Tuition Remission

Policy No.:	4-18	This policy applies to:
Policy Name:	Tuition Remission		Non-exempt staff
Effective Date:	08/01/04		Exempt staff
Revised:	11/22/2024		Faculty

Policy

Loyola University New Orleans seeks to provide an environment conducive to growth of its faculty and staff and the development of scholarship and understanding of personal values that is so much a part of the Christian tradition. And as an institution we are committed to being person-centered. Therefore Loyola’s tuition remission benefit provides opportunities for educational development for eligible employees, their spouses and dependent children.

Eligible participants include:

Current benefit-eligible employee (regularly scheduled to work at least 30 hours per week)
Retired former benefit-eligible employee
Benefit-eligible employee separated from service due to disability
Surviving spouse of a deceased benefit-eligible employee
Spouse of a benefit-eligible employee
Dependent children by birth, marriage or adoption and as defined by IRS Code, of a benefit-eligible employee
Surviving children under age 25 of a deceased benefit-eligible employee
Dependents of ordinary faculty with Emeritus Status

Benefits for employees

An employee, faculty or staff, is eligible to receive benefits for any semester that begins on or after their date of employment that falls on or by the first day of class in accordance with the University academic calendar. To qualify for enrollment, an applicant must meet all admissions and academic requirements stipulated in the college bulletin of the college in which enrollment is requested.
Faculty and staff do not have to be degree-seeking in order to qualify for tuition remission. Degree-seeking faculty or staff members are eligible to receive a 100-percent tuition remission for nine (9) undergraduate hours or six (6) graduate or professional hours in the Fall or Spring semester and six (6) hours per session in the summer. Non-degree seeking faculty or staff members are eligible for a maximum of six (6) credit hours per semester.
Employees may receive one undergraduate and one graduate or professional degree under the tuition remission program.
Normally, employees may not take classes during their normal work hours. With the supervisor’s and vice president’s or dean’s permission, exceptions are available for employees if degree requirements cannot be fulfilled another way. There are certain departments and certain jobs for which this will not be possible. This benefit must not interfere with adequate staffing of departments at all times. If approved, no more than one course per semester may be taken during normal work hours.
Employees must arrange with their supervisor to make up the time during the week in which classes are taken during work hours. Exceptions may be made with the supervisor’s and vice president’s permission, if a supervisor deems a course essential for employee development.
Tuition remission normally only applies to courses offered by Loyola University New Orleans. Tuition Remission applies to semester exhange progams for which participants pay Loyola tuition based on agreements listed on the website. It does not apply to study abroad program fees or fee-based study abroad programs, such as Loyola summer study abroad programs, Loyola semester study abroad programs, and non-Loyola programs.
Tuition remission is not applicable to fees or books, non-credit courses or certificate programs.

Benefits for spouse and dependent children

Spouses and dependent children of benefit-eligible faculty and staff are eligible for any semester that begins on or after the date of employment.
Spouses and dependent children receive 100 percent remission for either full-time or part-time enrollment. Hours are not limited.
A spouse or dependent child must be admitted to the University and must meet all academic requirements stipulated in the bulletin of the college in which enrollment is requested.
Spouses or dependent children do not have to be degree-seeking in order to qualify for tuition remission.
Dependents are generally defined under the Internal Revenue Code of the United States. The University requires proof that the recipient of the tuition remission is a dependent child (by birth, marriage or adoption) or spouse of the employee in the form of the employee’s tax return from the year in which the course(s) were taken. For a “dangling semester”, the previous year’s tax return and a signed statement of dependency or marriage are required. (A “dangling semester” is a year in which a child or spouse was eligible for the half year the course(s) were taken but not eligible to be claimed for the entire year on the tax return.)
Spouses or dependent children may receive one undergraduate and one graduate or professional degree under the tuition remission program.
If an employee’s spouse or dependent child receives a scholarship for graduate or professional tuition, the tuition remission benefit will apply to the remainder of the balance.
Tuition remission normally only applies to courses offered by Loyola University New Orleans. Tuition Remission applies to semester exhange progams for which participants pay Loyola tuition based on agreements listed on the website. It does not apply to study abroad program fees or fee-based study abroad programs, such as Loyola summer study abroad programs, Loyola semester study abroad programs, and non-Loyola programs.
Tuition remission is not applicable to fees or books, non-credit courses or certificate programs.

