Any graduate of a recognized high school or student otherwise qualified to attend a public community college and residing outside a community college district but within this State may, subject to Section 3-17, attend any recognized public community college in the State at the tuition rate of a student residing in the district. Subject to appropriation, the State Board shall pay the difference between the in-district and out-of-district tuition amounts to the community college district for any semester or term of that academic year.
If he or she becomes a resident of a community college district, he or she shall be classified as a resident of that district at the beginning of any semester or term following that change of residence and the State Board shall no longer pay the difference in tuition rates.
Per capita cost shall be computed by adding all of the non-capital expenditures for the previous year, including interest, to the depreciation on the capital outlay expenditures paid from sources other than State and federal funds, less any payments toward non-capital expenditures received from State and federal sources for the previous year (except for grants through the State Board under Section 2-16.02 of this Act), and dividing that amount by the number of full-time equivalent students for that fiscal year as defined under this Section.
A full-time equivalent student for a semester or term is defined as a student doing 15 semester hours of work per semester or the equivalent thereof, and the number of full-time equivalent students enrolled per term shall be determined by dividing by 15 the total number of semester hours for which State Board grants are received, or the equivalent thereof, carried by all students of the college through the mid-term of each semester or term. The number of full-time equivalent students for a fiscal year shall be computed by adding the total number of semester hours of work or the equivalent thereof carried by all students of the college through the mid-term of each semester or term during that fiscal year and dividing that sum by 30 semester hours. Tuition of students carrying more or less than 15 semester hours of work per semester or the equivalent thereof shall be computed in the proportion which the number of hours so carried bears to 15 semester hours or the equivalent thereof.
If the United States Government, the State of Illinois, or any agency pays tuition for any community college student, neither the district of residence of the student nor the student may be required to pay that tuition or such part thereof as is otherwise paid. No part of the State's financial responsibility provided for in Section 2-16 may be transferred to a student's district of residence under this Section.
110 ILCS 805/6-2