POLICY NO: 407
EFFECTIVE DATE: 04/09/2007
SCHOLARSHIP FOR DEPENDENT CHILDREN
ATTENDING THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
This benefit has been designed to assist faculty and staff in meeting the
cost of tuition for their dependent children. Scholarships for Dependent
Children are administered by the Tuition Office in the Division of Human Resources.
Click here to begin using
the online tuition management system. With this easy-to-use online system
you can apply for tuition benefits, as well as track the status and view the
history of requested tuition benefits.
407.1 ELIGIBILITY
407.2 HIRE/TERMINATION DATES
407.3 DEPENDENCY
407.4 TUITION AMOUNT
407.5 UNDERGRADUATE TUITION
LIMIT
407.6 APPLYING FOR BENEFITS
407.7 TAX LIABILITY
Children who are dependents of the
following faculty and staff members and who are qualified students* under
this plan are eligible to receive tuition assistance at the University of
Pennsylvania:
- Full-time faculty in a benefits-eligible title, regular full-time staff
and limited service employees who have completed three (3) years of full-time
service at the University.
- A deceased member of the faculty or regular full-time or limited service
staff, provided the parent was full-time on the date of death and had been so
for at least seven (7) years.
- A retired University of Pennsylvania faculty or regular full-time or
limited service staff member, provided the parent meets University eligibility
requirements and retirement criteria.
- Visiting members of the instructional staff, only if specifically
authorized by the Provost.
- All staff members affected by position discontinuation and eligible for
benefits in accordance with Policy 628 whose dependent children were receiving
a scholarship in accordance with this policy at the time of notice of position
discontinuation. Tuition benefits will continue through the end of the
semester in which notice of separation was given.
* A qualified student is one who is enrolled at the University of
Pennsylvania as a degree candidate, is in good academic standing, and meets the
University's definition of a dependent child
under the tuition benefit program.
The Tuition Office makes final administrative determinations if any questions
arise concerning a staff member's employment relationship with the University
and eligibility for scholarship assistance under the program.
Employees with a three-year anniversary date prior to the cut-off date of a given
academic term are eligible to receive scholarships for their dependent children during the
term in which the anniversary occurs. Scholarships are awarded on or after the employee's
three-year anniversary date. Employees with a three-year anniversary date after the cut-off date of a given academic term are not eligible to receive tuition benefits for their
dependent children until the first academic term following the term in which the three-year anniversary occurs.
If an employee terminates prior to the cut-off date of a semester, the University
reserves the right to revoke or not award the dependent child's scholarship. If an
employee terminates after the cut-off date of a semester, the dependent child's
scholarship will continue through that semester.
The cut-off dates are:
| Spring semester: |
February 28 |
| Summer Session 1: |
May 31 |
| Summer Session 2: |
July 15 |
| Fall semester: |
October 15 |
The student must be the dependent child of the employee. A child is
considered a dependent when the employee provides more than 50% of the
child’s support. The child must be the employee’s dependent at the time the
benefit is awarded and for any previous three years during the child’s
lifetime. The employee must continue to provide more than 50% of the child’s
support during the term(s) the benefit is received.
The dependent child can be:
- your biological child, for whom you are the legally designated parent;
- your stepchild, who is the biological or adopted child of your spouse;
- your legally adopted child, for whom you are the legally designated parent; or,
- the biological or adopted child of your same-sex domestic partner as registered with the University.
- Qualified dependent children of full-time faculty in a benefits-eligible title and regular full time and limited service staff members appointed or hired on or after July 1, 1997 are eligible to receive undergraduate tuition benefits only. The amount of the tuition benefit is 75% of the tuition and technology fees for credit courses at the University of Pennsylvania.
- Qualified dependent children of full-time faculty in a benefits-eligible title and regular full time and limited service staff members appointed or hired on or before June 30, 1997 are eligible for undergraduate and graduate tuition benefits as follows:
- Faculty and staff who made a onetime irrevocable election of the OLD PLAN effective July 1, 1983, are eligible for 100% of a dependent child's tuition and technology fees.
- Faculty and staff who are in the NEW PLAN are eligible for 100% of a dependent
child's undergraduate and graduate tuition benefits for those dependent children who
matriculated before September 1, 1983. Under the NEW PLAN, for those matriculating on or after September 1, 1983, tuition
benefits are as follows:
| 75% |
Undergraduate tuition and technology fees; |
| 75% |
Tuition and technology fees for Medical School, Dental School, Veterinary School, Law
School & Wharton MBA; |
| 100% |
Tuition and technology fees for all other graduate schools. |
- If both parents are employed at the University of Pennsylvania, Tuition Assistance is limited to the benefit that would be provided to one employee.
