General Information About Residency

GENERAL INFORMATION

• A person enrolling at one of the three state universities shall be classified as a resident or nonresident for admission, tuition, and fee purposes by the registrar or someone designated by the registrar. The decision shall be based upon information furnished by the student and other relevant information.
• In determining resident or nonresident classification, the issue is essentially one of why the person is in the state of Iowa. If the person is in the state primarily for educational purposes, that person will be considered a nonresident. For example, it may be possible that an individual could qualify as a resident of Iowa for such purposes as voting, or holding an Iowa driver's license, and not meet the residency requirements as established by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, for admission, tuition, and fee purposes.
• The Office of the Registrar or Office of Admissions, or designated person, is authorized to require written documents, affidavits, verifications, or other evidence deemed necessary to determine why a student is in Iowa. The burden of establishing that a student is in Iowa for other than educational purposes is upon the student. A student may be required to file any or all of the following:
  • A statement from the student describing employment and expected source of support
  • A statement from the student's employer
  • A statement from the student's parents verifying nonsupport and the fact that the student was not listed as a dependent on tax returns for the past year and will not be so listed in future years
  • A statement from the student’s spouse related to sources of family support, length of residence in Iowa, and reasons for being in the state of Iowa
  • Supporting statements from persons who might be familiar with the family situation
  • Iowa state income tax return.
• Applications for resident classification for a given semester or session are due no later than the fifteenth class day of that semester or session. Applications received after the fifteenth class day of that semester or session will be considered for the next semester or session. Appeals of any nonresident classification decision resulting from applications for resident classifications are due no later than midterm of that semester or session. Change of classification from nonresident to resident will not be made retroactive beyond the term in which application for resident classification is made.
• A student who gives incorrect or misleading information to evade payment of nonresident fees shall be subject to serious disciplinary action and must also pay the nonresident fees for each term previously attended.
• Review committee. These regulations shall be administered by the registrar or someone designated by the registrar. The decision of the registrar, admissions or designated person may be appealed to a university review committee. The finding of the review committee may be appealed to the Board of Regents, State of Iowa.

GRADUATE ASSISTANTS

Students with graduate assistantships of 1/4-time appointment or more are assessed Iowa resident tuition and fees. Nonresident students with graduate assistantships of 1/4-time appointment or more retain their nonresidency classification, but are assessed resident tuition and fees as long as the graduate assistantship is continued.

The spouse of a 1/4-time appointment or more graduate assistant who is a nonresident is eligible for resident tuition and fees during the period of the assistantship appointment. Iowa residency is not granted, but a waiver of nonresident tuition and fees is in effect. When the graduate assistantship ends, the tuition and fee waiver for the spouse is terminated. (Board of Regents, State of Iowa, Minutes March 15, 1995, p. 803).

The graduate student must request the resident tuition assessment by midterm of the term in question. The benefit will not be granted retroactively.

Graduate Assistants receiving the tuition benefit in the Spring semester are eligible for it to continue into the immediately following summer term. A Fall assistantship is not required to receive the summer benefit as long as the student received the benefit in the immediately preceding Spring term.

GUIDELINES

The following guidelines are used in determining the resident classification of a student for admission, tuition, and fee purposes:

