|
|
Tuition Benefits FAQ
Eligibility
- Can I receive tuition benefits if I take classes?
- How do I know if I’m eligible?
- You’re eligible if you’re a full-time faculty, regular full-time staff, or limited service staff member.
- When am I eligible for this tuition benefit? Is there a waiting period?
- You’re eligible for the benefit when you are hired. Note that you must be hired prior to the cut-off date of the current term to receive benefits for that term. See the
faculty/staff tuition policy for more information.
- Can I receive tuition benefits if I take courses at another university?
- No. Faculty and staff receive tuition benefits only for classes taken at the University of Pennsylvania.
Applying to Penn
- Do I have to apply to Penn in order to take classes?
- Yes, you must apply and be accepted into a program at Penn before you’re able to register for classes or request the tuition benefit.
- Can I participate in any program at Penn?
- You may be unable to participate in some courses of study due to their basic requirements and limitations—for example, some programs are offered only on a full-time basis. Check the Programs for Working Professionals page for a full list of programs designed to accommodate working professionals. You can also search all of Penn’s academic programs and contact a school or department directly to determine if a given course of study fits your needs.
What the Tuition Benefit Covers
- Are “course units” the same as classes?
- No. Some classes at Penn count for more than one course unit. The benefit covers two course units per term and two over the entire summer, rather than two courses. Employees are permitted to enroll in more than two course units per term, but the cost of the additional course units would be the responsibility of the employee.
- Do the courses I take need to be related to my job?
- The courses you take do not have to be job-related; however, they must be college credit courses.
- Will the benefit cover financial penalties associated with dropped courses?
- No, the benefit will not cover financial penalties associated with dropped courses. If you drop a course after your program’s official course selection period, (which usually continues until approximately two weeks into a semester) your program may continue to charge you full or partial charges for that course. These charges then become your responsibility.
- If I drop a course after the course selection period, but the tuition benefit has already been paid, what will happen?
- The benefit payment will be removed from your student account at the end of the term, which will leave you with a balance on your student account that must be covered by the payment deadline set by Student Financial Services.
- How can I ensure that I don’t incur financial penalties for a dropped course?
- Drop your course during your educational program’s official course selection period. If you don’t know when this is, please consult with your educational program.
- Can I take a course during my work hours?
- That’s a matter for you and your supervisor to discuss. The Tuition Benefit Office expects employees to seek and receive approval from their supervisors before requesting tuition benefits for a course during working hours.
- Can I audit a course? Can I take a course if I am applying to or not formally enrolled in a degree program?
- Courses are covered by the tuition benefit as long as they’re for college credit and the associated charges are posted to your student account, regardless of whether you choose to take those credit courses for a grade, pass/fail or audit. Your ability to audit a course or take a course when not enrolled in a degree program, however, is decided at the discretion of the school or program concerned.
- What do courses cost at Penn?
- Each School/Center at Penn charges their own tuition rates. You should consult each school for their tuition information.
Applying for Tuition Benefits
- How do I apply for tuition benefits?
- Log on to the online tuition management system and click on “Tuition Benefits for Myself”. Then click on the “Request Payment” button to complete the short request process.
- How will I know my request was successful?
- Your request has been successful once you choose “submit” and receive a message indicating that your student bursar information will be retrieved from the University’s systems. The tuition management system takes 24 hours to pull in your student account billing information (as long as your educational program has already posted your charges). You can then go back into your tuition record, choose the current term listed in your “Benefits History” box, and view the current term’s calculated benefit. If the charges have not yet been posted onto your account by your educational program, your request will remain pending until the tuition system detects the charges.
- What happens once my benefit amount has been calculated in the tuition system?
- Once your request is processed, a payment will be made to your student account. The timing of this deposit is based on the next upcoming payment date listed on the welcome page of the online tuition system.
- How will I know when a payment is made?
- On the welcome page of the system we list the next date we will make a payment to student accounts. Two days after this date, you can go into your student bursar account through Penn InTouch to see your credit. You can view your student account through Penn InTouch and choose the “Bill Summary” tab, and then “View new activity”. You can also view the status of your request in the tuition system—it will show the status of your payment.
- When is the application due?
- You should submit an application as soon as you've registered for a course or received a bill. Applications should be submitted every term no later than the following dates:
- Spring Semester: March 15
- Summer Session I and 12-week Summer Session: June 15
- Summer Session II: August 15
- Fall Semester: November 15
Requests for payment will not be accepted after the deadline for each term.
