By ANGELA MAURONI
Junior Editor
Many opportunities have opened up in the way of tuition benefits since the Administrative Executive Committee at Allegheny approved the eligibility requirements needed to join the Council of Independent Colleges this summer. Tuition benefits are financial aid opportunities offered to the family members or significant others of faculty members at a college or university. By the 2014-2015 school year, the benefits from being in the Council of Independent Colleges will be applicable. Being a part of this council allows for more favorable options for students who are pursuing their higher education. Applications for tuition benefits are now being accepted for the upcoming semesters by Allegheny and other participating institutions.
The Council of Independent Colleges, or the CIC, is an association of over 600 private liberal arts colleges and universities. The Council’s goal is to enhance the leadership from colleges and universities, maintain prime education and strengthen the contributions that private institutions make within society, according to its website. The CIC is part of the Tuition Exchange Program, which means that they agree to accept students from families of employees of other CIC members free of tuition. There is a minimum acceptance of three students each year, regardless of how many students are exported.
The CIC is the most recently added option in the way of tuition benefits. The GLCA is running the GLCA Tuition Remission Exchange. This exchange offers tuition remission for students of employees at one of the sixteen participating institutions. The tuition exchange is only available for dependent children of employees and it is not extended to spouses and partners.
Allegheny also offers a tuition grant, which is offered to employees that were hired before July 1, 1998. The grant is available for employees who qualified but did not participate in the tuition exchange program. Students copy their tuition bill from an accredited college or university for up to half of the payment for Allegheny’s tuition with the grant.
In order to be eligible for the tuition benefits, the employee must be a regular, full-time employee at the college. For a spouse to receive benefits, the spouse must be married to a regular, full-time employee, and domestic partners must be in a committed relationship of at least one year with a regular, full-time employee. Domestic partners must also be financially interdependent as defined in the Allegheny College Domestic Partner Benefits Policy. Children must be claimed as a dependent for at least three consecutive years prior to the application on the employee’s federal income tax statement. Legal documentation showing that the employee is the custodial parent for at least 50 percent of the time for three consecutive years prior to application for tuition is needed as proof of dependency.
The age limit on eligibility is 26, and dependent children are limited to the equivalent of eight semesters as a full-time student. Children of retired, disabled, or deceased employees are qualified once the service specifications of each program are met.
Under the tuition remission and tuition exchange spouses or partners of employees are permitted to attend Allegheny full-time. Dependent children may attend Allegheny on a full-time or part-time basis, as long as they are not part of the Tuition Exchange Program. If they are, they are required to attend the institution they choose as full-time students. Employees involved in the tuition remission or Tuition Exchange Program may only attend Allegheny on a part-time basis. Full-time employees are permitted to take up to eight credits each academic year. Those involved in a degree program may take up to five credits during the semesters they spend fulfilling one of the Academic Planning units.
Appealing is an option for special cases as well. Employees whose situations do not exactly meet the criteria of the program requirements are welcome to submit their circumstances in writing to the Allegheny Executive Committee. Other than the Allegheny Executive Committee, the eligibility criteria is jointly monitored by the Human Resources Department and the Financial Aid Office.
The college does not have any immediate plans for more tuition benefits. According to Natasha Eckhart, the Assistant Director of Financial Aid at Allegheny, “It is not an intentional goal set forth by the College, but if the opportunity presented itself, it is something that would be considered.”
