RIT
Human Resources

Lifetime Learning

Important Announcement

Introduction

RIT's commitment to a quality education is reflected in the variety of tuition programs available to employees. Refer to the various sections for information on eligibility.

Plan Person Where
Tuition Waiver Employee, spouse/domestic partner, children RIT
Tuition Assistance Employee Other colleges/universities
Tuition Exchange Children Participating colleges/universities
Tuition Scholarship Children Other colleges/universities
Center for Professional Development (CPD) Employee CPD-designated vendors and courses

Tuition Waiver

RIT provides a Tuition Waiver benefit - courses taken at RIT - for eligible employees and eligible family members. Tuition Waiver for employees is automatic for credit courses - you do not need to complete an application; you simply register for the class. For courses taken through the Academic Support Center or the English Language Center, complete and submit to Human Resources the Tuition Waiver Form (available on the HR website) for each course taken.

Tuition Waiver for eligible family members is automatic for credit courses after you complete and submit on an annual basis (academic year) the Tuition Waiver Form - Family Member Information. For courses taken through the Academic Support Center or the English Language Center, complete and submit to Human Resources the Tuition Waiver Form (available on the HR website) for each course taken.

Employees

Regular employees are immediately eligible for a 100 percent tuition waiver, unless noted otherwise, for undergraduate and most graduate level credit-bearing courses as well as classes you take through RIT’s Academic Support Center and English Language Center. There are a few exceptions where the tuition waiver does not apply, such as the Executive MBA program. Tuition Waiver for PhD courses is 50% and is available only if the employee is matriculated in the PhD program and if the course taken is job-related (as defined by the IRS). If you have questions about whether a particular course is eligible for tuition waiver, please contact the Human Resources Department. The benefit is provided as follows:

Family Members

RIT also provides tuition waiver benefits for eligible family members. Eligible family members include your spouse or domestic partner, and your or your spouse's or domestic partner's natural or adopted children up to the age of 30. If a child has matriculated before the age of 30, he/she would be eligible to complete the degree program started, even past the age of 30. Please note that if your spouse or child is eligible for tuition assistance from other sources, including TAP or another employer, he/she must apply for that benefit (similar to how coordination of medical insurance works). TAP or other external financial assistance will be applied to reduce the total tuition bill before the tuition waiver is applied.

If your date of hire is prior to January 1, 2006

Tuition waiver is provided for all RIT undergraduate programs and most graduate programs, but there are a few exceptions where the tuition waiver does not apply, such as the Executive MBA program. If you have questions about whether a particular course is eligible for tuition waiver, please contact the Human Resources Department. The amount of the waiver for eligible family members increases with length of employment and is for up to 18 credit hours per quarter.

If you are a regular full-time employee, your eligible family members would receive a

If you are a regular extended part-time employee, your eligible family members would receive a

If you are a regular part-time employee, your eligible family members would receive a

If your date of hire is on or after January 1, 2006

Tuition waiver is provided for eligible family members after five full years of service for all RIT undergraduate programs, provided the student is matriculated in a program. In addition, the maximum benefit you will receive is based on the set amount under the Tuition Exchange Scholarship benefit as defined annually by The Tuition Exchange, Inc. for that academic year. A student may take up to 12 credit hours per lifetime if not matriculated in an undergraduate program. The amount of the waiver for eligible family members is as follows:

If you are a regular full-time employee, your eligible family members would receive a 100 percent tuition waiver, with a maximum benefit of 100% of the Tuition Exchange set amount.

If you are a regular extended part-time employee, your eligible family members would receive a 75 percent tuition waiver, with a maximum benefit of 75% of the Tuition Exchange set amount.

If you are a regular part-time employee, your eligible family members would receive a 50 percent tuition waiver, with a maximum benefit of 50% of the Tuition Exchange set amount.

Taxability of Tuition Waiver

Tuition benefits may be taxable. Generally, all waivers for graduate courses that your eligible family members take are taxable. In addition, if the student is matriculated in a graduate program and takes an undergraduate course as a requirement of the graduate program, the undergraduate course would be taxable as well.

Because of a federal law that provides to employees (not family members) $5,250 per calendar year in graduate educational assistance on a tax-free basis, RIT also has an educational assistance program.

Since there is no dollar limit for the tax-waiver for job-related courses, employees should use the job-related rule, when applicable, to enjoy the maximum favorable tax treatment. Therefore, employees receiving taxable tuition waivers will need to complete a form for each course indicating the following:

If applicable, the Job-Related Verification Form should be completed and sent to the Human Resources Department no later than the last date to Drop/Add courses. If HR does not receive a Job-Related Verification Form from you, you will not be able to register for future quarters and you will not be eligible for future tuition waivers until you submit a Job-Related Verification Form.

