Home > Benefits > IU Tuition Benefit > Plan Provisions

IU Tuition Benefit Plan Provisions

Plan

Eligible individuals may receive an IU subsidy toward the tuition costs associated with attending Indiana University classes.

Employee and Retiree Eligibility

The following categories of individuals associated with Indiana University are eligible for the Tuition Benefit and the IUHS tuition waiver:

Full Time IU Academic and Staff Employees employed by the end of the first full week of classes for the semester or term.

Full Time IU Academic and Staff Employees on an approved leave of absence, other than a leave without pay prior to active employment.

Former employees with IU Retiree status.

Disabled former full-time Academic and Staff employees receiving long-term disability benefits from a University-sponsored plan, Social Security Administration, or PERF.

To be eligible, an employee or qualified former employee must have such status by the end of the first week of classes or at the time of registration for IUHS courses.

Dependent Eligibility

Covered dependents include the legal spouse as defined by Indiana state law or registered same-sex domestic partner of an individual described in the Eligibility section above; or of a deceased employee or Retiree who was eligible at the time of death.

Covered dependent children include the biological or adopted child, stepchild, or a child whose legal guardian is an eligible individual, or of an eligible spouse or registered same-sex domestic partner, or a child of a deceased parent or legal guardian who was an eligible employee at the time of death (provided the child was a legal dependent at the time of the parent or guardian's death), and on the first day of the session for which tuition benefit is being sought. In addition the child must:

Be unmarried; and

Be 23 years of age or under, and

Meet the IRS Support test requirements as a dependent of the employee, spouse or registered same sex domestic partner

Individuals are not eligible to receive benefits as both an employee and as a dependent of another employee or as a dependent of more than one employee. For example, when both parents of a dependent child are employed by the University, one of the parents, but not both, may enroll the child in the Tuition Benefit.

Tuition Benefit Provisions for Employees and Retirees

The Tuition Benefit is a subsidy of covered tuition up to a benefit dollar maximum per semester* based on the Indiana resident per-credit-hour rates at each campus, and in the case of some employees, on class standing (undergraduate, graduate, or professional). Covered individuals are responsible for all tuition costs over the benefit maximum and excluded fees.

Benefit Amount – Applicable benefit maximums for each academic year are updated and provided online.

View current benefit amounts

Exclusions – Covered tuition includes the per-credit-hour tuition rate charged to a student, excluding special fees, such as those for music performance studies, student teaching, laboratories, early education experience, dissertation advanced research (G901, B798, G831, or equivalent), rental of special equipment or facilities, and fees for non-credit courses. Mandatory student fees, such as student technology, activity, or athletic fees are not considered tuition and are not covered under this plan.

Registration for courses during work hours – Employees who wish to enroll in University classes scheduled during normal work hours must obtain advance approval from the associated Department Head. See the applicable Training and Education personnel policy for provisions about covering time away from the job.

*Both Summer Sessions combined are considered as one semester.

Tuition Benefit Provisions for Spouses/Domestic Partners

The Tuition Benefit for a covered spouse or covered domestic partner is a subsidy of covered tuition up to a benefit dollar maximum per semester based on the Indiana resident undergraduate rate at each campus. Covered individuals are responsible for all tuition costs over the benefit maximum and excluded fees.

Benefit Amount – Applicable benefit maximums for each academic year are updated and provided online.

View current benefit amounts

Exclusions – Covered tuition includes the per-credit-hour tuition rate charged to a student, excluding special fees, such as those for music performance studies, student teaching, laboratories, early education experience, dissertation advanced research (G901, B798, G831, or equivalent), rental of special equipment or facilities, and fees for non-credit courses. Mandatory student fees, such as student technology, activity, or athletic fees are not considered tuition and are not covered under this plan.

*Both Summer Sessions combined are considered as one semester.

Tuition Benefit Provisions for Dependent Children

The Tuition Benefit for a covered dependent child of an eligible employee, registered same-sex domestic partner of an employee, Retiree, or deceased employee or Retiree is a subsidy of 50% of the Indiana resident undergraduate tuition rate.

The Tuition Benefit will be discontinued at the conclusion of the semester or session in which:

The child ceases to meet the definition of a dependent child as specified in this plan; or

The child’s parent is no longer an employee of the university for reasons other than disability, death, or termination with IU Retiree Status; or

The child receives a bachelor’s degree, or the child accumulates 140 credit hours of IU Tuition assistance benefits*, whichever comes first.

* Hours that accumulate toward the 140 hour limit include any earned hours, failed or incomplete classes that have been subsidized by the IU Tuition Benefit (including transfer hours from another campus or university, such as ACP or IUHS) , Classes for which the student withdraws and receives a “W” after the 100% tuition refund period resulting in fewer than 12 credit hours (under the “flat fee” range) will also be included in the total accumulated hours.

Exclusions – Covered tuition includes the per-credit-hour tuition rate charged to a student, excluding special fees, such as those for music performance studies, student teaching, laboratories, early education experience, dissertation advanced research (G901, B798, G831, or equivalent), rental of special equipment or facilities, and fees for non-credit courses. Mandatory student fees, such as student technology, activity, or athletic fees are not considered tuition and are not covered under this plan.

Both Summer Sessions combined are considered as one semester.

Advanced College Project (ACP) Courses

The Advance College Project (ACP) is a partnership between Indiana University and participating high schools within the states of Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. ACP offers college credit to qualified high school seniors (and some juniors) who enroll in IU general education courses that are offered at their local high schools during the regular school day and taught by certified high school teachers who hold adjunct lecturer status with Indiana University. ACP courses are administered from the IU Bloomington campus, as well as IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend and IU Southeast.