- I'm taking a summer course at Penn that lasts 12 weeks. Is that considered Summer Session I or II?
- Some summer courses at Penn run for a 12-week term. These courses are billed and treated as Summer Session I. If you’re unsure what term your course is registered in, you should check with your educational program.
- Do I need to do anything about the bills I receive from Student Financial Services?
- If I transferred from HUP to the University and received tuition benefits while at HUP, do I have to repay the benefit to HUP?
- Please contact HUP’s Human Resources office at 215-615-2675.
Tax Liability
- Is it true that I have to pay taxes if I take graduate-level courses?
- Up to $5,250 of graduate tuition benefits within a calendar year are tax-free. However, any benefits received over the $5,250 exemption are taxed at approximately 36.5% (Federal, Social Security, and Medicare taxes plus the city wage tax).
- Are taxes based upon my program or the courses I take?
- Taxes are based upon your program classification, not the courses in which you are enrolled. Once you’re in a graduate program, you are considered a graduate student regardless of whether you enroll in graduate or undergraduate courses. Therefore, if you’re in a graduate program and take an undergraduate course, you'll be charged and taxed at the graduate tuition rate.
- Could receiving tuition benefits put me into another tax bracket?
- Yes, it could. You may wish to consult an accountant or contact the IRS directly for further information. The Graduate Tuition Benefits Tax FAQ also addresses graduate tuition benefits and tax liability.
- How can I learn more about the tax on graduate tuition benefits?
- Please consult our Graduate Tuition Benefits Tax FAQ.
Eligibility
- Can I receive tuition benefits for my dependent child?
- Eligible faculty and staff can receive tuition benefits for their dependent children after three years of regular full-time service. The benefit is for a maximum of eight academic semesters of undergraduate study at the University of Pennsylvania or another college or university.
- How do I know if I’m eligible to receive tuition benefits for my dependent
child?
- You’re eligible if you’re a full-time faculty, regular full-time staff, or limited service staff member and have been in your eligible position (or an equivalent one) for three years.
- How do I know if my child qualifies as a dependent?
- There are two definitions of dependency. The first is Penn’s definition, which your child must meet in order to be eligible to receive your tuition benefit. The second definition, the Federal Definition of Dependent Children, determines whether or not your undergraduate tuition benefit is considered taxable income. Your child must meet one of the two definitions listed under the Federal Definition of Dependent Children. One definition references the age of your dependent, the other references your dependent’s gross income.
- Does my time as a post-doc, part-time or temporary employee count towards the three years of service I need to receive the tuition benefit for my dependents?
- No. Only full-time benefits-eligible service counts toward the benefit. Post-doc, part-time, and temporary service does not count.
- Do I have to have tenure to be eligible?
- No; however, you must be in a full-time benefits-eligible position.
- Are my children eligible for graduate tuition benefits?
- Graduate tuition benefits are available for a dependent child if you were hired prior to June 30, 1997. The benefit is for graduate programs at Penn only. Otherwise, the benefit is available at the undergraduate level only.
What the Tuition Benefit Covers
- Does the benefit cover room and board?
- No, the benefit does not apply to room and board or to any other fees and charges.
- Does the benefit cover summer courses?
- Yes, summer courses are included in the benefit. Keep in mind that each summer term counts toward the maximum benefit period of eight semesters.
Tuition Benefits for Dependent Children Attending Penn
- How much is the benefit if my child attends Penn?
- The benefit equals 75% of the tuition and technology fees for an undergraduate degree program at Penn for a maximum of four academic years (eight semesters).
- My child will be attending Penn. How do I apply for tuition benefits?
- Log on to the online tuition management system and click on "Tuition Benefits for My Dependent", choose “Request Payment” and then follow the instructions to apply for tuition benefits online.
- How will I know my request was successful?
- Your request has been successful once you choose “submit” and receive a message indicating that your dependent’s bursar information will be retrieved from the University’s systems. The tuition management system takes 24 hours to pull in student account billing information (as long as your dependent already has charges on his/her account). You can then go back into your tuition account for your dependent, choose the current term listed in his/her “Benefits History” box, and view the current term’s calculated benefit. If the charges have not yet been posted onto the account, your request will remain pending until the tuition system detects the charges.
- What happens once my benefit amount has been calculated in the tuition system?
- Once your request is processed, a payment will be made to the student account. The timing of this deposit is based on the next upcoming payment date listed on the welcome page of the online tuition system.
- When is the request for payment due?
