What Is the Academic Common Market? How Southern Students Can Pay In-State Tuition Out of State

A student in Mississippi wants a degree program that no public university in Mississippi offers. Rather than paying full nonresident tuition somewhere else, families in the South have a narrower, more targeted option to check first: the Academic Common Market. Run by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), it can let an eligible student pay in-state tuition at an out-of-state public college, but only for a specific approved degree program, and only if that program genuinely is not available at a public institution back home. It is not a blanket “Southern students pay in-state tuition anywhere” program, and treating it that way is the single most common way families misread it. Here is what it actually covers.

What is the Academic Common Market?

The Academic Common Market (ACM) is a tuition-savings program administered by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), an interstate compact organization. SREB describes it plainly as a program “for college students in SREB states who want to pursue degrees that are not offered by public institutions in their home state.” An eligible student who is certified for ACM can enroll in an approved out-of-state public program and pay that school’s in-state tuition rate instead of nonresident tuition. SREB is explicit that ACM is not competitive and not merit-based, though students still have to meet the receiving school’s own admissions requirements.

Why ACM is different from WUE and MSEP

This is the section to read most carefully. Programs like the Western Undergraduate Exchange or the Midwest Student Exchange Program discount tuition for a wide range of majors at participating schools, based mainly on residency. ACM works on a much narrower logic: it exists specifically for a program your home state does not offer, and the eligible-program list is approved state by state, not blanket-approved for every ACM state at once. A program can be ACM-approved for a Georgia resident at one school and not approved at all for a Tennessee resident at the exact same school. Confirm eligibility for your specific home state and specific program, not just “does this school participate in ACM.”

Which states participate?

SREB’s current materials describe 15 SREB states as involved in ACM in some form. Thirteen participate fully at both the undergraduate and graduate level: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Florida and Texas also participate, but only at the graduate level (master’s degree and above); undergraduates in Florida and Texas are not eligible.

North Carolina requires a specific caveat. SREB’s own FAQ states that North Carolina no longer participates in ACM, as either a sending or receiving state, following state budget legislation in 2011. SREB’s general program page, in a section that appears not to have been updated since, still lists North Carolina among its states. Treat the FAQ as the more current and specific statement: as of this writing, North Carolina residents cannot use ACM, and no ACM program is available at North Carolina public institutions.

Who qualifies?

To use ACM, a student generally needs to: reside in a participating state; want to pursue a program that has been specifically approved for ACM use by that student’s home state (not just approved for some other state’s residents); gain unconditional admission to the out-of-state public institution offering the program; and complete certification through their home state’s ACM coordinator. Meeting all four is what makes a student ACM-eligible, not any one of them alone.

What counts as an eligible program?

A program only counts if it has been added to that specific home state’s approved ACM inventory. SREB notes a program might not be listed for reasons that include: a comparable program already exists at a public institution in the student’s home state, no one has previously requested that the program be added, the offering out-of-state institution does not participate in ACM, or state legislation restricts participation. A family can request that a new program be added to the inventory through the home-state coordinator, though that adds processing time.

SREB currently describes ACM as covering more than 2,200 undergraduate and graduate degree programs across more than 100 participating colleges and universities. That figure is not tied to a specific year in SREB’s materials, so treat it as SREB’s current published estimate rather than a dated statistic.

What if my state already offers the major?

Then ACM generally will not apply to that program, and this is where families most often misjudge their own eligibility. The comparison SREB uses is state-wide, not limited to whichever specific school a family prefers. Texas’s own ACM materials make this explicit: an applicant has to confirm that no Texas public university anywhere offers a program with at least 50 percent comparable required coursework, not just that the family’s first-choice in-state school lacks it. If a similar program exists at any public college in your home state, even one your student has no interest in attending, that can disqualify the field of study from ACM eligibility.

How much can ACM save?

Because ACM converts the tuition rate to the receiving school’s own in-state price, the savings equal the full gap between that school’s nonresident and resident tuition, for the approved program specifically. SREB does not publish a single average dollar savings figure the way some other regional programs do, since the amount depends entirely on the specific school’s own in-state versus out-of-state tuition gap. Pull the actual resident and nonresident tuition numbers for the specific school before estimating your family’s savings.

