Employee Educational Remission Plan
The Educational Remission Plan (ERP) (formerly tuition remission) has been approved by the Board of Trustees of the university and variances in the execution of it must be approved by the President of Freed-Hardeman University. The plan shall be administered by the Director of Student Financial Services (SFS). The ERP is designed to cover a portion of the comprehensive charge.
A. Objective
The objective of the ERP is to provide employees and their dependents remission of a portion of costs for the undergraduate and graduate courses after all non-repayable financial aid has been applied to the account. Dependent status is determined based on FAFSA reporting. If the dependent of the employee has an event that changes their status as a dependent (i.e. marriage, declaration of independent status by Federal Tax rules, etc) then the employee must notify the Director of SFS. The student will only continue coverage during the semester that the change in dependent status occurs. It is not the objective of the program to pay for any university costs other than a portion of the comprehensive charge.
The ERP is intended to be a remainder assistance program. It pays only a portion of the comprehensive charge remaining after the non-repayable financial aid, excluding the Hope scholarship, has been applied to the account balance. Federal withholding and Social Security taxes must be paid on the graduate discount or scholarships received. The Federal Tax Code requires the university to withhold these taxes. Three times per year your payroll earnings will reflect amounts applicable at that time. This will occur on the payrolls for April, July, and November. The impact of this is that additional taxes will be deducted from these payrolls
B. Eligibility
The ERP eligibility is limited to full-time employees, their spouses, and their children (until their 26th birthday). Employees must be employed for a minimum of 1(one) year before being eligible to apply for tuition remission. Those failing to make application and have all the financial aid information completed 30 days prior to the beginning of the academic term will be ineligible to receive benefits under the ERP until the following term. Only 1(one) application per academic year is required. If the student turns 26 during the semester, he or she will continue ERP eligibility for that term but not the following term.
Full-time and part-time undergraduate:
The ERP will cover a minimum of *80% of the comprehensive charge for full-time and part-time undergraduate students.
Graduate:
Full-time employees that were employed before January 1, 2001 shall receive 80% of the comprehensive charge
Full-time employees that were employed after January 1, 2001 shall receive 40% of the comprehensive charge.
Children (until their 26th birthday) of an employee who may die or retire while in service to the university or while receiving disability benefits are eligible for the benefit.
* The actual rate of remission (2021-2022 academic year) is currently 84% for undergraduates.
C. Stipulations
Employees applying for education remission must first apply for and receive any available non-repayable financial aid. The Director of Student Financial Services will advise as to the financial aid plans for which one should apply. In order to receive benefits under the ERP, an application for ERP benefits must be submitted through the Human Resources office for review and approval via the link below and must be completed at least 30 days prior to the beginning of the term that the student plans on attending. In addition, a FAFSA must have been completed at least 30 days prior to the beginning of the term. Eligible employees shall not, so far as can be determined, benefit less from the combination of this plan and other available non-repayable financial assistance than they would have in the absence of this program.
See Policy 3.3.17, Classes Taken On-Campus, for the number of hours an employee is allowed to enroll per semester and required approvals.