Qualifying Scholarships for LAC Students to Obtain Florida Residency
Information on behalf of the Office of the Registrar
- General Guidelines
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Per Florida Residency Exception guideline 1009.21(10)(e), LAC students who are paid a scholarship or grant administered by USF (i.e. federal, state, institutional) for a term, will be reclassified automatically as instate for the purpose of charging tuition if they are enrolled full time for that term. USF Foundation Scholarship do not qualify a LAC student to have their residency reclassified.
The actual process of residency re-classification will be handled by the Office of the Registrar each term.
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• The Office of the Registrar determines if a student is from an LAC country, based on information provided at time of application (e.g. student visa, permanent resident card, etc.).
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• Questions about enrollment status and residency re-classification should be directed to AsktheRegistrar.
University Scholarships and Financial Aid Services will track qualifying funds in OASIS to assist the Registrar.
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- Definition of a Qualifying Scholarship
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A “qualifying scholarship” must be administered by USF and the recipient must be selected with no outside influence.
The scholarship application/selection process should be fair and equitable for all students who meet the stated criteria.
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Scholarship application/selection criteria must be attached to the New/Update Fund Code form and is subject to annual audit review.
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Full time enrollment should be required for each term.
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Merit criteria (e.g. College, Department, Major, GPA, application deadlines, etc.) are ideal because this population includes international students.
o A need component requires a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) which is only processed for U.S. Citizens and eligible non-Citizens
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- Renewability
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There are situations where a student becomes ineligible for a qualifying scholarship due to inadequate academic performance or term limits. As a result, their residency for tuition will be changed to out of state.
While not required, it is advisable to establish renewal criteria and term limits for scholarships you are funding because losing a scholarship causes significant financial difficulty for the student.
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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Q: Can a scholarship be created specifically for students from an LAC country?
A: No. If an existing scholarship program meets the definition of a “qualifying” scholarship it will be tagged as LAC by University Scholarship & Financial Aid Services (USFAS) when the fund is created. A student from an LAC country that receives an LAC tagged scholarship for a term and enrolls full time for the same term will be re-classified as in-state for tuition purposes by the Registrar.
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Q: Can the scholarship criteria require the student recipient to be from an LAC country?
A: No. Any scholarship program whose funding source, application/selection process and eligibility requirements meet the “qualifying” criteria will be tagged as LAC by University Scholarship & Financial Aid Services (USFAS). A student from an LAC country that receives an LAC tagged scholarship for a term and enrolls full time for the same term will be re-classified as in-state for tuition purposes by the Registrar. If a student is not from an LAC country, no action will be taken by the Registrar.
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Q: If a LAC student does not receive a scholarship, can they receive temporary in-state residency for tuition purposes for another reason?
A: Yes! This process does not prevent students from receiving temporary in-state residency status for tuition purposes due to other reasons unrelated to receiving a scholarship. The Registrar provides students with information regarding options for tuition residency reclassification which may be specific to a student's individual circumstances per Florida Statutes via the Residency Reclassification web site.
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Q: How do I know if any student(s) already receiving one of my existing scholarships has an LAC tag added by University Scholarship & Financial Aid Services (USFAS)?
A: The USFAS Administrative Support web site provides a report which may be used for this purpose.
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The Fund Reconciliation report will list term based student level information (e.g. level, classification, enrollment, tuition residency, etc.) for a given Financial Aid fund code. Th e fund code designated on the Payment Request form is the same one to be used in the report.
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• If there are students from an LAC country receiving a scholarship that meets the "qualifying" criteria, the New/Update Fund Code Form should be completed as soon as possible.
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Q: Will University Scholarship & Financial Aid Services (USFAS) change the LAC tag if there are no students who are from an LAC country?
A: No other action needs to be taken unless the application/selection process, eligibility criteria, funding source or administrative requirements change for a scholarship.
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