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AUSTIN, Texas – A decorated Marine (search) enrolling in college was shocked to learn his Texas driver’s license, car registration and bank records weren’t enough to get the lower resident tuition rates.
Carl Basham (search) said officials at Austin Community College recently told him that he lost his Texas resident’s status because of the years he spent out of state on two tours of duty in Iraq.
Not having the in-state designation would mean paying around $2600 a semester in tuition, instead of about $500.
The school’s response surprised the 27-year-old Beeville native, who is registered to vote in Travis County, has a Texas driver’s license and does his banking in Austin (search).
Officials at the college said that Basham didn’t meet state requirements as determined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. A school spokeswoman says privacy laws prevent prevented her from commenting on his case.