• A financially dependent student whose parents move from Iowa after the student is enrolled remains a resident provided the student maintains continuous enrollment. A financially dependent student whose parents move from Iowa during the senior year of high school will be considered a resident provided the student has not established domicile in another state.
• In deciding why a person is in the state of Iowa, the person's domicile will be considered. A person's domicile is  presumed to be that of the  parent(s) legal guardian unless the person is independent and establishes a separate domicile. A person who comes to Iowa from another state and enrolls in any institution of postsecondary education for a full program or substantially a full program shall be presumed to have come to Iowa primarily for educational reasons rather than to establish a domicile in Iowa.
• A student who was a former resident of Iowa may continue to be considered a resident provided absence from the state was for a period of less than 12 months and provided domicile is reestablished. If the absence from the state is for a period exceeding 12 months, a student may be considered a resident if evidence can be presented showing that the student has long-term ties to Iowa and reestablishes an Iowa domicile. A person or the dependent of a person whose domicile is permanently established in Iowa, who has been classified as a resident for admission, tuition, and fee purposes, may continue to be classified as a resident so long as domicile is maintained, even though circumstances may require extended absence of the person from the state. It is required that a person who claims Iowa domicile while living in another state or country will provide proof of the continual Iowa domicile.
• A student who moves to Iowa may be eligible for resident classification at the next registration following 12 consecutive months in the state provided the student is not enrolled as more than a half-time student (6 credits for an undergraduate or professional student, 5 credits for a graduate student) in any academic year term, is not enrolled for more than 4 credits in a summer term for any classification, and provides sufficient evidence of the establishment of an Iowa domicile.
• A student who has been a continuous student and whose parents move to Iowa may become a resident at the beginning of the next term provided the student is dependent upon the parents for a majority of financial assistance.
• A person who has been certified as a refugee or granted asylum by the appropriate agency of the United States, who enrolls as a student at a university governed by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, may be accorded immediate resident status for admission, tuition, and fee purposes where the person:
  • Comes directly to the state of Iowa from a refugee facility or port of debarkation, or
  • Comes to the state of Iowa within a reasonable time and has not established domicile in another state.
• Any refugee or individual granted asylum not meeting these standards will be presumed to be a nonresident for admission, tuition, and fee purposes and thus subject to the usual method of proof of establishment of Iowa residency.
• An alien who has immigrant status establishes Iowa residency in the same manner as a United States citizen.
• At the Regent institutions, American Indians who have origins in any of the original people of North America and who maintain a cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition with one or more of the tribes or nations connected historically with the present state of Iowa, including the Iowa, Kickapoo, Menominee, Miami, Missouri, Ojibwa (Chippewa), Omaha, Oneida (Narragansett), Otoe (Otto), Ottawa (Odawa), Potawatomi, Sac and Fox (Sauk, Meskwaki), Sioux, and Winnebago (HoCak, Ho Chunk), will be assessed Iowa resident tuition and fees. (Board of Regents, State of Iowa, Minutes October 15-16, 1997, p. 299)
• Individuals who have received a homeless youth determination may be classified as residents for tuition and fee purposes.

Additional guidelines are used in determining the resident classification of a veteran, qualified military person, and other qualified individuals for purposes of undergraduate, graduate, professional, or certificate tuition and mandatory fees:

• A person who is stationed on active duty at the Rock Island arsenal as a result of military orders, or the child or spouse/domestic partner of such person, is entitled to resident status for purposes of undergraduate, graduate, professional, or certificate tuition and mandatory fees. The child or spouse/domestic partner may be required to submit appropriate documentation to the university.
• The rules for classification of veterans and qualified individuals shall be in full compliance with all federal laws, including Section 702 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (Choice Act). The qualified individual may be required to submit appropriate documentation to the university.
• A person who is moved into the state as the result of military or civil orders from the government for other than educational purposes, or the child or spouse/domestic partner of such a person, is entitled to resident status. The child or spouse/domestic partner may be required to submit appropriate documentation to the university. Legislation, effective July 1, 1977, requires that military personnel who claim residency in Iowa (home of record) will be required to file Iowa resident income tax returns.

FACTS

A. The following circumstances, although not necessarily conclusive, have probative value in support of a claim for resident classification:

1. Reside in Iowa for 12 consecutive months, and be primarily engaged in activities other than those of a full-time student, immediately prior to the beginning of the term for which resident classification is sought.
2. Reliance upon Iowa resources for financial support.
3. Domicile in Iowa of persons legally responsible for the student.
4. Former domicile in the state and maintenance of significant connections therein while absent.
5. Acceptance of an offer of permanent employment in Iowa.
6. Military orders, if for other than educational purposes.
7. Other facts indicating the student's domicile will be considered by the universities in classifying the student.

B. The following circumstances, standing alone, do not constitute sufficient evidence of domicile to affect classification of a student as a resident under these regulations:

1. Voting or registration for voting.
2. Employment in any position normally filled by a student.
3. The lease of living quarters.
4. Admission to a licensed practicing profession in Iowa.
5. Automobile registration.
6. Public records; for example, birth and marriage records, Iowa driver's license.
7. Continuous presence in Iowa during periods when not enrolled in school.
8. Ownership of property in Iowa, or the payment of Iowa taxes.

A PDF of these guidelines is available online here.