Residency status for the purpose of tuition assessment will be made by the university based upon N.J.S.A. 18:62-1 et seq. and New Jersey Administrative Code Title 9. These set forth the standards that individuals legally reside in the state for 12 months prior to enrollment to be eligible for in-state tuition rates.
The procedures outlined below will govern the determination of residency status for the purpose of calculating tuition. All students who are not legal residents of New Jersey within the meaning of the statutes will be assessed out-of-state tuition rates.
Initial Determination of Residency
When an application is submitted for admission to any graduate or undergraduate program the admissions office will determine the applicant's resident status for tuition assessment. This determination will be based upon information supplied by the applicant on the application for admission. Applicants who are not citizens of the United States must complete the non-resident portion of the application and supply documentation of their non-immigrant status.
The university reserves the right to correct any errors in resident status based upon incorrect or insufficient information supplied by the student, which directly or by inference leads to an inaccurate tuition assessment. When an error has been identified and corrected, tuition will be recalculated for the terms affected, and the student will be held liable for any additional tuition.
Legal Determination of Residence
The following statement from the New Jersey Statutes Annotated defines residence for higher-education purposes: "Persons who have been domiciled within this State for a period of 12 months prior to initial enrollment in a public institution of higher education are presumed to be domiciled in this State for tuition purposes. Persons who have been domiciled within this State for less than 12 months prior to initial enrollment are presumed to be non-domiciliaries for tuition purposes."
The university reserves the right to request the student to have the Internal Revenue Service or the New Jersey Division of Taxation forward tax records to the appropriate university office for review or to request same directly from the student.
An individual who claims to have established a new domicile in New Jersey must show (1) a physical abandonment of the previous domicile, together with an intent not to return to it, and (2) actual presence in New Jersey with the intention of remaining permanently in the state for reasons other than attending school.
An individual from another state or country who has enrolled in any type of educational institution in New Jersey prior to applying to NJIT will be presumed to be in New Jersey primarily for educational purposes and will be presumed not to have established domicile in New Jersey. Although the student may present proof to overcome these presumptions, it must be noted that continued residence in New Jersey during vacation periods or occasional periods of interruption to the course of study does not of itself overcome the presumptions.
THE EFFECTS OF MARRIAGE ON RESIDENCY ---- A U.S. citizen or permanent resident who marries a bonafide New Jersey legal resident assumes the domicile of that spouse for tuition purposes in the term following marriage. The same test for residency will be applied to spouses when marriage is claimed as the basis for domicile.
No change in status will occur when a legal resident student marries a non-legal resident.
FOREIGN NATIONALS ---- International students studying under a non-immigrant status (such as F, J, and all others) may be eligible to pay resident tuition upon receipt of their permanent resident card. In addition to receipt of permanent resident status in the United States, students must comply with the definition of "Domicile" as described in that section of the catalog. Any other non-immigrant alien (H-1, E-1, etc., status) will be classified as a non-resident for the assessment of tuition.
Residency will be determined as of the first term following the admission date on the permanent resident card. Applications for residency will not be processed unless a photocopy of both sides of the permanent resident card is included with the application. A tuition refund will be issued if the admission date on the permanent resident card precedes the start date of the current term.
Residence established solely for the purpose of attending a particular college or university cannot be considered as fulfilling the definition of domicile.
Citizens and eligible non-citizen students 24 years old or younger are considered dependents of their parents. Their residence will be determined by the legal domicile of their parents for the determination of New Jersey resident status.
Refugees
Students who have been granted political asylum in the United States may be eligible to pay resident tuition rates effective the semester after which asylum has been granted.
Political Asylum
Students who have been granted political asylum are not permanent residents of the United States and are not eligible to pay resident tuition rates. Employment Authorization Visas issued by INS do not qualify students for NJ resident tuition status.
Request for a Change of Residency Status
Requests for a change in residency status must be submitted to the registrar no later than four weeks before the end of the term for which a change in status is sought. A Residency Analysis Form with all supporting affidavits, deemed appropriate by the registrar pursuant to N.J.A.C. 9A:5-1.1 et seq., must be filed at the time of application. Students who qualify for resident tuition assessment based on the information supplied with their request will have their status changed only for the current and subsequent terms. No adjustments in tuition assessments will be made for prior terms.
