.

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Section XI. Administration of Policy Statement

Each institution should designate the Admissions Officer or some other individual to be responsible for administration for the policy, and should make appropriate provision for a student’s appeal of an adverse decision.

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Section XII. Tuition Waivers

Nothing in this policy precludes the waiving of fees or tuition for non residents by an institution upon authorization by the State Regents based on criteria other than resident status provided that the residence status classification will not be affected by any such waiver alone.