Oct. 7, 2003

Tuition Exchange Program Deadline Set for Oct. 15

By Jonathan Turner

GW employees interested in participating in the University’s Tuition Exchange Program (TE program) have until Oct. 15 to get their registration forms in to be eligible for the 2003–04 academic year. The benefit is part of the Tuition Exchange Program, Inc., a non-profit organization located in Washington, DC, with more than 530 member institutions in Great Britain and the United States, four of them in the District.

The TE program administers tuition remission scholarships for employees of the participating institutions. Each member sets its own standards and policies for enrollment while students accepted into the TE program are eligible for a maximum of a full term of four years, or eight semesters, for a baccalaureate education of scholarship funding. Four candidates are selected each year for eligibility in the TE program. To be eligible, a candidate must be under the age of 24 at the start of each academic year. They must be the natural or legally adopted child, stepchild or under the legal guardianship of the GW employee sponsoring their candidacy and be legally dependent on the employee under the regulations of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

At its inception in 1995, Daniel Small, director of the enrollment management administration, said the TE program “gives employees some additional options.” He added that although there are only four slots available and it may seem as though the chances of landing one of those places is slim “it’s really a self-selection process. There are a limited number of kids preparing to go to college each year, and its likely that a number of them will be planning to go to schools that don’t participate in the program. So if there’s a school on the list that your child is interested in attending, you should definitely apply.”

At the end of the application process the top 13 applicants will be selected as possible candidates for the TE program. That group will eventually be narrowed down to four TE selectees. The other candidates, as well as the other applicants, will be placed on a waiting list for the TE program in case a position becomes available and of their place on the list. The waiting list consists of about 20 to 30 names.

Only one dependent per-family may take part in the TE program in an academic year. In addition, all candidates must meet the academic standards and criteria of the admitting institution and can only apply as full-time students. Students will be selected for the TE program depending on their sponsor’s seniority as determined with the adjusted service date defined in the “Manual of Personnel Policies.”

Each school participating in the program must balance the number of TE students it “exports” to the other member schools with those who attend their institution (i.e. “imports”). The duration and availability of TE scholarships also is dependent upon the import/export ratio.

“Once a student is selected as a Tuition Exchange recipient (be it an import or an export) they continue to receive the benefit for eight semesters or until graduation, and as long as the parent remains eligible for tuition benefits,” said Small. “With this in mind four or five new students are selected (annually) so we will have a total of 20 recipients enrolled at one time at GW (spread over the four years). Hopefully we will have an equal number of imports (students attending GW) as exports.”

Selection as an eligible candidate for a scholarship does not guarantee selection as a TE scholarship recipient. Final selection is decided by the TE member institution and based in part on the availability of TE scholarships at the member institution.

Once a TE scholarship has been granted, enrollment must be recertified annually by the GW TE Liaison office no later than the Jan. 15 prior to the coming academic year.

Since GW’s involvement in the TE program began a total of 44 students have come to GW through the program, spread to about 20–22 students over a four-year period. Similarly, there are between 20–22 students enrolled in the TE program through GW who are attending other universities.

For more information on the Tuition Exchange Program contact the Department of Human Resource Services at 994-9600.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu