THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA

Office of Human Resources

Washington, DC 20064

202-319-5050  FAX 202-319-5802

TUITION EXCHANGE PROGRAM GUIDELINES

I. INTRODUCTION

(A) The Tuition Exchange Program (“the Program”) is a benefit that allows for student exchanges among colleges and universities that participate in the program. The dependent children by birth or adoption or stepchildren of eligible employees can apply to receive Program Scholarships as described in these guidelines. The Catholic University of America (CUA) has elected to participate in this nationwide tuition exchange arrangement. The Program is not available to eligible employees for themselves or their spouses, but only for their eligible children.

(B) The tuition remission scholarships in the Program (“Program Scholarships”) are available only for undergraduate education. In the event that there is a question as to whether a particular degree program at a participating institution is undergraduate will be determined by CUA’s Provost.

(C) Important definitions for, and limitations on, the program appear in Section V of these

Guidelines.

II. ELIGIBILITY

(A) Program Scholarships may be available as provided herein to children of regular full-time employees of CUA who have worked full-time for at least four continuous years immediately before the date of their application for acceptance into the Tuition Exchange Program.

(B)  Sabbatical leave, FMLA, medical leaves of absence, and other leaves of absence will not be considered an interruption of continuous service when such leaves have been approved in writing by the appropriate CUA officials. However, with the exception of sabbatical leaves, the time off on approved leaves of absence will not be counted toward calculation of points for awarding the benefit.

(C)  An eligible employee may apply for up to eight semesters of Program Scholarships for each of that employee’s dependent children, subject to the limitations herein. In cases where a dependent child has earned undergraduate credits prior to applying and being accepted for the Tuition Exchange Program, the number of semesters of Tuition Exchange Program Scholarships will be reduced from eight to account for credits already earned.

(D)  Double benefits are not permitted, i.e., if both parents of a student are eligible to participate in the Program, the student cannot receive more than eight semesters of Program Scholarships.

(E) If a full-time employee with at least ten years of continuous service has a dependent child participating in the Tuition Exchange Program and that employee retires, dies, or becomes totally disabled while the child is enrolled in a participating institution and participating in the Program, the student will continue to be eligible for the Program to a maximum of eight semesters of Program Scholarships, provided all other Program requirements continue to be met. Children not yet enrolled in a participating institution at the time of the employee’s retirement, death or total disability will also be eligible to apply for Program Scholarships provided that all other Program requirements are met and that the children were otherwise eligible (i.e., were the natural or legally-adopted children or stepchildren of the employee) at the time of the employee’s retirement, death or total disability.

(F) If a full-time employee with less than ten years of continuous service dies or is totally disabled while a dependent child is enrolled in a participating institution under the Program, the student shall be allowed to retain their Program Scholarship, provided they are otherwise qualified, to the end of the academic year in which the death or total disability occurs.

(G) Except as provided for in the case of death, retirement or total disability, eligibility for the Program ceases with an employee’s termination of employment at CUA. However, a dependent child using a Program Scholarship at the time of the parent’s termination of employment will be permitted to finish the semester in which the termination occurs.

(H)  Sealed official academic transcripts of grades earned by children receiving Program

Scholarships must be submitted to the Tuition Exchange Program Liaison Officer in the Office of Human Resources at CUA at the end of each semester as proof of continued eligibility. The GPA must be a minimum of 2.0 by the end of the first two semesters of attendance at the participating institution and at the time of any subsequent reapplication to the Program. A transfer student entering the Program must also have at least a 2.0 GPA. All students enrolled in the Program must be recertified each year.

(I) Openings are limited to students planning to enroll full-time in undergraduate programs for their first bachelor’s degree. If a student requires only part-time enrollment for the final semester to meet graduation requirements, an application for one such part-time semester will be considered, as long as the eight-semester limit is not exceeded and the application is otherwise consistent with the limitations of these Guidelines.

(J) Enrollment for eighteen hours or less in summer sessions is counted as one semester against the eight semester maximum. Enrollment in more than eighteen hours of summer sessions is counted as two semesters against the maximum. Students should keep these provisions in mind when enrolling for summer sessions.

(K) (1) Awards are for continuous full-time enrollment at participating institutions and generally are granted for one academic year (two semesters) at a time, consistent with the eight semester maximum. A Program Scholarship is lost if the student ceases to be registered as a full-time student at the participating institution. In such cases, the Program Scholarship will be considered to have been used for two semesters at the participating institution and those two semesters will be deducted from the eight semester maximum an cannot be carried over to another year.

(2) If a student accepts a Program Scholarship for an academic year (two semesters) from a participating institution and leaves that institution (including to transfer to any other institution) before the end of the second of those semesters, two semesters will be deducted from the eight semester maximum and cannot be carried over to another year.

(3) An exception to paragraphs (1) and (2) above may be requested by the student if the departure before the end of the academic year for which the Program Scholarship was awarded was due to the death or life-threatening illness of a member of a student’s immediate family or life-threatening illness of the student. Requests for a waiver to paragraphs (1) and/or (2) should be directed to the Director of Human Resources at CUA. Immediate family is defined as parent, sibling, spouse or child.

III. ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM AT CUA.

(A) Eligible children of CUA employees who are planning to enroll at or are attending institutions participating in the Tuition Exchange Program may apply to CUA for acceptance into the Tuition Exchange Program. If selected by CUA and by the host institution, the student will have tuition remitted in accordance with the regulations and limitations of these Guidelines and the Tuition Exchange Program. Children attending participating institutions under the Program must meet all requirements established at the host institutions.

(B) CUA does not sponsor Tuition Exchange for graduate programs. Scholarships are available only for tuition, and will not include fees, housing, board or other expenses. Participation is limited to on-campus programs of study only and will not include overseas programs.

