Determination of Residence for Tuition Purposes

Residence for tuition purposes is determined by state law for state-supported colleges, and as such is subject to change by the Texas Legislature.  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has created required core questions to determine residency for tuition purposes on the application for admission.  Answer to the questions will be reviewed to determine each student's proper residency classification for tuition purposes.  If answers affirm the student's claim to residency, the core questions are sufficient for documenting the student's classification.  However, if the student's answers to the core questions are inconsistent, the institution must acquire and maintain appropriate documents to support the student's classification as of the census date of the relevant term. 

Documentation may be requested by the institution in order to resolve issues raised by responses to the Core Residency Questions.  The listed documents may be used to establish that the person is domiciled in Texas and has maintained a residence in Texas continuously for 12 months prior to the census date.  Documentation must be on file no later than the official enrollment date to be valid for any given semester or summer term and subsequent enrollments.  Failure to provide the information to MSU Admissions may result in a delay of reclassification.

Other information regarding definition and rules concerning residency may be found at the
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board website. 

Residence reclassification requests or questions concerning eligibility for Texas residency status should be directed to MSU Admissions.  Reclassification requests must be initiated by the student as residence status changes are not made automatically.