Annual Report to the Faculty Senate
Non-Resident Fee Review Committee
2005-2006
Committee Members
(Faculty):
Kathy Schuh ( Psychological & Quantitative Foundations)
(Committee Chair)
Carolyn Brown (Speech
Pathology and Audiology)
Stewart Ehly (Psychological
& Quantitative Foundations)
Ex-officio Member:
Larry Lockwood
(Registrar’s Office)
Administrative Support
Diane Graber
(Registrar’s Office)
Administrative Liaisons:
Larry Lockwood
(Registrar’s Office)
Gerhild Krapf (Finance)
Marc Mills (UI General
Counsel)
Meeting Dates:
The Non-Resident Fee Review
Committee scheduled monthly meetings throughout the Fall,
Spring, and Summer semesters (September 1, 2005 – August 31, 2006). Meetings for which there were no scheduled
appeals were canceled. We met 9/21;
1/18; and 4/19. Meetings for the
remainder for the 05-06 year are scheduled for 7/17 and 8/14. Our meetings were held in the
Committee Charge and Activities:
The work of the
Non-Resident Fee Review committee begins after a student who has been
classified as a nonresident for tuition purposes submits a letter of appeal to
the University Registrar. The purpose of
each appeal is to request a change of status from nonresident (for tuition
purposes) to resident. The Registrar
composes a file for each student, and mails this file to each committee member
for review prior to the group meeting.
The committee invites each student to attend the meeting in person. Most students accept the invitation and
attend. During each meeting, the
committee reviews the official Guidelines with the student, and we converse
with each student to listen to his or her case as to why he or she qualifies to
be classified as a resident for tuition purposes. After that, the committee meets privately to
discuss each individual appeal and then votes on each student’s final resident
classification. We considered 5 cases thus
far this year, with 3 more scheduled for our July meeting. This number was a bit lower than it had been
in recent years. All of the completed appeals
were successful—the student was re-classified as a resident for tuition
purposes. Should an appeal be
unsuccessful, students have the option to appeal to the Board of Regents.
Given the small number
of appeals the committee made productive use of the meetings by continuing to
review the Guidelines regarding resident status. We discussed and debated the weight of
particular guidelines and facts relative to others in light of current and past
cases. We believe the review has
provided guidance for the Registrar’s Office who initially reviews the appeals. This, along with the Registrar’s Office
careful approach in addressing initial requests for residency changes, has lead
to a decreased number of appeals that reach the Committee.
Final Conclusion and Recommendations to the Senate:
Certainly there will
always be students who appeal their non-resident status. The Non-Resident Review Committee will
continue to provide an avenue for those students who wish to appeal, ensuring
their concerns are heard, and that a decision fair to the student and the
University is rendered.
Report
submitted by Kathy L. Schuh, NRFRC Chair