RDS Completion

The Residency Determination Service (RDS) Report provides counselors the ability to view whether a student has an active residency determination.  The data are typically updated nightly.  RDS is a required component in order to receive in-state tuition or eligibility for state-funded financial aid.

Understanding Information in the RDS Report

Click image to enlarge

The “User Name” is the CFNC user name the student used to completed RDS.

The RDS Determination Complete column indicates whether or not a student has completed RDS and has an active determination.  There are two potential responses in this column:

1. Determination Complete = Yes

“Yes” indicates the student has completed RDS and has an active determination ready to be delivered to a college or university. “Yes” does NOT indicate the RDS result, i.e. that a student is in-state; it only indicates the student’s determination is complete. Once completed, there should be no barrier to submitting a completed admission application to any campus. Students receive a Residency Certification Number (RCN) once their RDS determination is submitted. The RCN is a unique number assigned only to the individual student. The student receives this number in an email and it is also available 24x7 on the student’s home page once logging in to RDS. The student can use this number on an admission application, if needed. For applications hosted on CFNC.org, the student’s RCN will pre-populate on their admission application.

2. Determination Complete = No

“No” indicates the student has not completed RDS and does not have an active determination. The student may have an RDS determination in-progress, but it has not been completed and therefore s/he has no result that can be provided to support an admissions application. In most cases, these students do not have an RCN they can provide as part of the application process. Students with a “No” should be encouraged to complete the RDS determination so that their college applications can be submitted. “No” does NOT indicate the RDS result, i.e. that a student is out-of-state; it only indicates the student’s determination is not complete.

For purposes of supporting a student’s college application process, the KEY indicator is the “RDS Determination Complete” status. An active determination is required to allow a campus to offer a student admission as an in-state student, and in some cases, students cannot submit the admissions application without an active determination. For more information, go to www.ncresidency.org.