Tax Amount If the benefit is taxable, you will receive a bill from the Controller's Office for the tax amount due. The tax amount includes federal, FICA, and state taxes, and is approximately 40% (can vary based on changes in the tax tables). Your W-2 income will be increased by the amount of the waiver and your taxes paid in for the period (i.e., withheld from your pay) will be increased accordingly. For example, if your eligible family member receives $1,000 in tuition waiver for a graduate course, you would pay to RIT approximately $400 in taxes (which RIT forwards to the government on your behalf) and your W-2 taxable income would be increased by $1,000.

Below is a summary of the taxability rules:

Courses Employees Take

Undergraduate - generally not taxable, but there is an exception. If you are matriculated in a graduate program and take an undergraduate course as a requirement for the graduate program, the course would be taxable (see information in the Graduate section below about tax relief in this case).

Graduate - taxable, unless the course is considered job-related or you have not reached the IRS limit under RIT's Educational Assistance Program. The IRS defines a job-related course as that needed to maintain or improve an employee's current job skills. A course is not job-related if it serves to meet the minimum requirements of a job or is part of a program of study qualifying an individual for a new profession. If you take a graduate course, you need to complete a Job-Related Verification Form. If the course is job-related, your supervisor needs to approve the form. If the course is not job-related, simply complete that section of the form. You can find the form on the HR web page. You should send your completed and approved, if applicable, Job-Related Verification Form to the Human Resources Department no later than the last date to Drop/Add Courses.

Courses Your Spouse/Tax-Dependent Domestic Partner and/or Tax Dependent Child Takes

(a tax-dependent child is one who is claimed as a dependent on your tax return OR the child's other parent's - your ex-spouse's -- tax return)

Undergraduate - generally not taxable, but there is an exception. If the student is matriculated in a graduate program and takes an undergraduate course as a requirement of the graduate program, the course would be taxable and there is no way to waive these taxes.

Graduate - taxable

Courses Your Non-Tax Dependent Domestic Partner and/or NON-Tax Dependent Child Takes

(child is not claimed as a dependent on your tax return OR the child's other parent's - your ex-spouse's - tax return)

Undergraduate - taxable

Graduate - taxable

Tuition Assistance

Regular full-time and extended part-time employees may be reimbursed up to $750 per semester for job-related credit courses taken at accredited colleges and universities. Semesters are defined as 1) September - December; 2) January -April; and 3), May - August. Therefore, the maximum annual reimbursement will be $2,250 ($750 x 3).

Courses taken through RIT's Center for Professional Development (CPD; see details about CPD later in this section) are also considered eligible courses under the Tuition Assistance Plan. You are eligible for one course per semester (with a maximum of $250 per course), with a maximum of two courses per academic year, subject to your supervisor's approval. Simply enroll through CPD and if your department needs financial relief, they may apply for reimbursement via journal entry on the Application for Tuition Assistance.

To apply for Tuition Assistance, complete an Application for Tuition Assistance. Applications for reimbursement must be submitted by June 1 of each academic year for the current academic year. Applications received after this deadline will not be processed.

Tuition Assistance reimbursements are not subject to tax.

Tuition Exchange

RIT participates in The Tuition Exchange, Inc., a reciprocal scholarship program for children of faculty and staff employed at over 500 participating institutions in the United States. The Tuition Exchange, Inc., a non-profit association, serves higher education by making careers at colleges and universities more attractive. Tuition Exchange (TE) Scholarships are not guaranteed; they are competitive awards and each participating institution sets its own eligibility criteria. Each institution is obligated to maintain a balance between students sent out on the exchange (exports) and students received on the exchange (imports). If this ratio of imports and exports becomes out of balance, RIT may restrict Tuition Exchange Scholarship certifications for RIT exports (children of RIT employees going to other schools).

At RIT, the TE benefit is available to the children (child eligibility as under the Tuition Waiver benefit) of regular full-time employees with at least five (5) years of full-time service on or before the day after Labor Day (Tuesday) in the September of the academic year for which TE application is made. Previous extended part-time service can be counted as one-half a year toward the five (5) year full-time service requirement. Scholarships are for full-time undergraduate study during the regular academic year and are not guaranteed.

Because RIT's import-export ratios are currently favorable, we have increased the current limit of eight semesters to 12 semesters per family; this increase will be reviewed on a rolling five-year basis and may be adjusted accordingly. The base line eligibility continues to be eight semesters per family. If both spouses of a couple work at RIT, they are eligible for eight semesters each, for a total of 16 semesters per family.

