Admission Policies

Download as PDF

For admission to an Alabama Community College System institution, an applicant must provide:

  • All students must provide a transcript (if applicable) and provide other appropriate documentation as required by specific programs to complete their admission file.
  • All international applicants must provide: a VISA acceptable to the United States and an official translated copy of the student’s high school/college transcript: a minimum score on an approved English as a Foreign Language exam as specified in the guidelines: signed, notarized statement verifying adequate financial support: and documentation demonstrating adequate health and life insurance which must be maintained during enrollment.

For the protection of the public and to assist in maintaining state and local security persons who are not citizens of the United States may not be admitted to any Alabama Community College System institution for the purpose of enrolling in flight training, or in any segment or portion of a flight training program, until appropriate certification and approval have been received from the office of the Attorney General of the United States, pursuant to the section 113 of the Aviation Transportation and Security Act, regulations of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and all other applicable directives.

An applicant who fails to satisfy the requirements above will not be unconditionally admitted to the institution.

Required Admission Documentation

Applicants who have not previously attended a duly accredited postsecondary institution will be considered first-time college students or “native” students.

Degree-seeking students must submit an admission application, proof of high school graduation, official transcript from high school or GED, and official transcripts from all other colleges attended. Students with an earned associate degree or bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education are not required to submit a high school transcript.

Admission to Courses Creditable Toward an Associate Degree

There are two types of admission status: unconditional and conditional.

Unconditional Admission: Students who have applied and submitted all required documentation may be admitted as unconditional status.

Conditional Admission: Students who have not submitted all required documentation may be admitted as conditional status (excluding transient and internationals students). Failure to provide documentation by the end of the first semester, as determined by local institutional calendars, will prevent a student from future registration and official transcript release.

Residency Policy

For the purpose of assessing tuition, applicants for admission will be classified in one of three categories.

  1. Resident Student
    1. A resident student will be charged the in-state tuition rate established by the Alabama Community College System.
    2. A resident student is an applicant for admission who meets all legal requirements or is a duly registered resident in the state Alabama for at least twelve (12) months immediately preceding application for admission, or whose non-estranged spouse has resided and had habitation, home, and permanent abode in the state of Alabama for at least twelve (12) months immediately preceding application for admission. Consequently, an out-of-state student cannot attain resident student status simply by attending school for twelve (12) months in the state of Alabama.
    3. In the case of minor dependents seeking admission, the parents, parent, or legal guardian of such minor dependent must have resided in the state of Alabama for at least twelve (12) months preceding application for admission. If the parents are divorced, residence will be determined by the residency of the parent to whom the court has granted custody.
      1. Minor: An individual who, because of age, lacks the capacity to contract under Alabama law. Under current law, this means a single individual under nineteen (19) years of age and a married individual under eighteen (18) years of age but excludes an individual whose disabilities of non-age have been removed by a court of competent jurisdiction for a reason other than establishing a legal residence in Alabama. If current law changes, this definition shall change accordingly.
      2. Supporting Person: Either or both of the parents of the student, parents who are living together, or if the parents are divorced or living separately, then either the parent having legal custody or, if different, the parent providing the greater amount of financial support. If both parents are deceased if neither have legal custody, supporting person will mean, in the following order: the legal custodian of the student, the guardian, and the conservator.
    4. In determining resident student status for the purpose of charging tuition, the burden of proof lies with the applicant for admission.
      1. Students having graduated from an Alabama high school or having obtained a GED in the state of Alabama within three (3) years of the date of application for admission shall be considered resident students for tuition purposes.
      2. An individual claiming to be a resident will certify by a signed statement each of the following:
        1. a specific address or location within the state of Alabama as his or her residence;
        2. an intent to remain at this address indefinitely; and
        3. possession of more substantial connections to the state of Alabama than with any other state.
      3. Though certifications of an address and an intent to remain in the state indefinitely will be prerequisites to establishing status as a resident, ultimate determination of that status will be made by the institution by evaluating the presence or absence of connection with the state of Alabama. This evaluation will include the consideration of the following connections:
        1. consideration of the location of high school graduation;
        2. payment of Alabama state income taxes as a resident;
        3. ownership of a residence or other real property in the state and payment of state ad valorem taxes on the residence or property;
        4. full-time employment in the state;
        5. residence in the state of spouse, parents, or children; previous periods of residency in the state continuing for one (1) year or more; voter registration and voting in the state; more significantly, continuing voter registration in the state that initially occurred at least one year prior to the initial registration of the student in Alabama at a public institution of higher education; possession of state or local licenses to do business or practice a profession in the state; ownership of personal property in the state, payment of state taxes on the property, and possession of state license plates;
        6. continuous physical presence in the state for a purpose other than attending school, except for temporary absences for travel, military service, and temporary employment;
        7. membership in religious, professional, business, civic, or social organizations in the state;
        8. auxiliary services in the state of checking and savings accounts, safe deposit boxes, or investment accounts; and;
        9. ownership of personal property in the state, payment of state taxes on the property, and possession of state license plates;
        10. in-state address shown on selective service registration, drivers’ license, automobile title registration, hunting and fishing licenses, insurance policies, stock and bond registrations, last will and testament, annuities, or retirement plans.

