Thread: 119 UA students reclassified as out-of-state

119 UA students reclassified as out-of-state
Renee Schafer Horton
Tucson Citizen
Jan. 1, 2008 07:44 AM

TUCSON - Since July 3, the University of Arizona has been able to corroborate the legal status of 758 of the 877 students it previously reported as "not verified" under the strictures of Proposition 300.

Passed by voters in November 2006, Proposition 300 requires illegal immigrants to pay out-of-state tuition and bans them from receiving state tuition assistance.

The state's universities and community colleges were required to file Proposition 300 compliance reports with the Joint Legislative Budget Committee by June 30 and again Monday.

In June, UA reported that 877 students had not proved their legal status to the university. Those students were notified that further documentation was needed and 758 students provided it.

The remaining 119 students have been moved from in-state to out-of-state status, according to the report UA filed Monday, which was provided to the Citizen by the Arizona Board of Regents.

Out-of-state tuition is $16,058, compared to $4,824 for in-state students.

Of those 119 students, six came forward to UA officials and said they would not be able to provide documentation proving legal residency.

Rather than have them drop out of school, private donors, including the UA Foundation, agreed to pay their tuition, said Paul R. Kohn, vice provost for enrollment management and dean of admissions. A spokesman for the foundation could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

Kohn was out of his office and unable to access the list of students but said it is unlikely the remaining 113 are in the country illegally and also unlikely that they have paid the out-of-state bill.

More probable, he said, they are graduate students receiving graduate tuition assistance that covers out-of-state tuition, or children of UA employees who qualify for reduced tuition and thus didn't feel pressured to provide documentation that would allow them to qualify for in-state tuition.

UA spent about $159,000 implementing Prop. 300 while the increase in tuition for the six students was about $70,000, Kohn said.

Pima Community College also filed a report on Monday, said spokesman David Irwin, but he was unable to provide details because of the holiday.


http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... op-on.html

Then many are using phony IDs, birth certificates and SSNs. There is no way only 6 students at the U of A are illegal.

If I was an alumni and contributed to the UA foundation I'd be very upset that my money went to one of these students. Can this be explored? Can I get a private donor for my American children???

Rather than have them drop out of school, private donors, including the UA Foundation, agreed to pay their tuition, said Paul R. Kohn, vice provost for enrollment management and dean of admissions. A spokesman for the foundation could not be reached for comment Monday evening.