The following is a presentation The following is a presentation prepared for EASFAA’s prepared for EASFAA’s

2010 Conference in 2010 Conference in Mashantucket, CTMashantucket, CTMay 16-19, 2010May 16-19, 2010

Tuition Benefit ProgramsAnother Form of Financial

Aid?

PresentersJanet Dodson, Vice President of Policy, Research and Education,National Student Loan Program

andRobert D. Shorb, Special Assistant to

the Dean, Skidmore College and Executive Director/CEO of The

Tuition Exchange Inc.

Tuition Benefits for DependentsTuition Benefits for Dependents

• Tuition Remission (Internal)

• Tuition Exchange

• Tuition Grants (External)

• For taking courses on campus

• Earning degree (s)

• Academic year, summer or special term

• Employee, spouse, partner, dependents

• Open seats

• Time availability

• Limits

• Common at private institutions• Normally covers all or a portion of tuition

only• May extend to dependents, spouse and

partner as well as employees• Fiscally treated as a tuition discount and

considered an employee benefit• Determination of eligibility is usually done

through Human Resources

• Public institutions may be required to “charge” tuition

• Normally covers all or a portion of tuition only• May extend to dependents, spouse and

partner as well as employees• May require specific sources of revenue to

fund awards• Determination of eligibility is usually done

through Human Resources

• May cover other fees• Waive certain fees for employees

– Fees may be charged for items that the employee is entitled to as an employee benefit

– The institution may be more flexibility in waiving fees than in waiving tuition for statutory reasons

• May be extended to spouse, partner and/or dependents

• For taking courses off campus

• Earning degree (s)

• Academic year, summer or special term

• Employee, spouse, partner, dependents

• Time availability

• Limits

• Some private institutions

• Normally covers a portion of tuition only

• Usually for dependents and sometimes for spouse, partner and employees

• Fiscally treated as a “cash” employee benefit

• Determination of eligibility is usually done through Human Resources

• Very few public institutions participate

• Normally covers a portion of tuition only

• Usually for dependents

• May require specific sources of revenue to fund awards

• Determination of eligibility is usually done through Human Resources

• For taking courses off campus

• Earning degree (s)

• Academic year, summer or special term

• Employee, spouse, partner, dependents

• Time availability

• Limits

• Mostly private institutions

• Normally covers all or a portion of tuition

• Usually for dependents and sometimes for spouse, partner and employees

• Fiscally treated as a “cash” expense and is not an employee benefit

• Determination of eligibility is usually done through Human Resources

• 605 Tuition Exchange, Inc.

• 350 Council of Independent Colleges

• 96 Christian Colleges Exchange

• 69 Catholic College Cooperative

• 28 Association of Jesuit Colleges & Universities

• 28 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

• 16 Association of Colleges of the South

• 12 Great Lakes Association of Colleges

• 13 Associated Colleges of the Midwest

• 37 Association of Presbyterian Colleges

Tuition Exchange, Inc.

• 605 institutions• 5,400 students

receiving scholarships• $115M in total value• Individual value is

tuition up to $29,000• If tuition greater,

optional to cover more

• Import and export balance

• Few guidelines• Low cost to

participate• Valuable opportunity

for dependents of faculty/staff

Tuition Exchange, Inc.

• www.tuitionexchange.org

• Central office in Washington, DC

• 2/3 of institutions will provide full tuition if student is accepted

• Process is three-step • Apply for TE at

parent’s employer• Apply for admission to

a TE institution• TE institution decides

on admission and TE scholarship eligibility

Imports Exports

• Students attending your institution on TE

• Certified eligible to be considered for TE by their parent’s employer (another TE institution)

• Dependent children of eligible employees of your institution

• Awarded a TE Scholarship by another TE institution

Skidmore College’s Experience

With Tuition Exchange

Imports Exports

• Helps recruitment• Help enrollment goals• Fills empty seats• Attracts students who

would not have attended otherwise

• Stretches aid budget

• Expand educational opportunities

• Relieves pressure to accept un-qualified employee dependents

• Encourages students to leave home

• Low cost, high value

Institutional Ratings of Admission Applicants

• Academic

• Involvement

• Character

Home States of Enrolled TE Students at Skidmore

• CA• CT• DC• IL• IA• KY• MA

• NY• OH• PA• RI• TX• VT• WI

New Student Import History

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009

ImportAcceptedEnrolledEnrolled TE

New Student Export History

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009

ExportAcceptedEnrolled

Overall Import/Export History

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009

ImportsExports

09-10 Income 09-10 Expense

• Each TE import brings in $10,600 tuition

• Each non-TE student brings in $39,600 tuition

• Each TE export saves $1,950 external cash benefit

• Each TE import costs $29,000

• Staff time to administer program

• Institutional dues

• Meets enrollment management goal to increase the demand curve

• Enables the college to manage retention• Maximizes merit scholarship dollars for

higher ability students• Builds a strong image with collegiate

peers

1. Review current tuition options with Human Resources

2. Share the benefits from an enrollment management perspective

3. Contact the exchange organization to obtain information

1. Set up a meeting for exchange representative to meet with appropriate decision-makers

2. Call other exchange colleges to obtain a broader perspective on program

• Institutions must set up clear guidelines concerning:– Who is eligible (employees, spouse, partner,

dependents, - how do you define “dependent”)– What is covered (tuition, fees, partial tuition)– Terms of the award (how many hours, duration of

award)– Rules regarding employee time off for taking

classes during the work day– Funding sources

• Clarify roles of who is responsible to determine eligibility

• Create good communication among offices (admissions, financial aid, business and human resources)

• Federal tax implication – ensure there are no surprises to the employee– IRS information may be found at

www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch11.html

• Admissions

• Financial aid

• Internal, External, Exchange

• Employee, Spouse, Partner, Dependents