    5. Students determined to be eligible for resident tuition will maintain that eligibility upon re-enrollment within one (1) full academic year of their most recent previous enrollment unless there is evidence the student subsequently has abandoned resident status, for example: registering to vote in another state. 

      Students failing to re-enroll within one (1) full academic year must establish eligibility upon re- enrollment.

  2. Non-Resident Student
    1. A non-resident student is one who does not meet the standard of having resided in the state of Alabama for at least twelve (12) months immediately preceding application for admission.
    2. A non-resident student will be charged the in-state tuition rate established by the Alabama Community College System under the following circumstances, provided such student is a citizen of the United States.
      1. The dependent student is one:
        1. whose supporting person is a full-time permanent employee of the institution at which the student is registering; or
        2. whose supporting person can verify full-time permanent employment in Alabama and will commence said employment within ninety (90) days of registration; or
        3. whose supporting person is a member of the United States military on full-time active duty stationed in Alabama under order for duties other than attending school; or
        4. whose supporting person is an accredited member of a consular staff assigned to duties in Alabama.
      2. The student is not a dependent (as defined by Internal Revenue Codes) who:
        1. is a full-time permanent employee of the institution at which the student is registering or is the spouse of such an employee; or
        2. can verify full-time permanent employment within the state of Alabama or is the spouse of such an employee and will commence said employment within ninety (90) of registration with the institution; or
        3. is a member of or the spouse of a member of the United States military on full-time active duty stationed in Alabama under orders for duties other than attending school; or
        4. is an accredited member of, or the spouse of, an accredited member of a consular staff assigned to duties in Alabama.
    3. In determining non-resident student status for the purpose of charging tuition, the burden of proof lies with the applicant for admission. The College may request proof the applicant meets stipulations noted above prior to admission.
  3. Out-of-State Student
    1. Any applicant for admission who does not fall into Section II (Non-Resident Student) above shall be charged a minimum tuition of two (2) times the resident tuition rate charged by that institution.
    2. Students initially classified as ineligible for resident tuition will retain that classification for tuition purposes until documentation is provided verifying eligibility for resident tuition.

Residency Policy For Veterans, Dependents, and Spouses

For the purpose of assessing tuition, students who are veterans, dependents, and spouses will receive in-state tuition rates if classified as one of the following:

  1. The student is a member or spouse of a member of the United States military on full-time active duty stationed in Alabama under orders other than attending school.
  2. Commencing on May 22, 2012, the student has been a member of the Alabama National Guard for a period of at least two years immediately preceding qualification for resident tuition and continues to be a member of the Alabama National guard while enrolled at the public institution of higher education.
  3. The student is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States, provided that the veteran has become a resident of Alabama and satisfies at least one of the following conditions:
    1. The veteran has served on active duty for a continuous period of time, not less than two (2) years, and has received an honorable as verified by a United States Department of Defense Form 214 within five (5) years of enrolling at an Alabama public institution of higher education.
    2. The veteran is currently serving in a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States, as verified by a memorandum from the commanding officer of the veteran student.
    3. The veteran has been assigned a service- connected disability by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
  4. The student is an out-of-state veteran who resides within ninety (90) miles of a campus located in Alabama and has enrolled at an institution whose board of trustees has voted to allow non-resident in- state tuition for active and retired military.
  5. The student is, at the time of registration, a minor whose supporting person is a member of the United States Military on full-time active duty stationed in Alabama under orders for duties other than attending school.
  6. The student is a spouse or dependent of a veteran who has become a resident of Alabama and is utilizing either a transferred Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill® benefit or is a recipient of the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship (Fry Scholarship).
  7. The student is a spouse or dependent of a veteran who has become a resident of Alabama and is utilizing the Chapter 35 Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA) program.