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DOWNLOAD THE RESIDENCY PETITION FORM
To establish Missouri residency and qualify for in-state tuition and
fees at MWSU a student must meet official residency requirements, as
established by the State of Missouri and the Coordinating Board for
Higher Education (6 CSR 10-3.010). This ruling provides guidelines for
determining eligibility for students to acquire in-state tuition at a
Missouri public postsecondary institution.
It is the duty and responsibility of the student to apply and
register under the proper residence status and pay the appropriate
tuition and fees. It is the further duty of the student, if there is any
possibility that the nonresident fee credit is applicable or residency
status changes while a student at MWSU, to file the appropriate
paperwork for consideration.
Initial residency status is determined at the time of admission and
based on the primary residence at that time. Students who wish to appeal
this decision or appeal later in their academic career at MWSU and have
established Missouri residency, may complete a Petition for Residency as
distributed and processed by the Registrar's Office.
Residency appeals must be received by the Registrar's Office before
the end of the first week of the current term for which the student is
registered. Appeals will not be accepted after this date. If a
student is granted residency status, tuition will be adjusted to reflect
the in-state rate. The decision is not retroactive to previous terms. A
student awarded residency status will continue to receive an in-state
tuition rate as long as continuous enrollment is maintained at MWSU
(Fall-Spring). If a student skips a regular semester (Fall-Spring) after
being awarded residency status which then requires reapplying for
admission, the student may also need to appeal residency again.
Definitions
(CBHE Rule) "Residency" or "Resident Status" shall mean that status
which is achieved when sufficient proof of a domicile within a state is
presented.
(CBHE Rule) "Unemancipated Minor Student" shall mean any student not
having attained the age of twenty-one (21) years, and under the care,
custody or support of the individual or individuals having legal custody
of said students.
(CBHE Rule) "Emancipated Minor Student" shall mean any student not
having attained the age of twenty-one (21) years and who is not under
the care, custody and support of an individual or individuals having
legal custody.
(CBHE Rule) "Domicile" shall mean presence within a state with an
intent of making the state a permanent home for an indefinite period.
(CBHE Rule) "Adult Student" shall mean any student having attained
the age of 21 years.
Student Classification Categories
(CBHE Rule) Adult Students. If an adult student, not a resident,
shall present sufficient proof of the establishment of a domicile within
the State of Missouri, said student shall be granted resident status at
the first enrollment following the establishment of said domicile.
(CBHE Rule) Unemancipated Minor Students. The domicile of an
unemancipated minor is presumed to be that of the individual or
individuals having legal custody of the student. If those having legal
custody of the student establish a Missouri domicile, that student shall
be granted resident status at the first enrollment following the
establishment of the Missouri domicile. Once un emancipated minor
students have established resident status under this rule, they may
continue to qualify for resident status so long as they remain
continuously enrolled, excluding summer terms, in a Missouri institution
of higher education, even if the individual or individuals having legal
custody of the unemancipated minor students cease to hold Missouri
resident status.
(CBHE Rule) Emancipated Minor Students. The domicile of
emancipated minor students shall be determined as if they were adults. A
minor may become emancipated through marriage, formal court action,
abandonment or positive action of alienation on the part of the minor.
In all instances, alienation from care, custody and support shall be
complete and the burden of satisfactory proof of emancipation shall be
that of the minor student.
Mere absence of the student from the domicile of the individual or
individuals having legal custody of that minor student shall not
constitute proof of emancipation. In no instance shall a minor student
be eligible for emancipation when that student is taken as an income tax
deduction by a second party other than a spouse.
(CBHE Rule) Members of the Military Forces. Students shall
neither gain nor lose resident status solely as a consequence of
military service. For the purposes of student resident status, military
personnel, when stationed within the state of Missouri pursuant to
military orders, their spouses and unemancipated minor children shall be
regarded as holding Missouri resident status. However, a member of the
military forces who is specifically assigned, under orders, to attend a
Missouri institution of higher education as a full-time student, shall
be classified, along with their spouses and unemancipated minor
children, as if they had no connection with the military forces.
(CBHE Rule) Noncitizens of the United States. Students who are
not citizens of the United States must possess resident alien status, as
determined by federal authority, prior to consideration for resident
status. Aliens present within Missouri as representatives of a foreign
government or at the convenience of the United States or Missouri
governments and holding G visas shall be entitled to resident status,
except for those who are government-funded students. Aliens and their
dependents holding A or L visas may be granted resident status if
determined to be individually designated as representatives of their
governments and whose education is not government-funded.
Exceptions to the above rule may apply to international students who
attend MWSU through an officially approved exchange agreement, thereby
granting temporary in-state resident status for fee paying purposes.
