Tennessee Eligibility Verification for Entitlements Act
The Tennessee Legislature signed and approved the Tennessee Eligibility Verification Entitlements Act (EVEA) (TCA 4 - 58 - 101 et seq.) that became effective on October 1, 2012 for all students applying for admission for terms beginning Spring 2013 and later. The EVEA requires state public institutions of higher education to verify that persons seeking a state public benefit are either a “United States citizen” or “lawfully present” in the United States.
The term “state benefit” includes in-state tuition, lottery scholarship, academic scholarship, common market, or any other form of tuition assistance or waiver funded with state-appropriated dollars. State benefit does not include tuition assistance funded privately, such as a scholarship from the institution’s foundation or a privately endowed scholarship. Students who are undocumented or on DACA status, will not be considered as "lawfully present" in the United States and therefore will remain as non-verified.
This act in no way affects your admissibility to Austin Peay State University
If you are applying to receive a state benefit your citizenship or lawful presence may be verified by submitting one of the following documents:
- A valid Tennessee driver’s license or photo identification license;
- A valid driver’s license or photo identification license from another state (except for Utah and New Mexico);
- An official birth certificate issued by a U.S. state, jurisdiction or territory, except for Puerto Rican birth certificates issued before July 1, 2010;
- A U.S. government-issued certified birth certificate;
- A valid unexpired U.S. passport;
- A U.S. certificate of birth abroad (DS-1350 or FS-545);
- A report of birth abroad of a citizen of the U.S. (FS-240);
- A certificate of citizenship (N560 or N561);
- A certificate of naturalization (N550, N570, or N578);
- A U.S. citizen identification card (I-197, I-179); or
- A valid unexpired Foreign Passport with visa stamped "Processed for I-551".
These documents can be mailed to us or we will accept a legible scanned copy that can be sent to admissionsweb@deryad.com. Unfortunately, faxed copies will not be accepted.
If you have questions regarding the documentation to submit, please contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@deryad.com or 931-221-7661.