Initiating Authority

Human Resources serves as the initiating authority for this policy.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to set forth the requirements and limitations for the provision of tuition assistance to the Spouses and Dependent Children of Benefit-Eligible Employees.

Policy

1. Tuition Assistance Program

   To the extent that sufficient funding is available, eligible Spouse and/or Dependent Child(ren) of a Benefit-Eligible Employee may receive tuition assistance for qualifying courses offered by the University, in accordance with the requirements of this policy.

2. Program Eligibility

   The Spouse and/or Dependent Children of a Benefit-Eligible Employee may be eligible for tuition assistance under this policy, subject to the following requirements:
   1. Must be a Spouse and/or Dependent Child of a Benefit-Eligible Employee.
   2. At the time the Spouse or Dependent Child's course(s) begin each semester, the Benefit-Eligible Employee must be employed.
   3. The Spouse or Dependent Child must be admitted to a degree-seeking undergraduate or graduate academic program, on a part-time or full-time basis, in the semester that they are applying for tuition assistance.
   4. The Spouse or Dependent Child must be pursuing their first undergraduate or first graduate degree.
   5. 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, as calculated at the end of the term. Failure to meet this requirement will make the Spouse or Dependent Child ineligible for tuition assistance until their overall GPA is greater than 2.0 for undergraduate programs or 3.0 for graduate programs.
   6. If both Spouses are Benefit-Eligible Employees, neither Spouse is eligible to receive tuition assistance under this policy. However, each Spouse may be eligible for tuition assistance under Policy 3.42 / Tuition Assistance Program for Employees.
   7. If both parents of a Dependent Child are Benefit Eligible Employees, the Dependent Child will only be eligible for the maximum assistance available for the Dependent Child of one Benefit-Eligible Employee.
   8. With the exception of the Spouses or Dependent Children of the Wichita State University Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Inc. (ICAA) employees, the Spouse and Dependent Children of employees of Controlled Affiliated Organizations and Non-Controlled Affiliated Organizations are not eligible for tuition assistance under this policy.

3. Assistance Coverage and Limitations

   Assistance under this policy is limited to covering the cost of resident tuition in accordance with the following limitations:
   1. The amount of tuition assistance provided for undergraduate courses is limited to 50% of the cost of resident tuition up to a maximum of fifteen (15) credit hours of courses per semester.
   2. 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.
   3. Tuition assistance will be limited to a maximum of sixty (60) credit hours in the Spouse and/or Dependent Child's academic career.
   4. Assistance is not available for any student fees or for the cost of books or housing.
   5. Tuition assistance for each semester may be applied in addition to any financial aid received by the Spouse or Dependent Child, up to but not exceeding, the cost of attendance at the University, which includes tuition, fees, room and board, books, and supplies.

4. Qualifying Courses

   1. Courses that qualify for the Tuition Assistance Program include all undergraduate, graduate, badge, and certificate program courses offered for credit by the University. Non-credit courses and courses offered by WSU Tech and the Center for Management Development do not qualify for the Tuition Assistance Program.
   2. Courses enrolled in after the Full-Refund Deadline do not qualify for the Tuition Assistance Program.

5. Tax Consequences

   Employees are responsible for all tax consequences. Tuition assistance for graduate courses for an Employee's spouse and dependents may be included in the Employee's gross income as wages and subject to income tax consistent with federal and state tax laws, unless the Employee is a Graduate Assistant as set forth in Policy 8.04 / Graduate Assistantships.

Definitions

1. For the purpose of this policy only, the following definitions shall apply:

   1. Benefit-Eligible: An employee who holds a permanent, half-time equivalency (0.5 FTE) or greater position with the University as a faculty member, an unclassified professional, or university support staff, or other ICAA staff member.
   2. Controlled Affiliated Organizations: Wichita State University Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Inc., Wichita State University Union Corporation, Wichita State University Innovation Alliance, Inc., and WSIA Investments Corporation.
   3. Dependent Child(ren): Natural, step, or adopted children who are under the age of 26 and unmarried.
   4. Domestic Partnership: A person with whom another person maintains a household and an intimate relationship, other than a person to whom such person is legally married.
   5. Employee: An individual who provides services to the University and/or the ICAA on a regular basis in exchange for compensation and receives a W-2 for such services. This includes temporary and part-time Employees.
   6. Faculty Member: All employees who have teaching/research/library responsibilities of 50% or more and hold a half-time equivalency (0.5 FTE) or greater, including temporary faculty, probationary faculty, tenured faculty, contingent unclassified professionals, provisional unclassified professionals, and regular unclassified professionals (who have the e-class designation of FA or F2).
   7. Full-Refund Deadline: A deadline set by the University each semester for when full-semester courses must be dropped in order to receive a 100% tuition refund.
   8. Non-Controlled Affiliated Organizations: Wichita State University Foundation and Alumni Engagement.
   9. Spouse: A person who is legally married as recognized under Kansas state law (including common law marriage) or who is in a Domestic Partnership.
   10. University: Wichita State University.

Administrative Procedure

1. Applications

   Benefit-Eligible Employees must submit the WSU Tuition Assistance Application for a Spouse and each Dependent Child who seeks tuition assistance to Human Resources by the specified deadline for each semester, which is provided on the Tuition Assistance Program Policies webpage. Late applications will be automatically denied and there will be no exceptions.

2. Eligibility Determination

   Human Resources, in collaboration with Financial Aid, will determine eligibility for applicants of the tuition assistance program.

3. Insufficient Funds

   In the event the University does not have sufficient funds to fund all tuition assistance requests, the decision of which applications will be approved will be based on University priorities.

4. Withdrawing from Course(s)

   If a course(s) is withdrawn, it must be done before the Full-Refund Deadline for tuition assistance funds to be applied appropriately. 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. 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 Services 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.

Applicable Laws And Additional Resources

1. K.S.A. 76-719c. Fellowships, scholarships, tuition and fee waivers; authority to grant; standards, conditions, requirements
2. K.S.A 76-729. Residence of students for fee purposes; basic rule, certain exceptions authorized; definitions
3. Kansas Board of Regents Policy Manual, Chapter II.D.1. Tuition and Fees
4. WSU Policy 3.15 / Internal Dispute Resolution Process
5. WSU Policy 3.42 / Tuition Assistance Program for Employee
6. WSU Policy 4.04 / Resolution of Internal Disputes for Faculty

Revision Dates

1. December 9, 2015
2. December 1, 2018
3. September 18, 2024
4. November 05, 2024