Say Anything Blog

Nearly 4,000 students at Arizona universities and community colleges have been denied in-state tuition this year because they failed to prove they were legal residents. The largest share is at the community colleges.

Arizona universities and colleges recently began requiring students to prove their citizenship after state voters passed Proposition 300, a ballot initiative that prevents undocumented students from getting in-state tuition and state-funded financial aid.

Undocumented students can still attend colleges and universities, but they must pay out-of-state tuition. At many schools, the out-of-state prices are more than triple the in-state tuition.

Maricopa Community Colleges, the state’s largest community college district, had the most students whose legal status was unverified, according to a recent report to the state’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee. The report shows 1,720 students were ineligible for in-state tuition. Of those, 145 were denied state financial aid. The district has nearly 111,443 in-state students. Arizona State University reported 207 students were ineligible for in-state tuition, while University of Arizona reported 119 and Northern Arizona University reported 20.