How to search for ACM programs

SREB maintains an online ACM program search tool. This guide will not reproduce a list of approved programs, since the inventory is state-specific and changes as programs are added or removed. Search by your home state and intended field of study, and confirm:

How certification works

ACM certification is a separate step from college admission, and it goes through your home state, not the receiving school. After a student is admitted to an ACM-approved program, the family submits an ACM application along with residency-verification documents (examples SREB cites include a driver’s license, voter registration, or a state tax return) to the home state’s ACM coordinator. That coordinator determines eligibility and issues a certification date. SREB indicates this generally takes one to two months if the program is already in the approved inventory, longer if a new program has to be added first. Specific state processes can be more involved than SREB’s general description suggests. Texas, for example, requires a notarized residency verification submitted to its coordinating board, and Florida requires a minimum of three documentary proofs of residency.

How to apply

Questions parents should ask

Common ACM mistakes

Can transfer students use ACM?

SREB’s general program materials do not address transfer-student eligibility one way or the other, so there is no single, sitewide answer. This appears to be handled at the individual institution level rather than as a program-wide SREB rule. Confirm directly with the specific receiving institution and your home state’s ACM coordinator rather than assuming transfer students follow the same rules as incoming freshmen.

Is ACM worth it?

When it applies, ACM can be one of the largest single discounts among regional tuition programs, since it converts nonresident tuition down to the in-state rate rather than a percentage cap. But it only applies to a narrow set of circumstances: a genuinely unavailable program at home, a state and institution that both participate, and a family willing to complete a separate certification process well ahead of enrollment. For the right situation, it is worth the extra paperwork. For a family hoping to use it as a general discount on any major, it usually will not apply.

Parent FAQ

What is the Academic Common Market?

A tuition program run by SREB that can let a student from a participating Southern state pay in-state tuition at an out-of-state public college, but only for a specific degree program that is not offered by a public institution in the student’s home state.

Which states participate in ACM?

Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia participate fully. Florida and Texas participate at the graduate level only. North Carolina does not currently participate.

Does ACM apply to any major?

No. Only programs specifically approved for ACM use by the student’s home state, and only when that program is not offered by a public institution anywhere in that home state.

Is ACM the same as WUE or MSEP?

No. WUE and MSEP discount tuition for a wide range of majors based mainly on residency. ACM applies only to a specific, pre-approved program that a student’s home state does not offer.

How much does ACM save?

The savings equal the full gap between that school’s resident and nonresident tuition, since a certified ACM student pays the in-state rate. There is no single average figure since it depends on each school’s own tuition gap.

Do Florida and Texas undergraduates qualify?

No. Florida and Texas participate in ACM at the graduate level only.

Is ACM automatic once you are admitted?

No. Admission and ACM certification are separate processes. A student must separately apply for certification through their home state’s ACM coordinator and submit residency documentation.

Can transfer students use ACM?

There is no single program-wide answer. Some institutions extend ACM eligibility to transfer students under their own conditions; confirm directly with the specific school and your home-state coordinator.

Before assuming ACM applies

Work through this in order before counting on the Academic Common Market for a specific school and major:

Sources

Southern Regional Education Board, Academic Common Market overview ·
SREB, Academic Common Market FAQs ·
SREB, State and Institutional ACM Requirements ·
Florida Board of Governors, Academic Common Market ·
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Academic Common Market

Reviewed for accuracy and updated August 2026 by the UniversityParent Team, verified against SREB’s current Academic Common Market pages plus Florida’s and Texas’s own coordinating-agency pages. SREB’s own materials disagree on North Carolina’s participation (its FAQ says North Carolina no longer participates, while an older program page still lists the state), and this guide follows the more specific FAQ language. ACM state participation, approved programs, and institution-level rules change, so always confirm current details with SREB’s own program search tool and your home state’s ACM coordinator before relying on any number here.

UniversityParent Team