Tuition Classification: Out-of-State and In-State
Students who are classified as in-state are permitted to enroll at the University at a significantly lower tuition rate because the University is assisted by the taxpayers of Colorado in addition to the student tuition and fees. The determination of a student's tuition status is provided for under State Law Title 23, Article 7, Colorado Revised Statutes 1997 Repl. Vol., 1994 Supplement.
A person who has been domiciled in Colorado for one year or more immediately preceding the start of an academic term may be eligible for in-state tuition classification. A domicile is a person's true, fixed and permanent home and place of habitation. It is the place where the student intends to remain and where they expect to return to when they leave, without intending to establish a new domicile elsewhere. It differs from the notion of residence or mere physical presence within the state. A person may have several places of residence, but may have only one true domicile at a given time.
A person is capable to begin establishment of a Colorado domicile if they are 22 years of age, married or if they have been emancipated. Evidence of emancipation includes the person's ability to meet all financial obligations including the cost of education, along with an affidavit from the student's parents stating their relinquishment of any claim or right to the care, custody and earnings of the minor. The qualified individual must be 23 years of age by the first day of the semester in which claiming in-state resident classification.
Evidence that a Colorado domicile has been established includes the observance of all mandatory duties imposed on domiciliaries. State requirements concerning auto registration, driver's license and payment of state income tax must be met for the full one-year period.
A student's tuition classification is determined at the time of admission. If at a later date, the student believes the classification is no longer correct, they must petition for a change in tuition classification by the published deadlines.
Petitions can be submitted to the Tuition Classification Officer in the Office of the Registrar no later than two weeks prior to the first day of classes for the given term that the student desires a change in classification. Under exceptional circumstances, petitions may be accepted up to the 1st day of the semester. Tuition classification changes cannot be applied retroactively to previous term(s).
Any student who is denied in-state classification after petitioning may appeal that decision in writing to the Tuition Classification Appeals Committee. The appeal must be submitted to the Tuition Classification Officer no later than 10 days after the denial has been sent to the student. The decision rendered by the Tuition Classification Appeals Committee is the final University determination.
Petitioning for in-state tuition classification requires the student to complete a detailed form available in the Office of the Registrar (Bear Central) or online at www.unco.edu/registrar/residency/residency-process.aspx. This form and other relevant information will be reviewed and a decision rendered in accordance with the state law and authorized procedures.
Honorably discharged veterans, Armed Forces personnel and their dependents should contact the Tuition Classification Officer for information regarding qualification for the lower in-state tuition rate. Military tuition classification can be updated at any time during the current term, but it cannot be applied retroactively to a previous term. The Tuition Classification Officer can be reached in the Office of the Registrar.