Employee Tuition Grant
Employee Tuition Grant Policy
Effective September 2, 2022
For questions regarding ETG eligibility, contact Human Resources at etg@fdu.edu.
For questions regarding cost, tuition, and fees contact Enrollment Services.
- Metro Campus: esteafdu@fdu.edu
- Florham Campus: esmadfdu@fdu.edu
For questions specific to Online Campus courses, please read below.
Eligibility
The University offers Employee Tuition Grants (ETG) to all regular full-time employees, as well as part-time employees and faculty. You must be employed on or before the start date of the course the be eligible for this benefit. By receiving an ETG and enrolling in courses you are allowing other University departments access to your personal information.
Regular full-time employees are entitled to Employee Tuition Grants for academic services / accredited courses for self, spouse and dependent children who are claimed on their Federal Income Tax Returns for the year in which the grant is awarded.
Grants may be applied to cover the cost of undergraduate, masters, and some doctoral level credit courses and have a basic enrollment in addition to the student requesting the grant.
Eligible employees taking credits for self, need supervisor’s approval if taking in excess of 11 undergraduate credits or 8 graduate credits in a semester.
Employees utilizing an ETG may not reside on campus unless otherwise required to live on campus based upon their job description.
Regular full-time union and non-union employees are entitled to Employee Tuition Grants for academic services / accredited courses for themselves. Spouse and dependent children who are claimed on the employee’s Federal Income Tax Returns, for the year in which the grant is awarded, are eligible immediately. Grants may be applied to cover the cost of undergraduate and graduate credit courses that are offered by Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Grants are not awarded for Continuing Education non-credit programs and for programs offered through the School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences including but not limited to Pharmacy, Physician’s Assistant Studies, and Occupational Therapy.
All other doctoral programs, including those offered through “Online Campus” are eligible for ETG’s as follows: Employees and/or their dependents receiving an ETG for doctoral programs are responsible for 40% of the stated tuition.
Limitations are in effect regarding courses offered through “Online Campus”. Please note that courses noted with an “Online Campus” location are part of a new FDU initiative. These are separate from the web-only courses FDU has always offered. All ETG recipients (employees, spouses, and eligible dependents) that want to register for the “Online Campus” courses must register directly with Enrollment Services and cannot register until the day before the course begins (no exceptions). You can access the “Online Campus” courses on the drop-down box on Self-Service. For details concerning Online Campus courses, please contact Jessica Presco, Associate Director of Enrollment Services at 973-443-8618.
Grants do not cover fees, including the $30.00 per credit ETG fee, food, lodging, books, travel, or any other charges not generally included as tuition.
Regular part-time employees who work for 9, 10, 11, or 12 months per year and part-time faculty who teach a minimum of 3 credits per semester, are entitled to Employee Tuition Grant as described above for Regular Full-time employees; except that grants are limited to a maximum of 9 credits per year beginning with Fall semester and ending with Summer sessions. The 9 credits may be utilized within the academic year you are teaching.
An employee, whose employment with Fairleigh Dickinson University terminates for any reason other than for retirement after the start of the semester in which the grant was awarded, will be able to keep the grant for the duration of that semester. If employment terminates prior to the start of the semester, the grant will be forfeited.
If a full-time employee has been employed continuously for five (5) years in a full-time position, goes on long term medical disability, or dies, his/her eligible dependents continue to be eligible for tuition grant privileges provided they are currently enrolled or enroll immediately upon graduating from high school, and continuously take courses, without a break in semesters, throughout their degree program. The cost of credits may be subject to federal income tax laws in accordance with the Internal Revenue Service.
Full-time employees who retire at age 62 or older with ten (10) years of service and their spouses and eligible dependents may continue to take advantage of the University’s Employee Tuition Grant. The cost of credits may be subject to federal income tax laws in accordance with the Internal Revenue Service.
Effective January 1, 2017, the University eliminated the requirement for each employee to file a FASFA for full-time undergraduate students. However, those who believe they will qualify for TAG should still file a FASFA, to ensure they receive the additional funding for other costs. Financial Aid will not reduce ETG by the amount of TAG.
Employees who are on personal or medical leave may not utilize an Employee Tuition Grant for themselves.
Taxable Value of Courses
In accordance with Federal and/or state tax laws, grants for graduate courses taken by spouses or other qualified dependents may result in taxable income and withholdings by the University. Applicable laws may also require Fairleigh Dickinson University to treat the value of graduate courses taken by employees in excess of $5250 as taxable income if not job related. Please review the IRS website at https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-benefits-for-education-information-center for additional information. At the end of each calendar year, the Payroll department will tax impacted employees on the value of tuition that exceed $5250.
The value of undergraduate courses taken by the employee, an eligible spouse, or other eligible dependent under the provisions of this policy are generally not subject to tax withholdings by the University under Section 117 (IRC)
Notes
Dependent adult children of employees are eligible for Employee Tuition Grants between the ages of 18 and the semester in which they turn 24. The office of Employee Benefits has the right to request a certified copy of your Federal Income Tax Return as proof of dependent status. If requested and not supplied, the dependent will be billed for the total amount of the Employee Tuition Grant. Dependent child(ren) that has a previously documented learning disability with Fairleigh Dickinson University can continue eligibility for an ETG for one additional calendar year from the semester in which they turn 24. The cost of credits is subject to federal income tax laws in accordance with the Internal Revenue Service.
For additional information, please email etg@fdu.edu