Tuition Remissions

Policy on Tuition Remissions

Policy Statement

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance and direction to the academic units of the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) as it pertains to the use of tuition remissions. Tuition remissions are used strategically and in ways that are congruent with, and advance the mission of UNMC and its constituent academic units. Tuition remissions are one mechanism available to assist UNMC in meeting its enrollment and revenue goals, and attract and retain students with exemplary academic, special skills, or need congruent with the mission of UNMC, or eligibility for a specific remission program guaranteed by law or policy.

The UNMC academic units will establish goals and make a determination regarding the distribution of tuition remissions among their constituent programs. Academic units will adhere to the principles, procedures, and processes outlined in this policy.

The policy ensures compliance with federal and state laws and University of Nebraska Board of Regents policies and regulations and provides a standardized approach for the use of tuition remissions for all academic units.

Definitions

For the purpose of this policy, tuition remissions shall be understood to be synonymous with mechanisms such as tuition waivers and scholarships that represent the reduction of tuition in meeting the mission of the academic unit, for specific reasons and based on specific eligibility requirements.

This policy does not govern the use and distribution of funded scholarships.

Policy Oversight

The Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs is responsible for providing oversight for all activities related to the use of tuition remissions, ensuring compliance with all federal and state laws, University and UNMC rules and regulations pertaining to tuition remissions, and periodically reviewing and as necessary revising this policy. The Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs will convene annual meetings of the UNMC Remissions Committee to include the Deans, Vice Chancellor for Business, Finance, and Business Development or designee, the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Success, and Business Managers for all UNMC Colleges to review the campus-wide general policy to ensure that remissions from each college remain congruent with the principles and guidelines of this policy.

Categories of Tuition Remission

Board of Regents Scholarship: Remission awarded to Nebraska residents only, for high academic achievement. Professional and Graduate Regents Scholarships are determined by each campus in accordance with the general standards set forth in Regents Policy (RP 5.8.5), with each academic unit able to award remissions to eligible students.
Non-Resident Tuition Scholarship (NRTS): Remissions awarded to non-resident students. The amount of remission may vary by student and by program within the academic units but cannot exceed the difference between resident and non-resident tuition. Awarding of NRTS follows the criteria established by Regents Policy (RP 5.8.3).
Legacy Scholarship: Awarded to the non-resident children of alumni of any campus or college within the University of Nebraska system enrolled in an undergraduate program, consistent with Regents Policy (RP 5.8.4). Only students enrolling in the undergraduate programs are eligible for this tuition remission.
University of Nebraska Employee Scholarships: Awarded to University employees, spouses, or dependents for up to a total of 15 credit hours each academic year per Regents Policy (RP 3.2.6).
Yellow Ribbon Tuition Waiver: Awarded to non-resident students who are veterans and eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Remissions defined by the federal Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008.
Veterans Dependent Tuition Waiver: A waiver of tuition, and in some instances fees, for the dependents of Nebraska resident veterans who were permanently disabled or killed in the line of duty (see https://veterans.nebraska.gov/waiver-tuition-program).
Military Reserve Tuition Waiver: A fifty percent tuition waiver for an active reservist (see https://veterans.nebraska.gov/reservist-tuition-credit-program).
Line of Duty Dependent Education Benefit: A waiver for the children of law enforcement officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty, in the amount of the tuition and fees remaining after subtracting awarded federal financial aid grants and state scholarships and grants (NE Statute 85-2304).
Graduate Tuition Remission: The NU Graduate Tuition remission program provides for the exemption of tuition for twelve credit hours per semester of instruction for all graduate assistants having appointments of one-third or more FTE (BOR Policy 5.8.2, revised August 16, 2019).
CAHP Tuition Remissions: CAHP remissions are awarded to students enrolled in any of the CAHP professional programs under a contractual agreement with a third party or other special circumstances as approved by the Dean or their designee.
CON Volunteer Faculty: CON awards hospital staff nurses who participate as clinical staff instructors (CSI) to mentor and supervise students with two (2) credit hours tuition remission per DEU session. Remission is granted upon request of the CSI and approved by the CON Dedicated Education Unit project director.
Tuition Waivers CON: CON Tuition Waivers are awarded to undergraduate nursing students who are Nebraska residents and have not received other scholarships. Allocations are made to students with the highest GPAs after it is determined they do not meet all eligibility requirements for a Board of Regents Scholarship.
MD/PhD Tuition/Fee Remissions: Tuition and fees are waived for MD-PhD Scholars for Medical School and Graduate school.
COM Half Tuition Waivers: The Half Tuition Waiver is a remission available for all accepted students.
COD Tuition Remissions: COD remissions are awarded to students enrolled in any of the COD academic programs with special, need-based circumstances or superior academic merit as approved by the Dean or their designee.
COPH Tuition Remissions: COPH remissions are awarded to students enrolled in any of the COPH academic programs under a contractual agreement with a third party or other special circumstances as approved by the Dean or their designee.

