Tuition Benefits Policy

Under the Allegheny College sponsored Tuition Benefit Program, two distinct approaches are taken to provide continued education for the College’s employees, spouses, domestic partners and dependent children: Tuition Remission (attendance at Allegheny College); and Tuition Exchange (attendance at other participating institutions).

Eligibility
Service
Coverage
Availability
Degrees
Attendance
Administration
Appeal

Eligibility

  • Employee must be a regular, full-time employee of Allegheny College;
  • Spouse must be married to a regular, full-time employee of Allegheny College;
  • Partner must be in a committed relationship of at least one full year with a full-time regular employee and financially interdependent as defined in the Allegheny College Domestic Partner Benefits Policy;
  • Dependent Child must be a dependent of a regular, full-time employee and be claimed as a dependent of the employee on his/her federal income tax statement for 3 consecutive years prior to application for tuition. Legal documentation showing that the employee is the custodial parent for at least 50% of the time for tuition is acceptable proof of dependency. Eligibility is limited up to the equivalent of eight (8) semesters of full-time undergraduate enrollment or up to the equivalent of eight (8) semesters of full-time graduate enrollment, or until completion of the degree, whichever comes first. The age limit for completion of benefits is 26 years of age.

Service

The length of service an employee has with the College affects the tuition eligibility for dependent children only.

Service requirements for Tuition Exchange and Tuition Remission are immediate eligibility for active employees; at least 6 years of service if employee is deceased; at least 10 years of service if employee is retired or disabled.  See Section 500.8 of the Employee Handbook for retirement eligibility.

Employees hired before July 1, 1998, are eligible to apply for the tuition grant benefit; however, if the institution the student wants to attend participates in the tuition exchange program, application must be made through tuition exchange first, and only if the student is denied tuition exchange, will the employee be given the tuition grant benefit.

Coverage

All programs cover tuition payments only.

Availability

Tuition Remission and Tuition Exchange Programs are available for eligible dependent children. Employees, spouses, and partners may apply under the Tuition Remission Program only.

Degrees

  • Dependent Child candidates must be accepted in a 2- or 4-year undergraduate degree program to be eligible for consideration under both tuition benefit programs. Only institutions issuing a diploma will be accepted. Certificate programs will not be considered.
  • Employee, Spouse, and Partner may be degree seeking or not, or already have a 4-year degree. If desiring credits for an undergraduate degree, the individual must be accepted as a viable student by the College.

Attendance

  • Employee may only attend Allegheny on a part-time basis. Full time employees of Allegheny College may take up to 4 credits per semester or 8 credits per academic year tuition-free. Time spent in class must be made up without the charge of overtime.
  • Spouse or Partner may attend Allegheny on a full-time or part-time basis.
  • Dependent Child may attend Allegheny on a full-time or part-time basis; however, if participating in the Tuition Exchange Program, they must attend their chosen institution as a full-time student. Any credit bearing programs offered through Allegheny College at an additional tuition charge above the regular full-time tuition rate may be covered by the tuition remission benefit, but it will count as one of the eight semesters available for each student.  Only one of these educational opportunities may be covered by the tuition remission benefit per student.

Administration

To apply for the Tuition Exchange Program, please create an application at https://telo.tuitionexchange.org/apply.cfm . Since the online application is limited to ten schools, if you have more than ten schools, please contact Natasha Eckart (neckart@allegheny.edu) with the extra schools and we will submit an application to them for you.  To apply to the  GLCA Tuition Remission Exchange, please fill out an application at https://glca.org/glcaprograms/tuition-remission-exchange and send it to Natasha Eckart. Tax returns from the previous three years are required for all programs, including Tuition Exchange and GLCA.  Please submit the first page of your tax returns to Natasha Eckart.  Applications for Tuition Remission and the Council of Independent Colleges’ Tuition Exchange Program are available in the Financial Aid Office.  A list of participating institutions is provided at each program’s website. For an application or additional information, please call 814-332-2701.

A spouse, partner, or dependent student utilizing Tuition Remission must also complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for each year they are receiving the benefit.

Appeal

Employees may appeal situations that do not exactly meet the criteria of these programs by submitting such circumstances in writing to the Allegheny Executive Committee (AEC).

Allegheny College reserves the right to amend, modify, interpret or discontinue all or part of this Policy at any time as it does with all College sponsored Plans and Policies.