Office of the Registrar

Domicile Services

• Southern Regional Education Board
• Academic Common Market – Virginia

Academic Common Market Policy

1. To be eligible for the Academic Common Market, a student must be accepted as a degree seeking student in the specified undergraduate major or graduate program with a regular [not provisional, probationary or non-degree] admission status.  The State Certificate for the ACM program must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office before the beginning of the first semester.  Mason will not accept any retroactive certificates.
2. Students must make satisfactory progress toward their degree and be continuously enrolled and full time. Satisfactory progress includes but is not limited to meeting all degree time limits per the university catalog.
3. Students may come to Mason through the Academic Common Market to pursue a specific academic program that is not offered in their state of residence.  This is the only program that ACM students may pursue.  Students may not add programs such as certificates, minors, double majors, different concentrations or additional degrees to the approved program as noted on their State Certificate.* Students may be certified for only one degree through the ACM in their career at Mason.
4. Every course taken must apply to the approved degree.  Please note that degree applicability will be checked every semester.
5. ACM status only applies to the minimum credit hours needed to complete the approved degree.
6. Students suspended or dismissed from their academic program may not resume studies through the Academic Common Market.
7. Access through the Academic Common Market requires that students maintain their residency in the certifying state throughout their academic program:
   
   a. In most cases, students maintain their permanent address in that state.
   
   b. Students must inform the Registrar’s Office immediately if their state residency, or that of the person on whom they are dependent,  has changed.
   
   c. Any ACM student who applies for Virginia in-state tuition privileges immediately gives up ACM eligibility, whatever the outcome of the in-state application.
   
   d. For applicants for in-state tuition privileges, the 12 month period of domiciliary intent cannot overlap or coincide with ACM status, since they are mutually exclusive benefits.
   
   e. Students who interrupt their academic program long enough to need to re-enroll must also be re-certified by their state for ACM and accepted by the Mason Registrar’s Office.
8. Active duty military members assigned to Virginia, and their dependents assigned to Virginia or contiguous states may find special military in-state tuition privileges more advantageous.
9. ACM students are out-of-state domiciles whose tuition bills default to out-of-state.  A manual adjustment is made to the bill once registration is complete for each semester of eligibility. Students should register early to avoid late fees!
10. Like all students at Mason, ACM students must activate and check their Mason e-mail regularly.  Students are responsible for all communications sent by the university – on ACM and all other topics – via e-mail.

*ACM students enrolled in additional programs at the beginning of the Spring 08 semester may complete those programs, but may not add any other degree components while in ACM status