Miscommunication between ASU and out-of-state students has created obstacles for many trying to obtain in-state tuition.
The University Registrar’s Office and the University Residency Appeals Board decide which students receive residency status on a case-by-case basis using policies set in place by the Arizona Board of Regents.
According to ASU officials, an average of 25 to 30 percent of all applicants seeking residency are denied each school year.
Assistant Registrar Scott Thorpe said students often make assumptions as to what residency is before reading the University’s requirements for obtaining in-state tuition.
“We’re pretty deliberate in saying ‘residency’ for tuition purposes,” Thorpe said.
By ASU standards, becoming an in-state student requires the applicant to demonstrate lawful presence in the state while also maintaining proof of financial independence for two years. The applicant must document continuous physical presence in Arizona for at least 12 months and provide the intent to maintain permanent residency in the state.
Industrial engineering senior Lauren Petruccelli submitted her second petition for residency after both her original application and its appeal were denied.
Still awaiting a response, Petruccelli said she doesn’t feel the University shows enough consideration for each individual case.
When in front of the University Residency Appeals Board, Petruccelli said she was not given a chance to explain her case. It was a “line item by line item (of bank statements) type of … interrogation,” she said.
“I submitted different information that wasn’t reviewed,” Petruccelli said. “I definitely don’t trust them.”
During the initial application process, she complied with ASU regulations by submitting the required documents, including her Arizona driver’s license, state taxes and a notarized parental form stating her financial independence.
After being denied the first time, Petruccelli inquired why.
“I got several different answers from several different people, some of which make sense, and some of which don’t,” Petruccelli said.
She said she met with the assistant registrar, who told her the rejection could have stemmed from the fact that she was a minor when she moved to Arizona and got her first job in the state.
“They don’t state this in the petition, which I think is a shortcoming,” Petruccelli said. “But you have to be 18, basically, and then submit when you’re 20.”
Thorpe said there is no definite age requirement.
“The way policy is written, younger students just don’t fit what ABOR defines as an independent student,” he said. “Establishing financial independence right out of high school is very difficult, if not impossible.”
In cases with minors, it is more likely that they would apply as dependents of Arizona residents, Thorpe said.
Former ASU student Melissa Ellis had no choice but to drop out of ASU entirely because of problems obtaining in-state tuition.
In 2011, Ellis first sought assistance from the University, who originally told her she was on the right track for residency and would be able to apply and receive in-state tuition the following year.
Her parents had been taking the Parent Plus Loan since she started at ASU. However, in spring 2012, Ellis learned that the loan her parents had been taking to pay for her education made her ineligible.
“(At the beginning) they said nothing about my Parent Plus Loan,” Ellis said.
A Parent Plus Loan is money loaned to the parents of a dependent undergraduate student to pay for college, according to the ASU financial aid website.
“I did everything I was told (by the University Registrar’s Office) that I needed to do to get in-state residency,” Ellis said. “Arizona told me I was a resident, but ASU said I wasn’t.”
Ellis tried to contact ASU officials about the issue during the spring 2012 semester but failed.
University Registrar officials eventually told her that her best bet was to drop out of school entirely and come back after two years to re-apply.
“They didn’t help me ... They said I had pretty much no chance to get in-state tuition,” Ellis said. “I was so discouraged by what the Registrar’s Office told me.”
Ellis left ASU after the spring semester as a junior and is now working full-time. She is unsure whether she will ever return to ASU.
Last year, the University Registrar’s Office received approximately 1,800 applications for the summer and fall semesters, and approximately 70 to 75 percent were approved, Thorpe said.
ABOR and the University collaborate on the policies and procedures that determine residency requirements, he said.
“(ABOR) gives us our blueprint for what we have to do,” Thorpe said. “They set the policies for us and we follow them as best we can.”
There are no set rules, because every situation is different, he said.
“Residency is fairly complex,” Thorpe said. “It’s not an easy thing to comprehend.”
According to the ASU website, “information regarding residency classification is subject to change without notice.”
Petruccelli said the University requires a lot of excess and unnecessary information to determine residency.
She said she would like to see more consistencies throughout the residency process and an opportunity for each student to argue his or her case.
“They should allow students to have a chance to explain themselves better,” Petruccelli said. “It’s really complicated without a defined set of standards.”
Reach the reporters at cldas@asu.edu and bmlawso2@asu.edu
