黑洞社区

Program Policies

Tuition assistance is available for eligible 黑洞社区 employees and their dependents and/or spouses who wish to further their education through classes in an eligible program at the University. Eligibility requirements and tuition assistance policies vary by applicant type. Please see below for additional information on the tuition assistance program.

Program Timelines

Employee Assistance

Spouse/Dependent Assistance

Additional Program Information

Availability of Funds

Program Timelines

Applications for employees, spouses and dependents may be submitted annually beginning May 1st for the upcoming academic year that begins in Fall.  You may apply for any and all applicable semesters (Fall, Spring and Summer) for which the application deadline has not passed at the time of your application. 

All applications are reviewed in full before a final decision is made, and the official notification of award status will be sent to applicants within 30 days of the deadline for each academic term.

Due to the volume of applications received, applications received after the applicable semester deadline will be automatically denied. There will be no exceptions.

*When the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, applications will be accepted through the end of the following University business day.

**Priority deadline for tuition assistance applications is for applications received by that first deadline, with the final deadline of closer to the start of the semester. Awards for applications received after priority deadline will be based on availability of funds.  

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Tuition Assistance Program for Employees

Eligibility

To be eligible for tuition assistance as an employee of 黑洞社区, applicants must meet ALL of the following requirements:

• Active appointment status as an Unclassified Professional (UP), Faculty (FA), or University Support Staff (USS); employees on unpaid leave are not eligible.
• Benefits-eligible (i.e. accrue sick/vacation leave)
• FTE status 0.5 or greater
• Employee must maintain an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 for undergraduate programs or an overall GPA of 3.0 for graduate programs, which will be reviewed after final grades are entered for each completed term. Failure to meet this requirement will make the Employee ineligible for tuition assistance until the Employee鈥檚 overall GPA is greater than 2.0 for undergraduate programs or 3.0 for graduate programs.

Award

The maximum award per academic term is limited to the cost of resident tuition plus associated infrastructure fees up to a maximum of ONE of the following options:

• Seven (7) hours of Undergraduate and/or Undergraduate Badge and Certficate programs
• $5,250 max dollar amount per calendar year for Graduate and/or Graduate Badges and Certificate programs

There is no lifetime award limit for employees. Student fees or costs of books or housing are not included in tuition assistance award amounts.

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Tuition Assistance Program for Spouses and Dependent Children

Eligibility

To be eligible for tuition assistance as the dependent child of an employee of 黑洞社区, applicants (i.e., the student taking courses) must meet ALL of the following requirements as of the first day of the term for which assistance is requested:

• Child, stepchild, or adopted child of the employee
• Under age 26
• Unmarried
• Admitted into any undergraduate or graduate degree-seeking program offered by 黑洞社区
• Overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 for undergraduate programs or 3.0 for graduate programs 

To be eligible for tuition assistance as the spouse of an employee of 黑洞社区, applicants (i.e., the student taking courses) must meet ALL of the following requirements as of the first day of the term for which assistance is requested:

• Legal spouse of the employee, as recognized under Kansas state law, including common law
• Admitted into any undergraduate or graduate degree-seeking program offered by 黑洞社区
• Overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 for undergraduate programs or 3.0 for graduate programs

In addition, the employee (spouse or parent of the applicant) must meet ALL of the following requirements as of the first day of the term for which assistance is requested:

• Active appointment status as an Unclassified Professional (UP), University Support Staff (USS), or member of Faculty (FA)
• Benefits-eligible (i.e. accrue sick/vacation leave)
• FTE status 0.5 or greater

Award

• The amount of tuition assistance provided for undergraduate courses will be limited to 50% of the cost of resident tuition, up to a maximum of fifteen (15) credit hours of courses per semester.
• The amount of tuition assistance provided for graduate courses is limited to 50% of the cost of the resident tuition up to a maximum of $5,250 in tuition assistance per calendar year.
• Tuition assistance will be limited to a maximum of sixty (60) cumulative credit hours in the Spouse and/or Dependent Child鈥檚 academic career. Assistance is not available for any student fees or for the cost of books or housing. 
• The award is in additional to any financial aid received and will not exceed the cost of attendance.

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Additional Program Information

Award Amounts

Tuition assistance will be paid at the base cost of graduate or undergraduate tuition rates plus the infrastructure fee. Students are responsible for any other course fees, including, but not limited to, fees for online and lab courses or departmental/program fees.

Any balance owed must be paid by the last day to drop a class at 100% to avoid late fees. Unpaid fees will result in a financial hold placed on the student鈥檚 record which will prevent viewing grades, transcripts, and future enrollment.

Courses that qualify for the Tuition Assistance Program include all undergraduate, graduate, badge, and certificate program courses offered for credit by the University. 

Enrollment

Students must register for classes on-line. Tuition assistance will be reflected on the student's tuition bill only once the student has enrolled in courses. To ensure proper application of tuition assistance awards, students should be enrolled in their courses no later than the first day of the academic term.

Students must officially withdraw from a class for payments to be refunded.

Academic Eligibility

Employees must maintain an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 for undergraduate programs or an overall GPA of 3.0 for graduate programs, which will be reviewed after final grades are entered for each completed term. Failure to meet this requirement will make the Employee ineligible for tuition assistance until the Employee鈥檚 overall GPA is greater than 2.0 for undergraduate programs or 3.0 for graduate programs.

The Spouse or Dependent Child must maintain an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 for undergraduate programs or an overall GPA of 3.0 for graduate programs, which will be reviewed after final grades are entered for each completed term. Failure to meet this requirement will make the Spouse or Dependent Child ineligible for tuition assistance until their overall GPA is restored to 2.0 or greater for undergraduate programs and 3.0 or greater for graduate programs.

Tax Consequences

Employees are responsible for all tax consequences.  Tuition assistance for graduate courses for an Employee鈥檚 spouse and dependents may be included in the Employee鈥檚 gross income as wages and subject to income tax consistent with federal and state tax laws.

Withdrawing from Classes

If a course(s) is withdrawn, it must be done before the Full-Refund Deadline for tuition assistance funds to be applied appropriately. Withdrawing from courses paid for with tuition assistance received under this policy may affect eligibility for future semesters unless the recipient has demonstrated that extenuating circumstances caused the late withdrawal.  A recipient seeking to preserve their eligibility under this policy may petition the Tuition Refund Board of Appeals by submitting a Petition for Exception to Tuition Refund Policy for Dropping Courses to the Financial Operations and Business Technology Office by mail to Box 38, Wichita, KS 67260; by email to wsuaccountsreceivable@wichita.edu, by facsimile to 316-978-3107; or by delivery to Jardine Hall, Room 201.

For dependents and spouses, if a course(s) is withdrawn after the Full-Refund Deadline, the funds disbursed will be applied to the credit-hour maximum even though the course(s) have not been completed.

Availability of Funds

Tuition Assistance Awards are contingent on available funding.  

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Who to Contact

HR Total Rewards Team
TuitionAssistance@wichita.edu