Utah's higher ed schools tracking nonresident students properly, audit singles out 2 state colleges for errors

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's universities and colleges adequately screen student applicants for their residency status; however, two state colleges have been told to beef up their documentation process.

Out-of-state students pay up to four times the tuition that resident students pay among Utah's nine higher education institutions. State officials say the reason is that nonresident students have exhibited no intention to stay in Utah and contribute to the community. "Nonresident students must show their intent to contribute to the community which subsidized his or her education," Utah's Residency Officer's Handbook states.

Nonresident students make up between 4 to 14 percent of Utah's total higher education student population.

A legislative audit released Tuesday singled out two state colleges for failing to keep adequate documentation of a student's residency status. The audit found record keeping at Dixie State College and College of Eastern Utah were both lacking.

Of the student files examined, almost one quarter (23 percent) lacked proper documentation proving residency, according to the audit. The audit also noted that in the past Dixie State had made residency questions on their application optional. State auditors found three students that had been inappropriately determined as residents.

CEU was also found to lack proper documentation in a handful of cases. While student applications at CEU fell between 2009 and 2010, auditors noted that incidents of residency errors increased. A sample of applications found 6 percent of applications had errors in 2009 and 14 percent in 2010.

The audit did note that as of last year Dixie State had tightened its controls over their application process.

As for Utah's major institutions, such as University of Utah, Utah State, Weber State and Utah Valley universities, auditors found their residency processes and requirements were functioning properly.

Auditors recommended that CEU's residency reclassifications be taken over, or at least be monitored by, USU.

In an official response to the audit, state higher education officials said they appreciated the audit recommendations. "Efforts have already been made to improve documentation and other processes regarding residency determination," William Sederburg, commissioner of higher education, stated in an official response.