International Education
Tips for U.S. military families
U.S. military personnel and their families should consider the following information when trying to determine eligibility for in-state tuition or waivers.
Military "Home of Record"
The state listed as the "home of record" of a member of the U.S. Armed Forces is normally considered by the Department of Defense (DoD) as the state of domicile of that person, regardless of his/her permanent or temporary duty station. If that state has a resident income tax, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service will withhold appropriate state taxes for the military member, reflected on the "leave and earnings statement," or payroll record. (To list a different state as "home of record," one must take the active step to change the personnel records.)
However, in determining residency status for tuition purposes, an individual state or higher education institution may choose to ignore the home of record designation and go directly to a review of other factors, such as tax payment, home ownership, voter registration, etc. or require copies of both earnings reports and home of record documentation. This is a critical difference that must be taken into account by military members and their families.
Military dependents
The definition of "military dependents" may vary in state residency policies. The DoD term in current use is "family members," which signifies immediate relatives, including spouse and children. States or individual institutions may have different interpretations, some including a dependent spouse, others including a spouse regardless of independent income, yet others - no spouse at all, only dependent children. Listings in this Guide make this distinction whenever the information was provided clearly. One should not make assumptions about "dependents" for residency classification without checking the specific policy or regulation.
Active-duty service outside the home state
Most states make allowance for active-duty military personnel serving in their states as nonresidents by providing temporary waivers of out-of-state tuition surcharges during the period of service. (The exception is usually for military personnel who are assigned to complete coursework at a state institution as part of their service - in this case the state seeks to collect full fees from the sponsoring military agency.) However, this may apply only to the military member, not to dependents. In some cases, the dependents may apply for residency status on their own, with corresponding durational requirements, particularly if they have graduated from high school in the state. Similarly, in some instances military dependents who are enrolled in a public institution in a state where the parent is stationed on active duty may retain a waiver for a set 'grace period' or be reclassified when the parent is transferred to a different duty station out-of-state. In states with a high number of military bases and personnel, such as North Carolina or California, there may frequently be a university staff person who is dedicated to handling such details.
Status for veterans
Still other regulations come into play when military personnel leave active service and decide to retire in the state of their last duty station, changing their domicile. Some states are very generous to veterans and count their period of service towards the durational requirement; in other states one must start from scratch to establish residency.