Procedures

Eligibility Requirements and Selection Criteria for Tuition Remission Programs

The University defines minimum eligibility requirements for tuition remissions. However, specific selection criteria as defined by the awarding academic unit may be more, but not less, stringent than University minimums. Each UNMC academic unit will have specific and measurable written selection criteria for awarding the various types of tuition remissions. The criteria will be congruent with the criteria outlined in this policy.

Application Procedures and Selection Processes

The academic units will have in place published documentation pertaining to application and selection processes, including at a minimum, information advertising available remission programs, processes for application, criteria for selection and notification, and terms for renewal (if applicable). This documentation will be reviewed annually by the Dean or Director, in consultation with the UNMC Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Success, and amended as necessary.

Recordkeeping, Monitoring & Reporting for Tuition Remission Programs

Each academic unit will ensure that each student has met all requirements before awarding the tuition remission, and document each tuition remission award on the UNMC Remission/Scholarship Disbursement Form (see Appendix A), for annual approval by the Dean of a college or Director of an institute, and submission to the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, which will share access to the form with the UNMC Office of the Controller, who oversees Student Accounts.

Recordkeeping responsibilities reside in the academic units and will at a minimum include the maintenance of copies of the UNMC Remission/Scholarship Disbursement Forms for each student awarded any form of tuition remission for a given academic year. These copies will be stored in a secure electronic repository with shared access for other key institutional stakeholders.

In addition, each academic unit will develop an annual tuition remissions budget in conjunction with UNMC senior leadership and will retain copies of the reconciled actual tuition remission budget, completed at the close of each year’s admission cycle. Should the actual tuition remission commitments exceed the projected budget by 10 percent or more, the academic unit and the UNMC Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs will be alerted by the Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance or designee.

The academic units will be responsible for communicating the final tuition remission related data on an annual basis to the UNMC Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, which will ensure a source of common access to the data by the Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance and the UNMC Office of the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Success.

Tuition Remission Limits

Tuition remissions cannot exceed tuition charges for the given academic program, and cannot be applied to non-tuition charges. Refunds of the tuition remission to the student are prohibited.

Special Circumstances

Remissions for Remediation

The academic units may provide tuition remissions for students enrolled in a remediation plan. Special attention will be given to students in flat-rate tuition programs to ensure the resulting tuition would not result in a higher overall cost than if the student was billed at a per credit hour rate.

Contracts

Students enrolled in a plan of study governed by a contractual agreement, such as but not limited to, Chinese Scholarship Council sponsored students, may receive remissions reducing their cost of attendance to the contractually agreed-upon cost. Such remissions cannot reduce the cost of attendance to be less than the applicable in-state tuition.

Creation of New or Alteration of Existing Tuition Remission Programs

Academic or administrative units that wish to alter an existing tuition remission program or create a new tuition remission program must submit a formal request to the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for initial review. At a minimum, the request should include the following:

A rationale for the change or the addition of the new program.
A revenue calculation that includes an anticipated return on investment (ROI).
An estimate of the impact on the remissions budget of the academic or administrative unit.
A follow-up plan for analyzing the impact of the change or new remission program one year following implementation.

The Associate Vice Chancellor will consult with submitting units to ensure the request adequately addresses all required elements, requesting additional information as needed. Following determination by the Associate Vice Chancellor that all requirements are satisfied, the formal request will be forwarded to the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the Vice Chancellor for Business, Finance, and Business Development for review and consideration. If approved, the proposal will be forwarded to the Chancellor for final review and consideration by the Cabinet. Ultimately, the Chancellor must approve in writing any changes to existing tuition remission programs and all new tuition remission programs.

Additional Information

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