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Glossary and Definitions of Terms

BURDEN OF PROOF
The burden of proving domicile rests upon the student, who must prove domicile in Colorado by "clear and convincing evidence". "Clear and convincing" means evidence that is more persuasive than "more likely than not" but less persuasive than "beyond a reasonable doubt."

DATE OF REGISTRATION
Shall be defined by the institution but shall not be later than the first day of classes for which domiciliary classification is claimed.

DEPENDENT OF MEMBER OF THE ARMED FORCES
The individuals recognized by the petitioner's branch of the U.S. Armed Forces as legal dependents.

DOMICILE
A domicile is a person's true, fixed, and permanent home and place of habitation. Only a qualified person can establish a domicile.

DOMICILIARY INTENT
A person will not qualify for in-state residency if they don't intend to live in Colorado permanently or indefinitely. The person does not need to intend to live here forever; however the intention to live their undetermined amount of time suffices.

EMANCIPATED MINOR
An emancipated minor is a minor whose parents have entirely surrendered the right to the care, custody, and earnings and no longer are under any duty to support the minor

EMANCIPATION
At the age of twenty-two, an unemancipated, unmarried student whose parents are not Colorado residents becomes emancipated and eligible to establish his own domicile. A student under the age of twenty-two whose parents are not Colorado residents will automatically be emancipated upon legal marriage.

FOUR YEAR RULE
If your parents (or court-appointed legal guardians) maintain Colorado domicile for four years and establish domicile elsewhere, you will remain eligible for in-state tuition if:

  • Your parents leave Colorado after your junior year of high school and if you enroll at a Colorado public college or university within three years and six months after your parents leave Colorado or you maintain continuous Colorado domicile.
  • Or if you remain in Colorado when your parents leave.

 

GUARDIANSHIPS
Students in these circumstances may qualify for in-state tuition through the domicile of a Colorado guardian only if your guardian has legal custody as defined by Colorado Revised Statutes 19-1-103(73).

IMMIGRANT ALIEN
Persons who are lawful permanent residents or who are admitted as refugees are eligible to establish domicile for tuition purposes.

IN-STATE STUDENT
An in-state student is a student who has been domiciled in Colorado for one year or more immediately preceding registration at any institution of higher education in Colorado.

INSTITUTION
A college, university, or junior college in Colorado supported by funds from the state legislature.

MEMBER OF THE ARMED FORCES
An active duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces, as specified by federal law, including U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or other such service.

MINOR
A minor is defined as a male or female person who has not attained the age of twenty-two years.

NON-IMMIGRANT ALIEN
Nonimmigrant aliens, who are residing in Colorado, for purposes other than education, may qualify for in-state status after one year of Colorado residence. Nonimmigrants in the following categories cannot qualify for in-state tuition: F-1, F-2, H-3, H-4 (if the visa holder is the spouse or child of an H-3), J-1 and J-2 (if the J-1 visa holder is a student or trainee), M-1, and M-2.

PARENT QUALIFIED STUDENT
A parent-qualified student is an un-emancipated minor who is not domiciled in Colorado but who has a parent who has established a Colorado domicile

PETITION
A petition is a formal request by a student or prospective student to be considered a Colorado resident for purposes of in-state tuition classification.

PETITIONER
The individual seeking to prove Colorado domicile for purposes of paying in-state tuition.

PROLONGED ABSENCE
There are a number of accepted prolonged absences from Colorado that will allow a student to maintain their residency status. They are as follows:

  • Military or governmental service
  • Temporary job relocation where the employer does not intend the job to be permanent.

 

QUALIFIED PERSON
A qualified person is a person qualified to determine his or here own domicile.

REGISTERING AUTHORITY
The individual designated at each campus that has authority for making tuition classification decisions. Commonly know as a tuition classification officer

RESIDENCE ABROAD
Generally, a U.S. citizen does not establish a new domicile while living abroad absent qualifying as an immigrant unless:
A person becomes married to a citizen of that country or a person is employed with a foreign concern.

TIMELY
Timely, in terms of residency, is defined by each institution as the reasonable period of time, no more than 30days, in which to produce clear and convincing evidence regarding the petition for in-state tuition classification.

TUITION CLASSIFICATION
Tuition classification is the process by which an institution determines a person's residency status for purposes of charging in-state or out-of-state tuition.

UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS
An alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible for in-state tuition.