Reciprocity

There are special agreements reached between various states allowing students to pay tuition rates which are less than the non-resident rates. These arrangements are called reciprocity agreements.

General Information

A student in non-resident status will be paying non-resident tuition unless reciprocity is approved for the student by the student's home state. It is important to apply for reciprocity early to avoid charges for late payment of tuition bills. The student is responsible for the entire non-resident tuition until reciprocity has been approved. The deadline for applying for reciprocity in any semester is the last day of that semester.

There currently are reciprocity agreements between Minnesota and...

Wisconsin
* ALL Wisconsin students must apply to the state of Wisconsin for reciprocity. You may apply online or print out a form and mail it to the Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board address as given on the form.

North Dakota
* ALL transfer students (or students who graduated from high school more than 12 months prior to attendance at Southwest Minnesota State University) must apply to the state of North Dakota for reciprocity. You may apply online or use the paper application.
* Freshman students entering directly from high school (within 12 months after graduation) for Fall or Spring terms, need NOT apply for reciprocity.

South Dakota
* South Dakota residents entering Southwest Minnesota State University within seven years of graduation from a South Dakota high school and whose parents still reside in South Dakota, need NOT apply for reciprocity.
* If you do not qualify for these reasons, but feel you are a South Dakota resident, contact the Registration Office

Paper Reciprocity Applications

Paper application forms that can be sent to particular states.
Be sure to use the correct year's form when you apply.

Print, read, and fill out the application carefully!

Mail the application to your home state's address, located on the form. A letter of eligibility should be forthcoming from your home state within six weeks.

Once a student has become eligible, they remain so unless they change schools or do not earn at least one credit during a reciprocity year. In either of these cases, the student needs to reapply to their home state to insure reciprocity coverage.

Please check your online invoice to make sure it does not read NM or NON-RES for residency status. Contact the Registration Office, if you are being charged non-resident tuition rates and you believe that you should have reciprocity.

Questions concerning reciprocity should be directed to the Registration Office.