Fayetteville Policies and Procedures  515.0 

Tuition or Registration Fees Waivers for Students Sixty Years of Age or Older

Board policy 520.12 states as Arkansas Code Annotated § 6-60-204 provides  when any person sixty (60) years of age or older is admitted to and enrolls as a student in any state-supported institution of higher learning in this state, the board of trustees of the institution or other appropriate institutional officials shall waive all the general student fee charges for each student on a space-available basis in existing classes. Fees will be waived only for courses organized to grant credit and recognized by the Department of Higher Education for credit.

By definition, there is no space available in classes that do not meet enrollment minimums and are subject to cancellation or in self-supporting classes until enrollment is at levels required to pay class costs. Enrollment minimums established by Academic Policy 1640.10 are 14 in lower level courses, 10 in upper level courses and 5 in graduate courses. This definition is the basis for exempting from the application of Board policy 520.12 both low enrollment classes on campus and classes offered through Global Campus, except as described below.

Specifically, if the enrollment is requested in an on-campus class, student fee charges applicable to the enrollment (including tuition, college fee, health fee, transit fee, facilities fee, library fee, network/data systems fee, student activity fee and student media fee) shall be waived when space is available in classes for which fee-paying student enrollment meets minimums. Students 60 years of age or older who are accepted for enrollment without paying tuition and fees shall not be entitled to any university services or benefits, other than classroom instruction. Such students shall not be entitled to student health services, reduced student-rate admissions to athletic or university events, and similar services and benefits for which fee paying students are eligible.

If the enrollment is requested in an off-campus class, including study abroad classes, only in instances in which sufficient fee-paying enrollment has been registered to meet the costs of the class or in which the class is not scheduled for cancellation despite low enrollment, and to the extent space is available, will students 60 years of age or older be admitted with general student fees waived. Charges for travel costs are not included in "general student fees" and cannot be waived.

Students 60 years of age or older seeking admission must meet generally applicable admission and academic standards, and are subject to probation, suspension, and dismissal policies applicable to all other students.

This policy applies to residents of the state of Arkansas and may not be used in conjunction with other financial aid or other university policies which reduce tuition and fees. Registration under this policy may not occur until the last week day prior to the start of the term.

Students 60 years of age or older may be admitted to open on-campus or off-campus or study abroad classes by paying all applicable fees and meeting the same requirements as other students.

Enrollment Services is responsible for administration of this policy.

Revised June 1, 2016
Reformatted for Web September 8, 2014
Revised January 2012
Revised November 26, 1996
March 7, 1993