- Applicants are encouraged to request payment as soon as the student receives a bill or registers for courses. Applications must be submitted online every term no later than the following dates:
- Spring Session: March 15
- Summer Session I and 12-week Summer Session: June 15
- Summer Session II: August 15
- Fall Semester: November 15
Requests for payment will not be accepted after the deadline for each term.
- My child is taking a summer course at Penn that lasts 12 weeks. Is that considered Summer Session I or II?
- Some summer courses at Penn run for a 12-week period. These courses are billed and treated as Summer Session I. Each summer term you request will count as a semester.
Tuition Benefits for Dependent Children Attending Other Colleges
- How much is the benefit if my child attends a college or university other than Penn?
- The benefit equals the lesser of the following: the other school's line-item tuition charge per term, or 40% of the line-item of Penn’s undergraduate tuition based upon the tuition rate for one regular full-time Penn semester. The benefit only covers students who are enrolled in an undergraduate program at another accredited college or university for a maximum of four academic years (8 semesters, 12 trimesters, or 16 quarters).
- Does the benefit cover the entire bill?
- No. The benefit only covers the line-item of tuition. No other charges or fees are covered.
- How do I know if my child’s school is an accredited college or university?
- The online tuition management system features a list of approved institutions we have made payments to in the past. If you don’t see your child’s college/university listed, you can use the online site to apply for approval of the school. In order to view the list of schools, you must begin a request for payment in your dependent’s tuition account by choosing the button “Request Payment” and go to “Other approved schools”. You can simply cancel this request if you choose not to proceed.
- My child will be attending a college or university other than Penn; how do I apply?
- Log on to the online tuition management system and click on
“Tuition Benefits for My Dependents”, choose the “Request payment” button and then follow the instructions
to apply for tuition benefits online. Once you complete this process, you’ll also need to print out a copy of your confirmation page and provide the Tuition Administrator with a copy of the itemized tuition bill. Your request will not be processed until the itemized bill and confirmation page are received.
- What happens after I apply?
- Once our office receives a copy of your tuition bill, the status of your request should change from “Pending” to “Approved” within seven business days. If it’s still listed as “Pending” after seven business days, please contact the Tuition Benefit Office. Once your request is approved, a check is issued within three business days and sent directly to the school with your child’s name and school identification number.
- Will the check arrive before the school’s payment deadline?
- Although our process has been streamlined to operate as quickly as possible, Penn cannot guarantee that payment will be received before the deadline in every case. We therefore recommend that you print the “Confirmation of Benefit Statement” from your dependent’s account in the online tuition management system. Detailed instructions for printing this document are available in the next question.
- How can I indicate to my dependent’s school that Penn will be paying a portion of the tuition?
- To confirm that Penn will be sending payment, please print the “Confirmation of Benefit Statement” and send this to your dependent’s school. To access this document, log in to the online tuition management system and review the “Benefit History” box within your dependent’s account. Look to the end of the row for the semester in question and click on “Confirmation Statement”. This will bring up your original confirmation. You’ll see a link for “Confirmation of Benefit Statement” about halfway down the page—you can print out this verification of Penn’s payment and fax or mail it to your dependent’s school. If you have trouble printing this directly, you can save the letter and print from the saved copy.
- When is the application due?
- Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as the student has received an itemized tuition bill. Applications must be submitted online every term no later than the following dates:
- Winter term: March 15
- Spring term: April 15
- Summer term: August 15
- Fall term: November 15
Requests for payment will not be accepted after the deadline for each term.
- What does the “status” of my request within the online tuition management system mean?
- Pending means that your request has not yet been approved. If your request remains pending for more than seven business days from the date you sent us your tuition bill, please email us at
to ensure that we received your bill.
Approved means that we have received a copy of your tuition bill and have approved payment. A check is generally sent out within three business days after the date of approval. Because we cannot show the exact date that a check was sent out from within the online tuition management system, it’s a good idea to follow up with your dependent’s school two to three weeks after the date of approval to confirm that they have received payment.
Canceled means that the request has been canceled, either by you or by our office. A canceled term will not count against your dependent’s total allotted terms. Please contact the Tuition Administrator at for more information if your request has been canceled and you don't know why.
- What if the school does not receive a check from Penn?
- If your dependent’s school cannot confirm receipt of a check from Penn, you should first contact our office for the check number and to verify the address to which the check was sent. If the school does not have the check, we must stop payment and reissue the check. This process can take time, so we suggest that you make every effort to ensure that the school does not have the check before requesting that it be reissued. We generally will not reissue a check prior to one month’s time.