Colleges and universities set their own policies and procedures for awarding Tuition Exchange Scholarships. Applying for a Tuition Exchange Scholarship is easy. Follow the normal admissions process for the school(s). In addition, complete a Tuition Exchange Application and Recertification form and submit to the Human Resources Department. HR will certify your eligibility and forward the application to RIT's Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer. RIT's Liaison Officer will certify the application and send it directly to the school(s) considering the candidate.

Make sure you apply for admission and Tuition Exchange by each school's deadline - these deadlines do vary from school to school. For more details on the process and a list of participating schools, check out the Scholarship Award Process on the Tuition Exchange web site (http://www.tuitionexchange.org).

If your child is granted a TE scholarship, you will need to complete the Tuition Exchange Application and Recertification form each spring to recertify the TE benefit for the upcoming academic year. Submit the completed form to the Human Resources Department and HR will certify your eligibility and forward the form to RIT's TE Liaison Officer.

Click here to obtain the form

Taxability of Tuition Exchange

Generally, TE Scholarships are not taxable. However, there are certain cases according to the Internal Revenue Code when the TE Scholarship will be treated as taxable income to you. The scholarship would be taxable if the child:

  1. Generally, TE Scholarships are not taxable. However, there are certain cases according to the Internal Revenue Code when the TE Scholarship will be treated as taxable income to you. The scholarship would be taxable if the child:
  2. is your spouse's child (your step-child) and is not reported on your spouse's or your spouse's ex-spouse's (child's other parent) tax return; or
  3. is your domestic partner's child who is not reported on your tax return.

If the TE Scholarship is taxable, the RIT Controller's Office will send you an invoice for the taxes you owe and you must pay RIT; your Form W-2 will be adjusted to include additional income for the TE Scholarship and taxes paid (see details under "Tuition Waiver" in this section). If you fail to remit the taxes to RIT by the due date, RIT will withhold the amount due for taxes from your regular paycheck. Note: you will be billed three times during the academic year, with each bill for one-third of the full annual amount.

Tuition Scholarship

The Tuition Scholarship program rounds out RIT's Tuition Benefits Program for children of RIT employees (child eligibility as under the Tuition Waiver benefit). Tuition Scholarships are available for all accredited colleges and universities, including state schools and community colleges. Tuition Scholarships are available if the school is not a Tuition Exchange school or if the child is not granted a Tuition Exchange scholarship. A child cannot receive both Tuition Exchange and Tuition Scholarship.

The eligibility rules for Tuition Scholarship are similar to those of Tuition Exchange - available for children of regular full-time employees who have at least five years of regular full-time service prior to the semester for which reimbursement is requested. Previous extended part-time service can be counted as one-half a year toward the five (5) year full-time service requirement. Tuition Scholarships are for full-time undergraduate study during the regular academic year.

Under Tuition Scholarship, RIT will reimburse up to $750 per semester or the net tuition bill, whichever is lower, with an annual maximum benefit of $1,500 per child.

Applications for reimbursement must be submitted by June 1 of each academic year for the current academic year. Applications received after this deadline will not be processed.

Taxability of Tuition Scholarship

Generally, Tuition Scholarships are not taxable. However, there are certain cases according to the Internal Revenue Code when the Tuition Scholarship will be treated as taxable income to you. The scholarship would be taxable if the child:

Reimbursements will be made through the payroll system as follows:

To apply for Tuition Scholarship, complete an Application for Tuition Scholarship.

Center for Professional Development

The Human Resources Department provides training and professional development programs for all employees through RIT's Center for Professional Development (CPD). CPD is a unique resource providing single point access to hundreds of education and training programs from best-in-class providers - both inside and outside of RIT - to help you increase your skills and enhance your career.

Stretch the limits of your professional development and experience our customer-focused approach to supplying the learning resources you need. Get one-to-one instructions about desktop software, initiate fully customized programs to help your department address specific issues, or find something in between. We'll help you get training designed to bring out your best.

Current and future offerings are arranged into six convenient learning clusters:

  1. Diversity/Deaf Culture and Language
  2. Enhancing Faculty & Staff Performance
  3. New Faculty/Staff Orientation and Development
  4. Providing Quality Service
  5. Supervision/Management/Leadership
  6. Technology/Computer Skills

You can find all available courses on the CPD web site at http://finweb.rit.edu/cpd/.

Discuss the CPD training opportunities with your supervisor prior to registering directly with CPD. Courses are added on a regular basis, so be sure to check the CPD web site regularly.

Courses taken through CPD are not taxable.