Requirements for Retaining Eligibility

Students receiving tuition remission are required to maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above each semester. Those who fail to meet this requirement will be placed on probation.
Students are expected to make reasonable progress in the completion of courses taken under the tuition remission program. All students must stay within the limits prescribed by the following reasonable progress ratios used by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. If a student falls below reasonable progress standards, the student will be placed on probation.
The Loyola employee must remain employed for the tuition remission benefit to continue for employee and/or dependents except in situations outlined in “eligible participants” above. If an employee terminates while he/she or his/her dependents are currently enrolled, the tuition remission benefit will cease. If the termination date falls after the “last day to withdraw” as posted on the academic calendar, the tuition will be waived until the end of that semester/session. If the termination date falls before or on the “last day to withdraw” as posted on the academic calendar, the tuition for that semester/session will be billed to the employee. If the employee/dependent chooses to withdraw, the full tuition will be waived.

Procedure

A Tuition Waiver Request Form must be completed each semester in which enrollment is requested. This form should be submitted via Single Sign On (SSO) before classes begin, but no later than the last day of late enrollment as listed on the Academic Calendar. Waiver requests received after the last day for late registration will not be approved. As a precaution, classes should not be attended nor should books and supplies be purchased until approval is received.

A copy of the employee’s tax return will be required covering the period the courses are taken and must show the dependent child or the spouse (filing jointly or separately). A signed affidavit will suffice instead if preferred.

Undergraduate tuition remission for employees and dependents is not taxed. For employees who attend Graduate or Law School, tuition remission in excess of $5,250 per calendar year is a taxable benefit under IRS rules. For dependents, all Graduate and Law School tuition is a taxable benefit. Income will be imputed for the value of the tuition and taxes will be withheld from the employee’s pay.

If prior semester fees have not been paid, the tuition remission request will not be approved until the account balance is paid in full. This applies to requests for both the employee and their dependents. Unpaid balances will be submitted to collections as per the university’s financial responsibility agreement.

Reasonable Progress

Undergraduate Students

Each undergraduate student is allowed a maximum of 175 scheduled hours during which the student is expected to complete requirements and to earn a degree. For an undergraduate to be considered as progressing normally, the student’s ratio of earned hours to scheduled hours must be as follows:

When total scheduled hours are:	Earned hours must be at least:
Less than 26	50% of scheduled hours
26 to 50 hours	55% of scheduled hours
51 to 75 hours	60% of scheduled hours
76 to 100 hours	65% of scheduled hours
101 to 125 hours	70% of scheduled hours
126 to 175 hours	75% of scheduled hours

Graduate Students

Graduate students are allowed the maximum number of hours required for the completion of the program in which they are enrolled plus six credit hours.

Law Students

The program must be completed within five calendar years. Within the five years, a student is required to complete 18 hours per academic year. Where a student’s academic record is vacated by action of the faculty, and the student is allowed to begin the law program anew, the student’s five-year period also begins over unless there has been less than one-year break in enrollment. Where the break is less than one year, the voided work is considered in determining progress. Exceptions to the five calendar year rule may be granted on appeal to the dean of the Law School

Probationary Status

Non-degree and degree seeking students placed on probation will be allowed one semester on tuition remission in order to meet eligibility requirements. Those failing to do so will be ineligible for tuition remission. A student may regain eligibility only by enrolling at Loyola at his or her own expense and improving the completion ratio or GPA to the expected level.