Tennessee Code Title 49. Education § 49-8-102

(a)(1) Persons who otherwise meet admission requirements shall be admitted to a state college or university, at in-state tuition rates, if they are residents of the state, or if they are nonresidents whose bona fide place of residence is in a county of another state lying immediately adjacent to a county in this state in which the institution is situated, or if the bona fide residence is within thirty (30) miles of the institution.

(2) With respect to nonresidents, subdivision (a)(1) applies only to Austin Peay State University and the University of Memphis.

(b)(1) Nonresidents of the state who meet the conditions for entrance to any of the institutions under the control of the board of regents or a state university board may be admitted on payment of tuition rates that the respective board prescribes.

(2) Persons who otherwise meet admissions requirements shall be admitted to Dyersburg State Community College with in-state tuition, if they are residents of the state or if they are nonresidents whose bona fide place of residence is in Mississippi County, Arkansas, or either Dunklin County or Pemiscot County, Missouri. However, those students shall not be counted in the consideration of any future capital construction.

(1) The nonresidents admitted at in-state tuition rates shall not exceed three percent (3%) of the full-time equivalent attendance of the institution;

(2) The nonresident applicant must have a bona fide place of residence in a county that is adjacent to the Tennessee state line and also within a thirty-mile radius of the city in which the institution is located as determined by the Tennessee higher education commission;

(3) The Tennessee higher education commission has the authority to determine the number of affected students, and every three (3) years an adjustment shall be made to the number of nonresident students admitted according to this subsection (c); and

(4) In the case of any question of admission between applicants who are residents of this state and applicants who are not residents of this state, the preference in admission shall be given to Tennessee residents who are equally qualified relative to nonresident applicants.