Academic Common Market

Do you want to pursue a degree program that is not available in your state? Have you found a degree program at an institution that is located outside your home state, but out-of-state tuition is a hindrance?  If so, Academic Common Market could be for you.

The SREB Academic Common Market has enabled students to pursue out-of-state college degrees at discounted tuition rates, through agreements among the states and colleges and universities.

The Academic Common Market (ACM) is a tuition scholarship program allowing residents of a participating state to pursue specific academic degree programs not offered in their home states without having to pay non-resident tuition charges. The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) coordinates the ACM program for the sixteen participating states, which include Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

To be eligible for the Academic Common Market, the student must be a legal resident of that state and be approved for an academic program that has already been approved for ACM. Both Undergraduate and Graduate students may be eligible to apply.

Search from more than 1,900 undergraduate and graduate degree programs available in the 16 SREB states. It's quick and easy.  For more information on Academic Common Market, visit SREB.ORG.

 

To qualify you must: 

To be eligible for the ACM non-resident out-of-state fee waiver, certification letters for the student from the ACM state coordinator must be submitted and approved by The University of Southern Mississippi  by the first day of classes of the term in which the student enrolls.  Questions regarding submission or deadlines should be directed to 601-266-4774.

• Be a resident of one of the 16 SREB states.
• Select a program eligible for residents of your home state.
• Complete the admission process at the institution offering the eligible Academic Common Market program.
• Be certified as a resident of your home state by contacting the ACM coordinator for your state of residence. 

 

To retain your ACM waiver, you must: 

 

The ACM Non-resident Tuition Remission is 100 percent and will remain at the 100 percent level as long as the student meets the following criteria.

 

• The student must remain a legal resident of the state from which the student received ACM certification.
• The student must remain in the approved academic degree program which the student was certified. If a student changes his or her academic degree program (major) from the approved ACM academic degree program, then the student must inform the financial aid office of said change. Effective the date of the major change, the student will be responsible for the non-resident tuition which will be pro-rated for the current semester and for any remaining semesters at USM and will no longer be eligible for the ACM non-resident tuition waiver.
• The student must remain enrolled as a full-time student each semester. For undergraduates, the minimum requirement is 12 semester hours for the fall and spring semesters. For graduate students, the minimum requirement is 9 hours for the fall and spring semesters.
• The student must remain in academic good standing and comply with all the requirements of the approved academic program (requirements may be program specific) for which the student was certified for ACM. To be in good standing the student must be making satisfactory academic progress towards the academic degree program, such as taking the appropriate courses as approved by the academic advisor each semester. The student must also maintain the appropriate GPA (2.0 GPA for undergraduates and 3.0 GPA for graduates). Progress and course requirements will be determined by the financial aid office at the end of each semester to determine eligibility for the next term.
• If a student remains out of school from USM for one calendar year or more, then the student must obtain recertification from their ACM state coordinator. Continuance in the ACM program after a one year absence is not automatic.

 

At the end of each semester grades will be checked and you must:

 

• Be in academic good standing with a USM overall GPA of 2.00 (undergraduate) or a USM overall GPA of 3.00 (graduate).
• Comply with all the requirements of the approved academic program (requirements may be program specific and require a higher GPA) for which you were certified for ACM.
• If at the end of the semester you do not have the required GPA, you will be placed on ACM probation.  Students will have one term to raise their overall GPA to the required minimum. 
• If at the end of the ACM probation semester you do not have the required overall GPA, you will no longer be eligible for the ACM non-resident tuition remission until you are back in academic good standing.
• There is only one ACM probation semester for ACM recipients for which the tuition remission will be covered.

Questions concerning ACM for USM should be directed to Financial Aid at 601-266-4774.