*1 The Attorney General of Texas October 3; 1979

MARK WHITE

Attorney Qeneml opinion No. RR-63

Honorable Kenneth Ii. Ashwarth.

coordinating Board Re: Tuition for foreign students

Tex&College & University System enrolled in junior coReSea Austin, Texas 79711 Dear Dr. Ashwcrth: 701 corn--. sun4 200 OIIW. TX. 7.5202 214nudou You have *uested our apInion regardinS the tuition rate for foreign

st~denta enrolled in public junior colleges. Senate Bill 530, enacted by the 66th. Lvgislature, amended m&tee&ion 0 of section 54.051 of the Texas Rducation C+de to provider

Tuition for students who are dtiakns of any country other than the United States of America is the same 12.3 M4l”. sun4 010 as ttitlon required of other nonresident students. . ,. . Houton, TX. 77002 71sMMm)l %&ion 13O.OOS(b~I) of the R&cation Code requires that a junior college, in order to be eligible for its share of the biennial state appropriation,’ Km Blndw4y. sulh 212 LUbbook, lx. 7sw collect, from each full-time and part-time student 2cdn47-2222 enrolled, matriculation and other session fees in the

amounts required and provided by law for other state- swported institutions of higher education, ertoept, however,. . . that the amount charged nonresidents . . . need not be greater than the amount so required bylawonJanuaryl,1971 . . . .

You ask whether, if a junior college elects to charge tuition to nonresident students at a rate equal to or greater than the amount required by law on January 1, 1971, but lem thanthe amount which a senior college must charge, it may apply the same rate to foreign students.

In Attorney General Opinion H-103 U973), this office distbquished between three classes of students for tuition purposes - resident, nonresident and alien - and said that

aliens are not the students defined as Mn-residents~ for whom tuition Is provided by section 54.051(c) . . . .

p. 197 *2 .

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Honorable Kenneth II. Ashwath - Page Two (Mw-631

Since there are threes categories bf students - residents, nonresidents and foreign students - the exception in section 130.003(b)(4) relating to nonresidents does not extend to fore&n students. Thus, it is our opinion that,a junior college ‘in order to be eligible for its share of ths biennial state appropriation, must charge the same rate to foreign students as that charged by state senim collegea See Rduc. Code S 54.057 (indicating how a foreign student can qualify for resident tuition). -

SUMMARY A public junior college, in order to be eligible for its share of the biennial state appropriation, must charge foreign students the same tuition rate charged by state senior colleges.

Very truly youm, MAR.K WHITE Attorney General of Texas : J&IN W. PAINTER; JR.

Fimt Assistant Attorney Qeneral

TED L. HARTLEY

Rxecutive Assistant Attorney General

Frqared by Rick Gilpin

Assistant Attorney &neral

APPROVBD:

OF’INION COMMiTTEE

C. Robert Heath, Chairman

Martha Allen

David B. Brooks SusanGarrison

William Q Reid

Bruce Youn@lood

p. 198