Tax Liability
- Are undergraduate tuition benefits for my dependent children taxable?
- If your dependent child does not meet the federal tax law definitions described in policies 407 and 408, the tuition benefits received will be taxable to you as additional income. Your dependent must meet one or the other of the two definitions listed in the Federal Definitions of Dependent Children. You will be asked to verify the tax dependency of your child during the benefit request process.
- I’m eligible to receive graduate tuition benefits for my dependents. What are the tax implications for those benefits?
- Federal, Social Security, Medicare and City Wage taxes apply. There is
no exemption.
- Where can I get more information about taxes on graduate benefits for my dependent children?
- More information is available in the “Tax Liability” sections of policies 407 and 408. You may also wish to consult an accountant, or to contact the IRS directly.
Eligibility
- Can I receive tuition benefits for my spouse/same-sex domestic
partner?
- Does my time as a post-doc, part-time or temporary employee count towards the three
years of service I need to receive the tuition benefit for my dependents?
- Only full-time benefits-eligible service counts toward the benefit.
Post-doc, part-time, and temporary service does not count.
- Can my spouse/same-sex domestic partner receive tuition benefits if
he/she is taking graduate courses at Penn?
- Graduate benefits are available for a spouse/same-sex domestic partner if you
were hired prior to June 30, 1997. Otherwise, the benefit is available for an undergraduate degree only.
What the Tuition Benefit Covers
- What does the tuition benefit cover?
- The benefit equals 50% of the tuition and technology fees for credit courses taken at Penn, as outlined in the policy, towards the attainment of an undergraduate degree at Penn. It covers a maximum of eight semesters, or the number of credit courses needed to obtain that degree, whichever comes first.
- Can my spouse/same-sex domestic partner receive tuition benefits for
courses taken at another university?
- No. Tuition benefits for spouses/same-sex domestic partners are not available for schools other than Penn.
Applying for Tuition Benefits
- My spouse/same-sex domestic partner will be attending Penn; how do I
apply for tuition benefits?
- Log on to the online tuition management system and click on “Tuition Benefits for My Dependents”, choose “Request Payment” and then follow the instructions to apply for tuition benefits online.
- How will I know my request was successful?
- Your request has been successful once you choose “submit” and receive a message indicating that your spouse/partner’s bursar information will be retrieved from the University’s systems. The tuition management system takes 24 hours to pull in student account billing information (as long as there are charges present on the account). You can then go back into your tuition account for your spouse/partner, choose the current term listed in his/her “Benefits History” box, and view the current term’s calculated benefit. If the charges have not yet been posted to the account, your request will remain pending until the tuition system detects the charges.
- What happens once my benefit amount has been calculated in the tuition system?
- Once your request is processed, a payment will be made to the student account. The timing of this deposit is based on the next upcoming payment date listed on the welcome page of the online tuition system.
- When is the application due?
- Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as the student receives a bill or registers for courses. Applications must be submitted online every term no later than the following dates:
- Spring Semester: March 15
- Summer session I and 12-week Summer Session: June 15
- Summer session II: August 15
- Fall Semester: November 15
Requests for payment will not be accepted after the deadline for each term
- My spouse/same-sex domestic partner is taking a summer course at Penn that lasts 12 weeks. Is that considered Summer Session I or II?
- Some summer courses at Penn run for a 12-week term. These courses are billed and treated as Summer Session I. Each summer term you request will count as a semester.
Tax Liability
- Are tuition benefits for my spouse/same-sex domestic partner taxable?
- Undergraduate tuition benefits for spouses are not currently considered taxable income by the government. However, undergraduate tuition benefits for same-sex domestic partners are considered taxable income. Graduate level tuition benefits are considered taxable income for both spouses and same-sex domestic partners.
- Where can I get more information about the taxability of tuition benefits for my spouse/same-sex domestic partner?
- More information is available in the “Tax Liability” section of policy 409. You may also wish to consult an accountant, or to contact the IRS directly.
For more information regarding the tuition benefit program, contact the
Tuition Administrator at or 215-898-4812. You can also review the policies
governing the tuition benefits at www.hr.upenn.edu/Benefits/Tuition/Default.aspx.
For questions about your tuition bill (i.e., charges, amount due and
payments), contact the Office of Student Financial Services at 3451 Walnut
Street 1st floor, 215-898-1988.
Updated 11/01/2008
|