(C) Any semesters of Program Scholarship available to an employee’s dependent child may be used at more than one participating institution and may be used consecutively or nonconsecutively but must be used one full academic year at a time. If used nonconsecutively, a student who has received Program Scholarships in the past will be treated as a first-time applicant to the Tuition Exchange Program except that the number of semesters of Program Scholarship used previously will be deducted from the eight semester maximum.

(D) The Program will be administered by a CUA Tuition Exchange Program Liaison, normally the Associate Vice President/Chief Human Resources Officer. To avoid any conflict of interest, in the event that the Tuition Exchange Program Liaison has a child who is an applicant for or recipient of a Program Scholarship award, that year the selection process will be directed by the Director of Financial Aid in conjunction with the Vice President for Enrollment and the General Counsel. All applications for the Tuition Exchange Program will be treated as confidential documents.

(E) The total number of Tuition Exchange Program Scholarships may be limited each year. The number available each year may vary, depending on the credit balance within the Program. CUA makes no guarantee that any Program Scholarship will be available in any particular year or semester. CUA reserves the right to terminate its participation in the Tuition Exchange Program at any time at its sole discretion without notice to employees or their dependants. The Program Scholarships are subject to change in their taxability as determined by applicable laws and regulations. Any taxes that are or may become payable as a result of receiving a Tuition Exchange Program Scholarship are the sole responsibility of the eligible employee

IV. SELECTION PROCESS FOR PROGRAM SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

(A) Children of eligible employees must make timely application to the Program by registering with the Tuition Exchange Program Liaison Officer in the CUA Office of Human Resources before the deadline but no sooner than April 1 preceding the October deadline. Students applying for a Tuition Exchange Program Scholarship must meet the regular admission requirements of the institution(s) to which they apply. To be considered for the Tuition Exchange Program, students must be accepted by a participating institution by April 15. In the event that there is a question about an employee’s eligibility for the Program, the Associate Vice President/Chief Human Resources Officer in collaboration with the Director of Financial Aid will determine an employee’s eligibility to participate in the Program.

(B) The selection of applicants for Program Scholarships will be determined by the CUA Tuition Exchange Program Liaison using these guidelines.

(C) When the number of Program Scholarships available for dependent children is fewer than the number of applicants, first priority will be given to current recipients who have not yet completed the maximum of eight semesters in the Program. All participants, including current and former Program Scholarship recipients, must reapply each year.

(D) After awarding Program Scholarships to current recipients, a point system will be used to determine application priority. An employee will receive two points for each completed year of regular full-time employment at CUA and points will be subtracted for each semester of Program Scholarship counted as previously used (awarded and accepted) by any of that employee’s dependent children. In the event that both parents are employed at CUA, only one parent’s years of service will be used to calculate points and all Program Scholarships used by any of that employee’s children will be counted against the same parent’s years of service. The openings will be awarded to applicants in order of priority from those with the most points to those with the least. If two or more applicants have the same number of points, the selection will be made by lottery.

(E)  Selection of applicants will be made by the end of October . Students who apply after the October deadline will be ranked beneath any students who have applied prior to the October deadline. These late applicants will be ranked on a first-come, first-served basis and will be accepted into the Tuition Exchange Program if space is or becomes available.

(F)  Students granted a Program Scholarship must accept the award in writing no later than April 15 preceding the academic year for which the award is made. The student must also simultaneously submit a copy of the letter of acceptance from the participating institution to the CUA Tuition Exchange Program Liaison Officer. Any student not meeting these requirements will forfeit the award.

(G) Students granted a program Scholarship who do not plan use it should so inform the Tuition Exchange Program Liaison Officer in writing as soon as possible. Failure to do so by April 15 may make the student ineligible for a future Program Scholarship. CUA assumes no liability for any educational expenses not authorized and approved each year by the CUA Tuition Exchange Program Liaison Officer as outlined herein. The employee will assume financial responsibility for all charges that are not covered (such as fees, room and board and other expenses) and for any education beyond that approved by the Tuition Exchange Program Liaison Officer. In addition to any other limitations identified in these guidelines, CUA assumes no financial responsibility for any educational expenses of any Program Scholarship recipient should the Program be suspended or terminated.

(H) A list of Program Scholarship recipients will be maintained by the Tuition Exchange Program Liaison Officer and will be available for review upon request by eligible CUA employees.

V. DEFINITIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS LIMITATIONS

(A) The terms “children” and “eligible children” mean children by birth or adoption or stepchildren of employees eligible to participate in the Tuition Exchange Program, provided also that financial dependence of the child on the parent employed by CUA could be demonstrated each year. Dependent children of retired, deceased or totally disabled employees who are otherwise qualified under these guidelines to apply for Program Scholarships must also retain their dependent status with the surviving parent or guardian in order to be eligible for a Program Scholarship. Interpretation of the term “children” shall be consistent with other similar CUA human resources policies, and shall be determined by the Associate Vice President/Chief Human Resources Officer.

(B) The term “credit balance” means the number of Program Scholarships available at any time for distribution by CUA and is determined by the Tuition Exchange Program Liaison Officer in consultation with the Vice President for Finance and Administration. Factors considered in determining the credit balance will include the beginning credit balance, the anticipated number of import students for the following academic year less the anticipated number of export students, and any limitations for other reasons placed by CUA on the number of Program Scholarship available. Import student is defined as a student attending or accepted by CUA with a Tuition Exchange Program Scholarship awarded by other institutions participating in the Tuition Exchange Program. Export student is defined as children of CUA employees approved to receive Program Scholarship to attend other institutions participating in the Tuition Exchange Program.