University of the Virgin Islands Tuition Exchange (TE) Questions and Answers Information Sheet for UVI Employees UVI Human Resources Department Updated 5/24/16 Q. Who is eligible to apply for a Tuition Exchange Scholarship (TES)? A. Regular, non-probationary, full-time faculty and staff (and employees holding shared appointments), are eligible to apply for TE participation on behalf of their legally dependent children. For qualifications of a legally dependent child, please review the IRS Guidelines. Only one person from each eligible employee household may participate in TE program at any one time. Dependent children of an eligible employee may participate in the TE program with the understanding that only the cost of tuition remission at UVI will be awarded to the student provided that they meet the regular admission requirements of the importing university/college. For details on eligibility, please refer to the UVI Tuition Exchange Policy. Q. What are my chances of being certified eligible by UVI for TE consideration? A. There is no guarantee. TE is a competitive program. The TE program is not an UVI benefit and therefore you are not automatically eligible to receive it. Students must at all times meet the import institution standards for academic performance and personal conduct. TE requires that UVI maintains a balance of import and export students, which can impact ability to receive a scholarship. Q. How does my dependent child become eligible for a TE Scholarship? A. There are four steps in the process: 1. Attend one (1) year of school at UVI and be in good academic standing upon according to UVI policies. One (1) year is defined as August-December and January- May as a full-time student. Summer courses are excluded from the one year of school at UVI. 2. The employee submits a TE application to the UVI Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer (TELO) in the Human Resources Department. The TELO will review the application to determine if the UVI employee is eligible based on the employee’s terms of employment. This process is called certification. TE will run for a maximum of four years and will be terminated if the eligible employee retires or terminates employment at UVI. 3. The employee’s dependent child must apply for admission to one or more TE participating colleges. The dependent child must be admitted to a TE participating college to be eligible for TE. University of the Virgin Islands Tuition Exchange (TE) Questions and Answers Information Sheet for UVI Employees UVI Human Resources Department Updated 5/24/16 4. Typically, when the dependent child is admitted to the importing school, the participating college (importing school) determines whether or not a TE Scholarship is awarded. Q. Are Graduate level and Ph.D. level courses covered under Tuition Exchange? Yes, if your home school allows for these courses to be covered under Tuition Exchange policies. Q. What are my chances that the TE College will award my dependent child a scholarship once eligible? A. It depends on the participating TE college policies and procedures, and the number of TE scholarships it has available. Sometimes if the number of TE applicants to a particular TE college is small, this may improve the chances the TE will be awarded. It is recommended that you “conduct a school search” on TE’s website to get a better feel for an institution’s TE school profile. See www.tuitionexchange.org. Q. When should I apply? A. You should apply no later April 30 for the upcoming fall semester. Example: April 15, 2016 is the deadline for Fall 2016. TE applications will not be accepted after April 15, 2016. Q. How often do I need to apply for TE? You must apply for Tuition Exchange each year to determine eligibility. Q. What is the value of a TE Scholarship? A. Tuition exchange scholarship (TES) covers tuition only or a set rate value for the scholarship. The Tuition Exchange Board of Directors establishes annually the set rate value amount based on a weighted average of all participating TE college tuitions. Please check with the importing school TELO to find out current scholarship award or set rate value. Set Rate Value Example: For 2014-2015 TE colleges are required to cover at least $32,500 of their charged tuition. This is called the minimum "set rate" value. If the tuition is higher, the participating TE college may offer a TES covering all or some of the remaining tuition cost. If University of the Virgin Islands Tuition Exchange (TE) Questions and Answers Information Sheet for UVI Employees UVI Human Resources Department Updated 5/24/16 the tuition is lower, the participating TE college may reduce the TES by federal, state and/or institutional scholarships. Q. What is the cost, if any, to the employee for a dependent child receiving a TE Scholarship? A. The employee pays an annual administrative fee charged by the Tuition Exchange (TE). This rate is subject to change based on TE policies. The employee will receive an invoice once TE bills UVI for the fee. This typically occurs prior to the semester starting. TE Covers tuition only. Fees in excess of tuition are not covered under TE and will be the responsibility of the parent/depend child. Q. What happens if a large number of UVI employees apply for TE for the same school year? A. TE requires that UVI reports all TE participants to track for an import/export balance. When UVI has a limited number of TE spots available, a weighted lottery is used to randomly rank order all UVI applicants. The number of chances an employee has in the lottery is based on his/her years of consecutive full-time employment at UVI (and is counted in fiscal years). When the ranking has been determined, TE eligibility is certified for employees by lottery ranking equal to the number of TE spots available. The remaining applicants are placed on a wait list and will move up, as spots become available. Q. What happens if too many students apply for TE at a particular TE college? A. Each participating TE college determines whom they will accept, and how many students will be offered a TE Scholarship. TE requires a balance of import and exports. The criteria used could include, but is not limited to, ACT/SAT scores, class rank, GPA, teacher recommendations, activities, financial need, and/or employee’s length of service. Q. Can my child receive a TE Scholarship and use the tuition remission benefit at the same time? University of the Virgin Islands Tuition Exchange (TE) Questions and Answers Information Sheet for UVI Employees UVI Human Resources Department Updated 5/24/16 A. Your child is eligible to receive either the TES or tuition remission (if eligible) within a given semester but not both at the same time. For more information on Tuition Remission, please review the policy. If a dependent is participating in TE, dependents can be eligible for tuition remission at UVI during the summer. UVI is not liable for determining if a course is transferable to their TE institution. This is the student and importing school responsibility to determine transferability and TE affects. Q. How were UVI TE policies and procedures developed? A. An advisory committee established the original guidelines with approval by the President’s Cabinet and the Board of Trustees. Although TE is not part of UVI benefit package, the advisory committee felt the TE program should be consistent with other college-administered offerings. Q. Who administers UVI TE program? A. Director of Benefits acts as the Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer (TELO) and is responsible for the daily administration of the program. Information on TES recipients is sent to TE for tracking of import/export balance. Human Resources is responsible for maintaining and communicating UVI TE policies. Q. Is there anything else I should know about TE? A. It is a good idea to apply for financial aid at the same time the admission application is filed, should financial aid be necessary for enrollment. If the student waits to find out if a Tuition Exchange Scholarship (TES) is offered before applying for aid, it may be too late to apply for the participating college’s financial aid. Also, even if a TES is offered, the student may still need financial assistance beyond the TES. It is a good idea to learn how competitive TE is at an institution by checking the school’s profile on the TE website. Q. Where can I get more information about TE? A. Visit http://www.tuitionexchange.org to review a current list of participating TE institutions. 1. If you have questions about TE at another college or admission requirements, contact the Admissions Office at that college. A list of participating TE colleges/universities can be found on the Tuition Exchange website. University of the Virgin Islands Tuition Exchange (TE) Questions and Answers Information Sheet for UVI Employees UVI Human Resources Department Updated 5/24/16 2. Review the UVI Tuition Exchange Policy 3. After reviewing the UVI Tuition Exchange Policy, if you have specific questions about TE, contact UVI Benefits Department, email hrweb@uvi.edu, or visit the UVI Benefits webpage.