Residency Appeals
Appeals on the determination of residency status will be made to the Registrar and will be accepted no later than one month after the date of notification of any such determination. Unresolved appeals will be forwarded to the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services. The Associate Vice President will respond to the appeal within 30 working days of receipt of the appeal. The decision of the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services will be final.
Student Responsibilities
Students are responsible for providing relevant and accurate information upon which a residency determination can be made. The burden of proving residency status lies solely upon the student. Moreover, it is considered the obligation of the student to seek advice when in doubt regarding eligibility for in-state tuition assessment. If the student delays or neglects to question eligibility status beyond the period specified above, the student forfeits the right to a residency assessment to which he or she might have been deemed eligible had an appeal been filed at the appropriate time.
Students who are classified as resident students but who become non-residents at any time by virtue of a change of legal residence are required to notify the registrar immediately.
An independent student loses residency status for in-state tuition payment immediately upon abandonment of the New Jersey domicile. Assessment of non-resident tuition charges will take effect the term following the date of abandonment.
Penalties
If a student has obtained or seeks to obtain resident classification by deliberate concealment of facts or misrepresentation of facts or fails to come forward with notification upon becoming a non-resident, he or she is subject to disciplinary action before the university's Professional Conduct Committee.
Factors Considered in Determining Residence for Tuition Assessment
CLASSIFICATION ---- Students residing in New Jersey for a period of 12 months before first enrolling at a public institution of higher education in the State of New Jersey are presumed to be state residents for tuition purposes.
Students who have been domiciled within this state for less than 12 months prior to the date of enrollment are presumed to be non-residents for the purpose of calculating tuition. Students who assert residency but whose resident status is challenged by the university, must prove their domicile according to the following regulations.
DOMICILE ---- "Domicile" means the place where a person has his or her true, fixed, permanent home and principal living establishment, and to which, whenever he or she is absent, he or she has the intention of returning.
Although actual presence is not necessary to preserve domicile once it has been acquired, a person, if absent from the state, must have the intention of returning to New Jersey in order to remain a legal resident.
In determining whether legal resident status has been shown, mere physical presence and the assertion of a declaration of intent to remain in the state may not be sufficient. To assist in determining whether a person is a New Jersey legal resident, the primary evidence of residency, although not dispositive, is a notarized affidavit setting forth domicile and a copy of New Jersey income tax return substantiating employment in New Jersey as the applicant's primary reason for residing in the state. In the case of dependent students, a copy of the parent's or legal guardian's New Jersey tax return will be required in addition to the affidavit. The following additional items may be considered: voter registration of the individual in New Jersey; a New Jersey driver's license and/or a registration or such other information as the university deems acceptable. In unusual circumstances, if primary evidence is not available, the institution may make a determination of New Jersey domicile based exclusively on supplementary evidence; however, supplementary evidence may not be deemed sufficient to justify a determination of legal resident status.
If a student resides with his or her parents or legal guardians for more than six consecutive weeks last or this year, or is dependent upon them for food, clothing, or shelter during the present or prior year, or is claimed, or will be claimed, as a dependent for income tax purposes for the last or current year, the student is deemed to be financially dependent. In such case, the domicile of the individual's parent or legal guardian for the year prior to the term of admission will determine the domicile of the dependent student.
Conversely, if a student has not lived, and will not live, with parents or legal guardians for more than six consecutive weeks during the present or prior year; and has not received and will not receive financial assistance from parents or legal guardians of more than $750 in support of any kind including food, clothing and shelter last year and this year; and has not been claimed as an exemption on parents' or legal guardians' tax return last and this year; and has resources, which should be at least equal to the level of public assistance in the preceding calendar year, the individual is deemed to be financially independent and student's own domicile, for the year prior to the term for which New Jersey domiciliary status is sought, will determine his or her legal resident status.
PRESENCE IN NEW JERSEY DUE TO MILITARY SERVICE ---- As a general rule, in the absence of any intention to effect a change of domicile, the domicile of a person is not affected or changed by reason of his or her entry into the military service.
United States military personnel and their dependents who are living in New Jersey are regarded as residents of the state for tuition purposes.