- Renewal of the scholarship is contingent upon the recipient’s remaining in good academic standing and the continued eligibility of the employee.
- The scholarship is calculated and awarded on a term-by-term basis.
Payment of the benefit for undergraduate tuition is limited to a maximum
of four (4) academic years, defined as eight (8) semesters. Students are not
guaranteed payment of the benefit for the maximum number of terms. Students
who for any reason obtain their degree and do not use the benefit for the
maximum number of semesters are not eligible to receive any additional
undergraduate benefits after completing their degree. Payment of the benefit
for undergraduate tuition during a summer session is subject to the
limitations stated in these regulations and will count as a term used toward
the eight (8) semesters allowable.
To apply for tuition benefits, use the online tuition system at
www.hr.upenn.edu/tuition.
Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as the student has been accepted
into a school’s program and receives his/her Student ID.
You must use the online system to apply no later than the following dates:
| Spring semester: |
March 15 |
| Summer Session 1: |
June 15 |
| Summer Session 2: |
August 15 |
| Fall semester: |
November 15 |
Tuition benefits are contingent upon timely application using the online system.
Benefits will not be approved for requests that are submitted after the
deadline dates listed above for a specified term. Failure to file for benefits
in a timely manner may result in the application of late charges to the
student’s bill, for which the employee will be responsible.
Employees are fully responsible for any tax liability incurred as a result of these
benefits being treated as taxable income to the employee at any time. The University may
report the benefit amount as income to any taxing authority and withhold taxes from such
benefit amounts or from the employee's other salary income.
Under current law, graduate tuition benefits for dependent children of
faculty and staff are subject to federal income tax, FICA (Social Security
tax), Medicare tax, and city wage tax.
You should be aware that recent changes in federal tax law may change the
taxable nature of undergraduate tuition benefits for some children. If your
dependent child does not meet the federal tax law definitions described
below, the tuition benefits received will be taxable to you as additional
income. (Note that benefits provided on behalf of the child of a same-sex
domestic partner will be taxable unless you have adopted the child. This is
true even if you can claim the child as a dependent on your federal income
tax return.) If the benefit is taxable to you, appropriate taxes will be
withheld from the benefit before it’s awarded. You’ll be asked to declare if
your child meets the federal definition of a dependent when you apply for
tuition benefits. This new policy regarding the taxability of tuition
benefits is effective beginning with the Summer 2007 terms.
Federal Definitions of Dependent Children
Your dependent children eligible to receive tuition benefits include a
"qualifying child" or a "qualifying relative" under applicable federal law.
A "qualifying child" is a child who:
- is your biological child, adopted child or stepchild;
- lives with you for more than one-half of the year;
- has not attained age 19 as of the close of the year or has not
attained age 24 as of the close of the year if the child was a full-time
student for at least five months of the year (Note: These age limits do
not apply in the case of a child who is permanently and totally disabled);
and
- does not provide over one-half of his or her own support for the year.
A "qualifying relative" is a child who:
- is your biological child, adopted child or stepchild;
- receives over one-half of his/her support for the year from you
(subject to a special rule in situations where a child's support is
provided by two or more individuals);
- does not have gross income in excess of a specified amount ($3,400 for
2007, but not including certain income earned by a disabled individual at
a sheltered workshop); and
- is not a qualifying child (as defined above) of you or any other
taxpayer for the year.
For purposes of any requirement above that a child live in your
household, temporary absences due to special circumstances, including
absences due to illness, education, business, vacation or military service
are not treated as absences. Special rules apply in the case of parents who
are divorced or legally separated. Please contact your tax advisor for more
information regarding these definitions.
If benefits are considered taxable, taxes are withheld directly from the
benefit and the net amount is awarded to the student as the scholarship. The
gross tuition amount and taxes withheld are reported to the IRS as a part of
the faculty or staff member's earnings. The taxpayer is responsible for
making appropriate payroll withholding adjustments, if desired. The taxpayer
is also responsible for settling his/her tax liability on year-end tax
filing.
Applicability: Full-time Faculty; Regular Full-time and Limited Service Staff
Cross-reference: Policy 406, Policy 408, Policy 409, Policy 628
Supersedes Policy Number(s): 407 (08/15/1995, 07/01/1997, 05/26/2005)