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SOURCES:
ACADEMIC COMMON MARKET HANDBOOK SOUTHERN REGIONAL EDUCATION BOARD, 1985.

The Academic Common Market is an interstate agreement for sharing educational programs and facilities so that students can participate in selected programs not offered in their home states without having to pay out-of-state tuition charges. The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) coordinates the activities of the Academic Common Market for the 14 participating states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia).

One of the primary functions of the Academic Common Market is to assist states in offering together what they cannot offer alone. Programs are added to and removed from the Market on an annual basis in order to reflect the changing needs of participating states.

States are asked to indicate to SREB the kinds of programs that are unavailable through their own institutions, and in which they want to gain access in other states. This information is shared with other states, which can then determine if they have programs that would be appropriate for the Common Market. On this basis, in early spring, states recommend programs from their own institutions to be included in the Common Market. The recommendations are compiled and circulated among the states. If one or more states select a given recommended program, it is included in the Market for residents of the state(s) which selected it. If a program is not selected at this time, it remains on the nominated program list for two more years. An updated booklet and other publicity materials are then prepared and distributed. For more information, see https://www.sreb.org/academic-common-market.

Students wishing to enter a program as a Common Market student should take the following steps: It is the student’s responsibility to contact their respective State Coordinator about possible access through the Academic Common Market.

1. The student must first be accepted for admission into a program for which his/her state has access through the Academic Common Market. Unless accepted for admission, all other preparations could be wasted effort should the student not be accepted by the institution.
2. The student must then be certified as a resident of his/her home state. Each state has developed its own forms and procedures for certifying students. The Georgia form for certifying students is located at http://www.usg.edu/divisions/academic_common_market/acm_procedures/. The criteria for certification are at least as strict as those used by the state in classifying students as residents for its own academic programs. As long as the student remains enrolled, this certification will be valid.
3. After certifying the residency of an applicant, the State Coordinator, sends a notice of certification to the student and to the Institutional Coordinator at the receiving institution.
4. The Institutional Coordinator then makes arrangements with the appropriate officials at his institution so that the student is not charged out-of-state tuition fees.
5. For programs no longer available through the Market, students already enrolled will be given a reasonable amount of time to complete the degree program while receiving Market benefits.

For more information, see Academic Common Market.

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