During the course of summer break, students were required to submit an electronic verification of their citizenship or immigration status in the United States through OneStart.
Failure to comply would have resulted in a student being charged non-resident tuition and the loss of various financial rewards.
“I didn’t see it until I tried scheduling my classes,” Devin Rainbolt, communications senior, said. “It wouldn’t allow me to do it until I verified my citizenship.”
Indiana House Bill 1402 went into effect July 1, which states that institutions can take away in-state tuition eligibility from students “not lawfully present” in the country.
If a student makes a fraudulent statement or representation in a verification required by the state, they will have committed a Class D felony and could be issued a prison sentence of two to seven years.
“I think people are honest enough,” Rainbolt said.
However, Kristal Miller, English junior, said she had a different opinion.
“People probably aren’t being honest when it’s just so easy to click ‘Yes,’” Miller said. “It’s a good idea but probably not the best way to go about it, considering it’s so easy to lie.”
If the verification of an individual is not completed by November 2011, they will be charged out-of-state tuition rates and institutional funding will be removed from their account.
“We only have 120 enrolled students who still need to complete the E-verify program,” Brittany Hubbard, director of Financial Aid and interim director of the Academic Success Center, said. “I personally think that’s quite a success considering we have over 7,200 students currently enrolled.”
Rainbolt said he did not mind verifying his citizenship, but he wondered why it was happening now.
“I didn’t bother me, I just kind of wondered why they were just now asking me after already being enrolled at IU Southeast for four years now,” Rainbolt said.
If the department is unable to verify the citizenship or immigration status of an individual, the department will notify the United States Department of Homeland Security.
“We have had difficulty trying to determine the best way to notify students, particularly those that would not normally use the IUS e-mail system,” Hubbard said. “We are planning a postcard campaign and hope to have 100 percent compliance before any negative consequences go into effect, but from what I’ve heard, most other institutions are using a similar process to our E-verify system.”
By TAYLOR FERGUSON
Staff
tayfergu@ius.edu
