[RO] Residency when Washington parent is deceased?

[Tanjagay Martin]

Hi Alison,

Was the admission application started while the father was still alive and submitted two days after his passing? With online applications, it is common for applicants to begin the process and finalize their submission days later. It is possible that the student initiated the application while his father was still living. There is no indication that the father intended to leave the state; sadly, he passed away. Had he remained alive, the student's residency status wouldn't have been in question.

Perhaps there should be a provision in the RCW stating that if a parent passes away within a certain number of days before the start of a term-and the student can provide both proof of the parent's Washington domicile and a death certificate-they may still be eligible for resident tuition as a dependent.


Respectfully,

Tanjagay Martin | ctcLink Functional Trainer

WA State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
PO Box 42495 | 1500 Jefferson St. SE, Olympia, WA 98501-2495
tmartin at sbctc.edu<mailto:tmartin at sbctc.edu>

From: RO <ro-bounces at lists.ctc.edu> On Behalf Of Alison Bazeley via RO
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2025 11:42 AM
To: ro at lists.ctc.edu
Subject: [RO] Residency when Washington parent is deceased?

[Sent from outside SBCTC]

Hello Residency friends,

I'd like to get your input on a question we received from a first year undergraduate applicant admitted for Autumn.

The applicant lived out of state with his mother, but wants to claim Washington residency based upon his father.  This applicant's father passed away in November 2024, two days prior to when the applicant submitted his UW application.  We routinely go through the process to verify the residency of students applying from outside of Washington who have one parent here, so this student is in the group being asked to verify.

There is some question as to whether we actually can verify the residency of this student, given that their parent is no longer living in Washington, will not have been living in Washington for the twelve months prior to when the student verifies their residency or attends UW, and is not able to participate in the verification process/sign the application/provide information.

On the flip side, not giving this applicant any consideration for residency doesn't fully pass the ick test for me.  I feel like we (or someone) has seen this situation before and there's guidance out there somewhere.

Further information:  The applicant has told us that his sister has attended UW for several years as a resident, based upon their father.  We wouldn't share materials or information between students because of FERPA, but we can see that this is true.  The sister verified her residency with our office in 2021, based upon her father.  Both her admission application and her residency application place dad here since the 1970s.  I can also find dad's obituary online, posts from his WA employer saying he'd worked there for years, etc.

One overarching concern is setting a precedent and drawing boundaries.  If we would accept this student as a resident based upon his late father's long-term residency, where would we draw the line?  Does it matter how recently the parent passed away?  How long they lived here?  What proof should we ask for in an application?  Etc.

Thanks for your insights!


ALISON BAZELEY
Residency Officer, Residence Classification Office
Office of the University Registrar, University of Washington - Seattle Campus
Please visit our website for more information on submission procedures and office hours.
http://registrar.washington.edu/students/residency/

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