Residence Status for Tuition Purposes
North Carolina residency as determined for tuition purposes is governed by state law. A legal resident for tuition purposes is a person who has demonstrated that he or she has been a North Carolina legal resident for at least the twelve consecutive months immediately preceding the school term for which he or she is requesting classification of residency for tuition purposes.
All students who wish to be considered eligible for North Carolina tuition rates must complete a residency status form. If you apply online, you can submit your residency status form online. If you apply by mail or fax, you can print out the downloadable residency status form and submit it with your enrollment form. This form must be submitted along with your application. If you believe that you qualify as a North Carolina resident for tuition purposes, submit the fee for North Carolina residents. If you are determined not to be a resident for tuition purposes, you will be billed for the difference in tuition. Please be advised that even if you have chosen to submit the tuition for North Carolina residents, unless you are notified to the contrary in writing, your classification is nonresident for tuition purposes.
Processing your residency form typically takes a month; decisions will take more than a month near our application deadlines when the volume of applications is greater. If you are classified as a nonresident and you wish to appeal that decision, it will take at least six weeks for an appeal hearing to be scheduled.
If you register for a course prior to a final determination of your residency application or appeal, you will be required to pay the nonresident tuition rate. If the final decision classifies you as a nonresident and you decide to withdraw from school, keep in mind that you will receive a prorated financial credit at the out-of-state rate if withdrawal is done prior to the prorated refund deadline.