Refugees and Persons Granted Asylum. A student who is
classified as a refugee or as one who has been granted asylum by the
United States Immigration and Naturalization Service and who has been
granted permission to remain in the United States shall be granted
resident status, if there is proof of the establishment of a domicile in
Missouri. Presence in the State of Missouri for such a person shall
begin with the date indicated on the alien registration card.
University Staff or Children or Spouses of University Staff.
Any full-time benefit eligible employee of this University, or the
unemancipated minor child, adult dependent (as defined by IRS
guidelines), or spouse of such employee shall qualify for resident
status when enrolling as a student at Missouri Western State University.
Students receiving resident status based on this guideline may lose this
eligibility if employment of said MWSU employee ends.
Graduates of Missouri High Schools. A graduate of a high
school located in Missouri, whose parents (or legally appointed guardian
or custodian) are residents of Missouri at the time of the student's
graduation from high school and whose initial registration at the
University occurs at the beginning of the next academic term, excluding
summer terms, following graduation from high school, is presumed to be a
Missouri resident so long as he or she remains continuously enrolled at
Missouri Western State University.
Determination of Resident Status
(CBHE Rule) Attendance at an institution of higher education shall be
regarded as a temporary presence within the state of Missouri;
therefore, a student neither gains nor loses resident status solely by
such attendance.
(CBHE Rule) The burden of proof of establishing eligibility for
Missouri resident status shall rest with the student.
(CBHE Rule) In determining resident status for the state of Missouri,
either of the following shall be sufficient proof of domicile of a
person and their dependents within the state of Missouri:
- Presence within the state of Missouri for a minimum of twelve
(12) immediate past, consecutive months coupled with proof of an
intent to make the state of Missouri a permanent home for an
indefinite period; or
- Presence within the state of Missouri for the purposes of
retirement, full-time employment, professional practice or to
conduct a business full-time.
(CBHE Rule) In determining whether a student holds an intent to make
the state of Missouri a permanent home for an indefinite period, the
following factors, although not conclusive, shall be given heavy weight:
continuous presence in the state of Missouri during those periods not
enrolled as a student; presence within the state of Missouri upon
marriage to a Missouri resident and the maintenance of a common domicile
with the resident spouse; substantial reliance on sources within the
state of Missouri for financial support; former domicile within the
state and maintenance of significant connections while absent; and
ownership of a home within the state of Missouri. The twelve month
period of presence within the state does not, in and of itself,
establish resident status in the absence of the required proof of
intent.
(CBHE Rule) The following factors indicating an intent to make the
state of Missouri a permanent home for an indefinite period shall be
given less weight than those in subsection above and include: voting or
registration for voting; part-time employment; lease of living quarters;
a statement of intention to establish a domicile in Missouri; automobile
registration or operator's license obtained in Missouri; and payment of
income, personal and property taxes in Missouri. The factors listed in
this subsection have applicability only as they support the intent to
make the state of Missouri a permanent home for an indefinite period.
Dispute of Decision
Any student unwilling to accept a residency ruling as determined by the
Registrar's Office may appeal to the Residency Committee, as appointed
by the Provost. The Committee shall hear the appeal and, if requested by
the student, shall allow the student to present the appeal in person to
the Committee. The decision of the Residency Committee is final.
Nonresident Credit
For those nonresidents who pay Missouri income tax, the nonresident
student shall receive a credit against the nonresident student fee in an
amount equal to the actual Missouri income tax paid for the previous
calendar year except that the remaining fee obligation shall not be less
than the amount of the resident student fee. Unempancipated minor
students are eligible by reason of payment of Missouri income tax by the
nonresident individual or individuals having legal custody of said
student. A student entering in January shall be regarded as entering in
the immediately preceding fall for purposes of determining previous
calendar year. For a student entering after January, previous year means
immediate past calendar year.
To receive a nonresident credit the student must furnish to the
Financial Aid Office with satisfactory evidence that the tax was paid,
the date of payment and that the student is entitled to a credit.
Evidence may include a copy of the State Income Tax return, together
with canceled checks (or photo copies) or if all taxes were withheld the
Mo-WH-2 form (or a photo copy) showing the amount of tax withheld. After
reviewing the evidence submitted the Financial Aid Office may request
other evidence of payment of tax.
The nonresident tax credit will be applied to the student's account
and may impact other financial aid including, but not limited to, the
Neighboring States and Midwest Student Exchange Scholarship Programs.
A tax credit may be used only once as a nonresident credit during a
calendar year. But, any tax credit not used in a given term may be
carried forward to be used in a subsequent term, subject to the time
limitation stated above. If several students from the same family claim
allowable tax credit, the tax credit shall be applied as the taxpayer
directs, if the taxpayer does not direct application, the Financial Aid
Office shall make such application.
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