CPTC is responsible for the verification of the lawful presence of every successfully admitted student as required by state and federal immigration laws. Legal residence in the state of Georgia requires the establishment of a domicile in the State of Georgia with the intent to remain indefinitely. Coastal Pines Technical College has the responsibility of evaluating each application, while the student has the responsibility of conveying current and accurate residency information. This information is used in determining the appropriate tuition rate to be paid by each student. In accordance with the policy of the Technical College System of Georgia, CPTC recognizes three student residency categories: Georgia Resident, Out-of-State Student, and Non-Citizen Student. The rate of tuition charged is based on a student’s status on the first day of the term.
Students applying for in-state tuition must submit at least one secure and verifiable document defined in Georgia Code Section 50-36-1.
Determining a student’s residency status must be based on the existence of surrounding objective circumstances that indicate a student’s intent to maintain a permanent presence, or Domicile, in the State of Georgia. No single factor is conclusive. Similarly, there is no predetermined number of factors required to be met. The following indicators may be considered when documenting the Domicile of an individual, but this is not an exhaustive list:
- Location of employment.
- Location of voter registration.
- Location of property, including home purchase, and taxes paid thereon.
- State for which the individual filed and paid state income taxes.
- Address and other information on federal and state income tax returns.
- State where the person’s automobile title is registered and the payment of property taxes thereon.
- Address on driver’s license and state of issuance.
- Address on the Georgia Driver’s License Bureau ID.
- Reason for initially coming to Georgia.
- State of issuance of business, professional, or other licenses.
- Location of checking, savings, or other banking accounts.
Citizenship Requirements:
- A student meets the Citizenship Requirements, for purposes of this procedure and the related policies, if he or she is a United States Citizen, born or naturalized.
- A student meets the Citizenship requirements, for purposes of this procedure and the related policies, if he or she is an Eligible Non-Citizen, according to the Federal Title IV definition.
- Ineligible Non-Citizens: A Non-Citizen cannot qualify for in-state tuition. However, in the discretion of the President of the college the international tuition may be waived in favor of an out of state tuition rate for a Non-Citizen who has been verified as lawfully present in the United States in accordance with state and federal immigration laws.