UNC’s graduate student residency process has been denying a lot of graduate students residency status compared to recent years, and nobody knows why.
The residency status committee must clarify criteria on how to gain in-state residency. It’s been apparent that criteria are either ill-defined or unknown. Either way, the decisions of the committee appear inconsistent.
Chancellor Holden Thorp discussed the inconsistency of the residency process in the chancellor’s advisory committee on Monday, saying that UNC needs to clarify exactly what criteria determine a graduate student’s residency.
The process for determining in-state residency has caused many graduate students to question what exactly the “in-state” classification means. Graduate students have learned the hard way that it takes more than just living in North Carolina to gain residency.
Some graduate students have been denied residency as North Carolina citizens, while others have gained residency only to lose it. Clearly, there is a misunderstanding between students and the committee that needs to be fixed.
The requirements stated on UNC’s graduate school website are vague. The website states that a student is eligible for residency if they have maintained a “domicile” in North Carolina for a year with the intent of staying in the state indefinitely and not just for school.
Once a graduate student has filled out the residency application, it is sent to the status committee for review. The committee then decides whether the student has “domiciliary intent” through submitted evidence such as income tax returns, voter registration records and a driver’s license.
There is no reason why a matter so important should be so opaque. The current system is not only difficult, but threatens competitiveness. Good grad students want to know if they can attain residency.
If criteria are not transparent, then they’re onerous for people to meet, and no one can know if decisions are consistent.
