THE EDUCATIONAL LOAN PLAN
The University offers an interest-free loan plan to all eligible staff members who have dependents enrolled in degree-granting programs at accredited post-secondary educational institutions. Staff members may borrow from a minimum of $500 to a maximum of $12,000 per academic year per dependent, not to exceed four academic years of borrowing per dependent. Loan repayments will be by payroll deduction for a period of up to 24 months per annual loan. Upon notice of termination of employment, the staff member must pay the balance of the loan in full. This balance will be deducted from any payments owed the staff member.
The eligibility requirements for this benefit are:
1. All regular full-time faculty and staff members who are in good credit standing with the University are eligible to apply for a loan under the Educational Loan Program (ELP) after six months of employment, provided there is a reasonable expectation that employment will continue beyond three years.
2. A family's adjusted gross income (AGI) as reported on their most recent federal income tax return will be used to determine income eligibility for the ELP. A family must show sufficient resources (by use of a standardized needs analysis) to repay the ELP in order to qualify.
3. The student for whom the ELP is being borrowed must have been claimed as a tax exemption on the borrower's federal income tax return for at least one of the three previous years. (For 2007-2008, this would be the 2006, 2005, or 2004 tax years.)
4. The student for whom the ELP is being borrowed must be enrolled in a program at an accredited post-secondary educational institution.
Procedures for applying for this benefit are:
1. Obtain from the Office of Financial Aid an application for the ELP. When completed, it must be returned to the Office of Financial Aid, along with a copy of the borrower's most recent tax return, a statement of the dependent's cost of education for the requested loan period, and the student's financial aid award (if applicable).
2. When the loan is approved, the borrower will sign a promissory note and a payroll authorization slip.
3. Loan disbursements will be made payable to the applicant at times corresponding to the enrollment period(s) covered by the loan.
ELP application
THE TUITION EXCHANGE PROGRAM
The University participates in both the national Tuition Exchange (TE) Program, involving schools throughout the United States, and in the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS) tuition exchange program, involving most ACS member schools. These programs provide the opportunity for dependent children of University faculty and staff members to receive tuition scholarships at other participating institutions. For the national TE Program, the annual value of the grant varies among participating institutions; however, it cannot be less than a stated minimum in any given year. (This figure is available from the Office of Financial Aid.) For the ACS program, the value of the grant at participating institutions is full tuition. Most member institutions in both programs are liberal arts colleges, although some more specialized institutions also participate. The Office of Financial Aid has lists of those institutions participating in either or both programs. (Some institutions, like the University, have dual participation.) Due to restrictions inherent in both programs, some member institutions may not, in given years, be able to participate in tuition exchanges. Interested faculty and staff members should contact the Office of Financial Aid beginning in the fall of each dependent's senior high school year for details on participating institutions.
The eligibility requirements for this program are the same as those for the High School Scholarship Plan.
Procedures for applying for this benefit are:
1. Obtain from the Office of Financial Aid the list of participating institutions in either or both programs to determine which schools will be participating in tuition exchanges.
2. The Office of Financial Aid will certify the eligibility of your dependent child to the school or schools under consideration.
3. The Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer of the receiving institution(s) will notify both the student and the Office of Financial Aid of acceptance into or rejection from the particular tuition exchange program and, if acceptance, will indicate the value of the particular tuition scholarship for the upcoming year.
4. Both tuition exchange programs are renewable annually, usually up to a four-year maximum, provided the student meets the stated academic standards of his or her institution for continuance of the tuition scholarship. It must be noted that at many institutions the process of admission into the institution is separate from the process of receiving a tuition exchange scholarship, and that an offer of one neither implies nor guarantees an offer of the other. (Typically, an offer of a tuition exchange scholarship follows an offer of admission or is contingent upon a subsequent offer of admission.)
Tuition Exchange schools
ACS Exchange schools
To apply please sumit the TE form directly to Financial Aid
