Below is a summary of the new policy that passed:

All students who are “residents” of Rhode Island are eligible to pay tuition and fees prescribed by the Board of Governors for in-state students in public higher education.

A student who is neither a U.S. citizen nor a permanent resident of the United States, and who meets the requirements listed below to establish Rhode Island residency shall pay in-state tuition. This includes adult students and adolescents who live with their parents.

In-state tuition and fees are available to a student who meets the following criteria:

a. The student has attended an approved Rhode Island high school for three (3) or more years and continues to live in Rhode Island; and
b. The student has graduated from an approved Rhode Island high school or received a high school equivalency diploma (GED) from the state of Rhode Island; and
c. If the student is not a U.S. citizen and/or does not have lawful immigration status, he or she has filed an affidavit with the institution stating that the student has filed an application for lawful immigration status, or will file such an application as soon as he or she is eligible to do so;
d. A student without lawful immigration status shall file an affidavit with the institution of higher education stating that the student has filed an application to legalize his immigration status, or will file an application as soon as he is eligible to do so; and
e. The student is not, and if he or she lives at home, his or her parents are not in the United States on a temporary visa as embassy representatives or international students.

This policy does not go into effect until the Fall 2012 semester.

Click here for links for students looking to apply for acceptance in Rhode Island state colleges & universities for the Spring or Fall of 2013.