Undocumented Students: What's the Policy Environment in Your State?
New Resource from the National Forum and NASFAA Help You Understand Where Your State Stands
Washington, DC -- July 11, 2012 -- President Obama issued an executive action last month to stop deporting younger illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, and begin granting work permits for some DREAM Act-eligible students. It was the most recent salvo in an ongoing debate about the educational rights of undocumented students.
To help campuses, the National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good has issued a report based on a survey of institutional policies and practices concerning undocumented students. Members of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) were among those surveyed. Now, NASFAA has created a web center to help disseminate the findings and to help aid administrators determine their state’s policy environment regarding this divisive issue.
Financial aid is generally not available for undocumented students, and allowing a path to permanent residency and its many educational and social benefits is the primary goal of the DREAM Act, a controversial piece of legislation that has languished in Congress since 2001.
Despite federal laws that discourage states from offering in-state tuition rates at public institutions to undocumented students, there are a few states that allow undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition. Most do so by either not asking incoming students to verify U.S. citizenship, or by basing eligibility for in-state tuition on graduation from an in-state high school (instead of state residence). Other states have specifically taken steps to deny in-state tuition and still others have not addressed the issue.
As the individuals tasked with admitting and registering students, it’s critical that higher education officials understand where their state stands in terms of policy environment.
This report and web resource center:
- Offer an overview of federal and state policies for undocumented students;
- Give a snapshot of the number of undocumented students in each state, and the type of policy environment present;
- Examine how higher education officials consider and weigh conflicting values concerning the educational aspirations of undocumented students;
- Compare policy environments with the actual practices that shape access, participation and graduation
- Explore how postsecondary institutions respond to existing laws regarding undocumented students and how they define compliance with them;
- Provide recommendations for campus administrators and higher education associations working to increase access to higher education for undocumented students.