North Carolina’s community colleges must admit undocumented students according to a recent memo handed down by the system’s general counsel. The admission of these students now varies school to school, with Central Piedmont providing a “No visa/undocumented” check-box on its application form while Rowan-Cabarrus does not explicitly provide such an option among its citizenship choices.
The new ruling reverses a 2004 finding which allowed local institutions to set their own policy with regard to undocumented students. Of the system’s 58 schools, 22 had either formal or unwritten policies against admitting students who could not provide any immigration status documentation.
According to the memo, undocumented students will be considered out-of-state students for purposes of calculating tuition rates. In-state tuition is lower and only those who can document in-state residency for 12 months prior to enrollment are eligible.
Update: Very interesting. Gov. Whatshisname is backing away from the 1997 opinion the Nov. 7 memo cited as the basis for its decision to order all community colleges to admit undocumented students. Easley’s office now says it was a staff attorney who wrote the opinion and that it had nothing to do with immigration status.
Uh, not so fast.
Here is the exact wording of the Nov. 7 memo: “The 1997 advisory opinion of the Attorney General….” And if the opinion dealt broadly with the issue of “nonacademic requirements” it is still relevant to the issue of immigration status.
Clearly if there is a reach involved, it is community college general counsel David Sullivan who is stretching the opinion. The governor’s office is essentially saying Sullivan has it all wrong.
All the more reason for current AG Roy Cooper to step up and explain where we are headed on this issue.
