Published: August 23, 2006
PJC students who are not Florida residents may be affected by changes in residency requirements that will become effective in fall 2007.
To receive in-state tuition rates, students are required to present two documents that indicate legal ties to the state with issue dates of at least 12 months prior to the first day of classes. At least one of these documents must be a Florida Driver’s License, Florida Voter’s Registration, or Florida Vehicle Registration, Martha Caughey, PJC Admission/Registration Coordinator, explained.
The Florida Board of Governors has legislated that “A student, or if a dependent his or her father, mother or guardian, must maintain legal residence in the state of Florida for at least 12 months immediately prior to the first day of classes of the term for which residency status is sought at a Florida institution.” The change in policy concerns a student’s college attendance before being classified as a Florida resident.
As of July 1, 2007, “students who are admitted as non-residents for classes beginning after July 1, 2007, will never be able to reclassify as residents for tuition purposes if they are full-time enrolled at any time, in any semester, during the 12 months in which they are attempting to establish residency,” Caughey said.
If the student is 24 years of age or younger, the eligibility requirements typically pass to a parent or legal guardian, though exceptions are made for younger students who are filing their own taxes and are not claimed as a dependent by anyone else. If a dependent student’s parents are not Florida residents, the dependent student cannot be classified as a Florida resident regardless of the length of time residing in the State of Florida.
Therefore, if a potential non-resident would like to take courses at a Florida college, and would like to declare residency in Florida, the student must not register for 12 credit hours or more in any semester for the 12 months on which the residency in Florida will be based.