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Tuition Waivers

Tuition Waiver Overview1
Full-Time	Adjunct Faculty or Part-Time (at least .5 FTE but less than 1.0 FTE)	Non-Student Wage
Up to 12 credit hours during the academic year	No more than 8 credit hours may be waived per academic year	500 hours of employment = 4 credit hours of course work. Can waive up to 4 credit hours per semester or term.
Not to exceed 6 credit hours in any semester or term per academic year	Not to exceed 4 credit hours per semester or term	No more than 8 credit hours may be waived per academic year
Academic year runs from mid-August to mid-August
A waiver year includes the fall, spring, and summer terms

Why use it?

• Pursuing life-long learning is a wonderful benefit of working at Mason.
• Upon admittance to Mason, you can be a non-degree seeking student
  • Enrichment
  • Personal and professional development
• Or you can apply to be a degree seeking student in more than 100 degree programs
  • Mason's Catalog

  What does the tuition waiver cover?

  • Tuition
  • Lab
  • Course
  • Application

  What is not covered in the tuition waiver:

  • Orientation, new student or special instructional fees such as individual vocal or instrumental instruction
  • Tuition for consortium classes, courses that include foreign travel, and come contract courses are not eligible for exemption under this policy
  • Continuing education programs

  Background

  • The tuition waiver is based upon the Policy #2209, Employee Tuition Exemption Benefit policy; please review the policy prior to initiating a tuition waiver.
    • An overview of Policy #2209 is available with more detail on the policy terms and procedures.
  • Available on your first day of employment
    • Extends through the semester, unless employment terminates during the drop period of the semester/term
      • Unused credit hours may not be transferred to another academic year
      • Waivers will not be granted in anticipation of future work
      • Tuition waiver classes should be taken during non-working hours; however, supervisors may adjust work schedules as far as practical to permit attendance as long as operational service effectiveness will not be jeopardized. See the Flexible Work webpage for potential options.
      • Time missed from work as a result of class attendance must be made up by the employee or charged to an appropriate leave balance so that the employee continues to meet the requirement for a 40 hour work week.
    • Graduate Assistants and student wage employees are not eligible for tuition waivers.
    • See the overview for details on the impact separation has on the tuition waiver.
    • Check with program departments for special restrictions (e.g. Must be admitted to the Law School to take course there.)

  Restrictions

  • No special priority for registration
  • Accepted into class sections on a "space available" basis
  • Exemptions earned in one employment category will not transfer if the employee moves to another employment category (e.g. non-student wage employee moving to classified position)

  To apply for the Tuition Waiver for the first time:

  1. Complete an online application.
     • Applications are available at the admissions website
       • On the payment screen (the last screen of the application process), be sure to select the tuition waiver option to have the $50.00 application fee waived.
       • Will be required to submit:
         • College transcripts
         • Application for Virginia In-State Tuition Rates
         • Other documentation as requested
       • Admissions will follow up to verify employment.
         • Admissions recommends applying online Monday through Saturday to ensure the payment options will appear.
  2. Check the status of your application through Patriot Web and forward all outstanding required documentation (transcripts, etc.).
     • Once your application has been processed, your will receive an email with a link to check your application status online (indicates missing documentation, outstanding fees, etc.)
     • You will receive another email notification when you have been admitted to the program and approved to register for courses.
  3. Register for classes.
  4. Complete an Employee Tuition Exemption Request form for each course in which you are registered.
     • Forms are available at http://hr.gmu.edu/forms/TuitionExemptionRequest.doc
  5. Submit your Tuition Exemption Request/s to your supervisor/manager for his/her signature.
  6. Submit your signed Employee Tuition Exemption Request/s to Student Accounts after you have registered, but prior to the payment due date.

  To apply for the Tuition Waiver subsequent times:

  1. Register for classes.
  2. Complete an Employee Tuition Exemption Request form for each course in which you are registered.
     • Forms are available at http://hr.gmu.edu/forms/TuitionExemptionRequest.doc
  3. Submit your Tuition Exemption Request/s to your supervisor/manager for his/her signature.
  4. Submit your signed Employee Tuition Exemption Request/s to Student Accounts after you have registered, but prior to the payment due date.

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  ¹This summary and the overview at http://hr.gmu.edu/forms/OverviewPolicy2209.pdf are for information only and are not policy documents.