Many Auburn University at Montgomery graduating students are looking towards the next step in their education and career: graduate school; however, students may find that AUM does not have the right graduate program for them nor other universities in the state and the cost of out-of-state tuition is intimidating. That is why the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) partners with 16 Southern states through The Academic Common Market (ACM) to allow prospective graduate students “tuition-savings” opportunities to continue pursuing their life-long education along with undergraduates students as well.
According to SREB, ACM allows students to enroll in out-of-state public colleges and universities “who want to pursue degrees that are not offered by their in-state institutions.” This means that students who are limited by the graduate program options or undergraduate program options in the state of Alabama can go to out-of-state public schools for the cost of in-state tuition. Though there are requirements and stipulations, there is a wide and diverse amount of programs that are offered across the following participating states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
To apply and qualify for ACM programs a graduate or undergraduate student:
- Must be a resident of any of the 16 participating states.
- Must be accepted into the program that the student is applying for at the school and meet school requirements.
- Must be certified by the student’s home state
- Confirm that the program the student is pursuing is not offered in the state
- Submit all required documents to verify state residency.
For more information on graduate and undergraduate program opportunities outside of Alabama visit: www.sreb.org/academic-common-market.
By Ashleigh Hicks