Honorable W. W. Heath Opinion No. c-183
Chairman, Board of Regents
'The University of Texas. Re: Tuition fees to be collected
Perry-Brooks Building by the University of Texas
Austin, Texas under Section l(h) of Article
26%~ of Vernon's Civil Stat-
Dear Mr. Heath: utes under the facts stated.
Your reque~stfor opinion on the above subject matter
indicates that numerous nonresident military personnel stationed
in Texas are desirous of obtaining the resident status for tui-
tion fees pursuant to'Section l(h) of Article 26%~ of Vernon's
Civil Statutes. Subsection (h) states as follows:
"Officers. enlisted men and women, selectees
or draftees of the Army, Army Reserve, National
Guard, Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Navy, Navy
Reserve, or E?arineCorps of the United States, who
are stationed in Texas bv assignment to dutv wimp
the borders of.;&: state. shall be Dermitted to
resister themseAs., their husband or wife as the
case may be, arj their,ch<.ldren,in state institu-
tions of,higher learning hi paying the regular tui-
tion fees and other fees or charges provided for
regular residents of the State of Texas, without
regard to th.eJ'Jngthof time such officers, enlisted
men orwomeq, srtlecteescr draftees have been sta-
tioned on actiivedUtym,,hd.thin
the state." (Emphasis
added).
The departmental construction applied by The University
to recurring fact situations is outlined in your letter as fol-
lows :
"In'construing the phrase 'by assignment to
duty within the borders of this state,' it has been
the administrative interpretation of long standing
at The,University of Texas that nonresident military
personnel in order to qualify for the resident tui-
tion rate must be assigned to a duty station within
the borders of this state, actively engaged in mili-
tary duties as contrasted to student assignment and
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Hon. W. W. Heath, page 2 (c-183)
attending school during their off-duty hours
or during their normal annual accrued leave,
rather than in an 'excess leave' status. Such
administrative interpretation has been applied
according to the following three factual situa-
tions:
"1. Nonresident students whose permanent
military assignment is to a Student Detachment
at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and whose duty sta-
tion is at The University of Texas in Austin.
These students are attending school full time
with same being charged to future leave (in ef-
fect in an 'excess leave' category). Such stud-
ents receive no pay or allowances and pay their
own fees, etc. They are required, however, to
report to Fort Sam Houston during any period in
excess of three days when the University is not
in session and receive pay for military duties
performed during such period. These students
are classified as nonresidents for tuition pur-
poses, for the reason that they are not con-
sidered to be assigned to military duty while
attending the University full time.
"2. Military personnel who are assigned
temporarily to a duty station in Texas for the
purpose of playing in a sporting event or par-
ticipating in some other special service of
short duration and who enroll their dependents.
in the University and pay full~tuition fees with-
out government assistance are classified as non-
residents for tuition purposes, for the reason of
thentransient nature of their assignment in Texas.
On the other hand, personnel who are assigned to
an Officers Candidate School for period of seven-
teen weeks' duration, even though on TDY orders,
have been classified as residents for tuition
purposes. The length of time and purpose of their
duty is considered in making such a determination.
"3. Non resident students attending The Uni-
verslty of Texas during their normal