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Minnesota West Policies

Chapter 2 - Students

2.2 State Residentcy Requirements

Procedure 2.2.1 State Residency Reclassification

This procedure provides guidance on the process to be followed when a nonresident student requests to be reclassified as a Minnesota state resident and the information that may be used in support of that request.

Domicile is a person's true, fixed and permanent living place. Domicile is the place to which a person intends to return after temporary absences. A person may have only one domicile at a time.

  1. Demonstration of Domicile and Factors to be Considered. In order to be reclassified as a Minnesota state resident, a student must first demonstrate the establishment of domicile in Minnesota as described in this part.

  2. Required Period of Residence. A student must have resided in Minnesota for a continuous period of one calendar year immediately prior to applying for reclassification, and residence in Minnesota during this period of time must not have been solely or primarily for the purpose of attending a college or university

  3. Other Factors. Each of the following additional facts and circumstances may be considered in the evaluation of a petition for a change in state residency, and other factors not listed may also be considered. The existence of any one of these factors is neither necessary nor sufficient to form the basis for a decision. It is the student's responsibility to provide documentation or evidence of any factors to be considered in the reclassification decision.

      1. Continuous presence in Minnesota between academic terms or other periods when not enrolled as a student.
      2. Registration as a voter in Minnesota.
      3. Ownership of a home in Minnesota.
      4. Domicile of the student's spouse in Minnesota.
      5. Registration of the student's automobile in Minnesota.
      6. For a dependent student, domicile in Minnesota of the student's parent or legal guardian.
      7. Evidence of the intention to acquire a domicile in Minnesota.
      8. Sources of the student's financial support are generated within Minnesota.
      9. An offer of employment in Minnesota to begin after the student's projected date of college or university graduation.
  4. Decision. A student’s petition for reclassification shall be considered and a decision made within one week of receipt of petition and all necessary documentation. A student whose residency is changed to that of a Minnesota resident shall be charged the resident tuition rate effective at the beginning of the term of enrollment following the date the petition was submitted. Classification of a student as a Minnesota resident shall apply to all Minnesota State colleges & universities.

  5. Appeal. Students may appeal a decision not to reclassify a student as a Minnesota resident by requesting their initial petition be forwarded to the college provost for additional review.  The provost’s decision shall be final.


    Approved by:  Richard Shrubb, President
    Date:  February 7, 2014
    History & Revisions: