Few Public College Students Are Undocumented

The University System of Georgia found that very few students entering this year are undocumented. The analysis comes after one Kennesaw State University student was found to be illegally in the country.

Of the 50 thousand incoming students to Georgia’s colleges and Universities, 242 could not prove Georgia residency. That’s the result of a report to the Board of Regents. It was ordered by the chancellor after uproar by some state lawmakers earlier this year.

When a Kennesaw student was arrested by police and found to be illegally in the country, lawmakers wanted to know if there’s a widespread problem within Georgia’s university system.

Board of Regents spokesman John Millsaps says it doesn’t look like it.

“There have been people who have claimed that these students are forcing large numbers of Georgia residents to be denied admission, and with these numbers we’re not seeing that," Millsaps says.

Millsaps says the students without documents will be charged out-of-state tuition. Undocumented students might include students who are in the country legally but have incomplete documentation.

The University System is still checking the status of returning students. They won't have a final report for a couple of months, but, as of Tuesday, 26 institutions have already completed the check. Preliminary numbers show 230 undocumented students returning for fall semester.

The board reported generally low numbers of undocumented students at the state's four largest universities: at Georgia Tech, zero new and four returning students; at the University of Georgia, 10 new students; at Georgia State University, six new and 18 returning students; and, at Kennesaw State University, one new and 12 returning students.

For a complete breakdown of the analysis by institution, the University System of Georgia provides the report online.