The Tuition Benefit (a subsidy of 50% of the tuition) is applicable to Advanced College Project (ACP) courses. To receive the Tuition Benefit, the parent of the student must complete the IU Tuition Benefit Application, either online or by paper.

On the application, in the ‘Program’ field, select ‘ACP or Undergraduate’. In the space provided for ‘Campus of Enrollment’, fill that out with the name of the IU campus through which the student will be registered: Bloomington, East, Kokomo, Northwest, South Bend, or Southeast. Use the View by Corresponding High School list on the Participating High Schools page of the Advance College Project web site (http://acp.indiana.edu) to determine your high school's corresponding IU campus.

If the enrollment form has not been completed and approved in sufficient time prior to registration, the student will be required to make payment in full by the due date. A refund will subsequently be issued by the office of the Bursar.

If applying for tuition benefit retroactively, enrollment forms cannot be accepted after October 1 of the year in which the academic year ended. The academic year begins with the fall semester and extends through the summer semester. Applications will need to be submitted by October 1 of the end of that year.

Additional information about the Advance College Project can be found on the ACP website.

Indiana University High School (IUHS) Tuition Waiver

IUHS is a virtual high school that provides individual courses as well as a fully accredited high school diploma through distance learning.** IUHS is accredited through the North Central Association and accepted for college admission by Indiana University and Big Ten schools, as well as many other universities nationally.

IUHS can be used by adults as an alternative to a GED education, by parents home schooling their children, as a supplement to regular high school programs, and by faculty or staff who wish their children to complete a domestic high school degree while overseas.

In the case of the IUHS the benefit is a waiver of a portion of high school course tuition. This provision includes a 25% waiver of tuition for high school courses.

For more information or to apply for the IUHS Tuition Waiver (hr.iu.edu/benefits/IUHS_plan.html).

** Please note: As part of a university-wide reorganization and budget reduction plan, the School of Continuing Studies (SCS) is being closed as of June 30, 2012. The programs that the SCS managed are being reassigned to other academic units on campus. Indiana University High School (IUHS) is being transferred to the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education. The IUHS offices will move on April 17, 2012 to Maxwell Hall on the Bloomington campus.

Enrollment Provisions

In order to enroll for the IU Tuition Benefit, the student must have applied and been accepted as a student at Indiana University. Tuition Benefit enrollment forms cannot be processed prior to the student being an admitted student at the university. Contact the campus Admissions Office for application materials.

Enrollment forms for the Tuition Benefit covers one academic year, beginning with the Fall semester. Forms and the online application are available on the University Human Resource Services Web site.

In order to avoid being billed for the full tuition amount, employees are encouraged to submit this form for the academic year as soon as possible. If this enrollment form is processed after the student has been billed for tuition, the student must pay the full tuition bill by its due date. Once the enrollment form is processed, the student will receive a refund through the office of the Bursar.

In order for tuition for any semester/session to be covered by the Tuition Benefit, the employee or Retiree must be eligible by the end of the first week of class.

Tuition Benefit enrollment forms cannot be accepted after October 1st of the year in which the academic year ended.

Online is the simplest and fastest way to apply for tuition benefit. If you desire, you can still complete and submit the paper application form manually. In either case, a new enrollment form must be submitted for each academic year to University Human Resource Services.

Graduate Course Taxation

IRS Regulations do not provide preferential tax treatment of the IU Tuition Benefit for graduate-level courses. As such, the university is required to treat the Tuition Benefit for graduate-level courses as taxable income for the associated employee or Retiree.

The Tuition Benefit for graduate-level courses is subject to federal, state, county and FICA taxes. In accordance with IRS regulations, these taxes will be withheld from the employee's pay at the employee’s normal rate for income and FICA taxes. The employee's pay notice will include reference to the amount of Tuition Benefit included as taxable income.

For tax purposes, it does not matter which family member took the graduate-level course, the Tuition Benefit is an employee/retiree benefit. Therefore, the employee or retiree is responsible for applicable taxes. Such taxes will be deducted from the employee’s pay, and in the case of a retiree, the value of the graduate-level Tuition Benefit will be given as taxable gross income, and the retiree will be issued a W-2 for that value.

The Tuition Benefit for graduate-level courses will be added to the employee’s taxable income beginning with the payroll cycle following the end of the full refund period for dropping courses. A letter reflecting the amount of additional income and the payroll periods affected will be sent from the FMS Payroll department.

Domestic Partner Course Taxation

IRS Regulations do not provide preferential tax treatment of the IU Tuition Benefit for both undergraduate and graduate-level courses for a qualified same-sex domestic partner or the dependent child of a domestic partner. As such, the university is required to treat the Tuition Benefit as taxable income for the associated employee or Retiree unless the domestic partner or the dependent child of the domestic partner is also an IRS qualified tax dependent of the employee.

The Tuition Benefit for domestic partners and the dependent child of a domestic partner is subject to federal, state, county and FICA taxes. In accordance with IRS regulations, these taxes will be withheld from the employee's pay at the employee’s normal rate for income and FICA taxes. The employee's pay notice will include reference to the amount of Tuition Benefit included as taxable income. In the case of a retiree, the value of the Tuition Benefit will be given as taxable gross income, and the retiree will be issued a W-2 for that value.

The Tuition Benefit for courses taken by a Domestic Partner and domestic partner children will be added to the employee’s taxable income beginning with the payroll cycle following the end of the full refund period for dropping courses. A letter reflecting the amount of additional income and the payroll periods affected will be sent from the FMS Payroll department.

Plan Contributions

The Tuition Benefit plan is completely funded by Indiana University.

Appeals

Applicants who feel they have been unjustly denied the benefits of the IU Tuition Benefit may present a written appeal to University Human Resource Services.