The University of North Carolina Wilmington recently denied junior Monique Cuff North Carolina post-secondary in-state residency and tuition status under claims of foreign student classification.

A press conference was held February 13 to solicit the help of the media.  “We’re trying to enlist the media and public support to make UNCW spend more time reviewing the case,” Cuff’s step-father Bill Johnston said.  “It may help to get public opinion on our side.”

Although originally from Canada, Cuff has lived and gone to school in North Carolina for two and a half years and started school at UNCW in Spring 2008.  She’s currently paying out-of-state tuition even though she claims to reside in Wilmington with her family.  In-state tuition costs around $15,000 per year while out of state is $25,000.

After formal written appeals to UNCW, Dr. Terrence M. Curran, Associate Provost for Enrollment Management, stated that Cuff’s interim F-1 student visa status did not qualify her for NC residency due to restrictions on time and activity.  This is due to the fact that her personal Permanent Resident petition is currently pending and not yet approved.

However, UNCW’s sister college, UNCG, claims that students who have pending Permanent Resident applications are considered “domestic” and not foreign applicants.  UNCW claims that admissions regulations used by other North Carolina colleges are not binding on them even though both schools are governed by the same board members and in the same school system.

“We’ve researched all the statutes and regulations and sent our information to all 32 members of the UNCW board of governors,” Johnston said.  “Only two acknowledged us.”

Cuff and family argue that they are in compliance with North Carolina State Residence Committee Administrative Memorandum #25 which states that if both parents of the student are bona fide domiciliaries of the state for 12 months, then their children are also.  Her parents have been legal Permanent Residents in America North Carolina residents since 2005 according to a document from the Department of Homeland Security and have lived in North Carolina for ten years.

Her parents’ tax returns for the past three years also clearly indicate that the IRS has accepted Monique as their dependent.

Cuff attended Wake Technical Community College her freshman and sophomore years of college where he was granted in-state tuition.  She transferred to be a geology major and hopefully obtain a job in the petroleum field or oil industry.

Junior Monique Cuff said about UNCW, “They were really welcoming and made me feel like I wanted to be there.  I love the area and it’s nice having small classes.”

“It’s just frustrating because they made it seem like it would be a smooth transition,” she continued.  “We pay taxes, but we can’t reap any of the benefits of education.”

The third and last appeal for this process will take place during a 20 minute meeting Friday, February 15 with the UNCW residency appeals staff.  While the media is allowed, both Cuff and reporters are not allowed to ask any questions. 

If UNCW denies Cuff, Johnston plans to submit information to the American Civil Liberties Union, along with other places.

“If it’s not granted, I guess we’ll just keep repealing it,” said Cuff.  “But for now my faith is in UNCW.”