17.04 TUITION WAIVERS

Effective: 1 July 2002

PURPOSE
To describe the rules and criteria for Tuition Waivers.

AUTHORITY/SOURCE
Provost

POLICY
The Tuition Waiver Programs are used by the academic units to assist qualified students in defraying the cost of tuition. Three types of Tuition Waivers are available as follows:

I. Non-Residents Tuition Waivers. These waivers may be used to offset the cost of the out of state portion of tuition for Non-Florida residents and International students.

II. Matriculation Fee Waivers. These waivers may be used to offset the cost of in-state tuition for graduate students. Preference is given to graduate assistants who are enrolled full time and working on a graduate-assistantship contract with at least a 0.5 FTE appointment. The Office of Financial Aid is responsible for monitoring the allocation of funds to prevent any Title IV over awards. The Bursar's Office is responsible for applying the waivers against the students' tuition.

III. Tuition-plus Program Waivers. These waivers may be used to offset the cost of tuition in tuition-plus programs.

PROCEDURE
The Board of Trustees provides the total amount of tuition waivers allocated university wide. The Provost's Office in consultation with the appropriate Deans makes a determination on what portion of the waivers will be used for undergraduate versus graduate students.

Tuition-plus program waivers are provided through auxiliary accounts by the unit responsible for the tuition-plus program.

Individual units may increase their waiver allocation through the use of any available funds.

The University Graduate School has responsibility for allocating and monitoring the graduate portion of all tuition waivers. The Dean of the University Graduate School develops the formula for allocating funds to the academic units. Academic units have their own procedures for allocating these funds among their departments.

The allocation for the undergraduate programs is prepared by the Vice President and Dean of Undergraduate Studies in consultation with the Financial Aid Office. The allocation is based on prior year utilization of non-resident tuition waivers.

The Academic Units send a roster to the Financial Aid Office, and for graduate students, to the University Graduate School, listing the recipients and award amounts. The Financial Aid Office reviews the roster for potential Title IV over awards and verifies that awards are within allocation limits. The University Graduate School verifies that the award is within the allocation for that academic unit, that the student is enrolled for the required number of credit hours, and that the student holds the proper FTE graduate assistant appointment. Any waivers granted to University employees or spouses of University employees must be reviewed by the Controller's Office to verify compliance with Internal Revenue Service requirements. The approved roster is forwarded to the Bursar's so that the awards can be applied against tuition due.

Page last updated: April 16, 2003