EWU Policy 409-04 State and Instructional Employee Tuition Waivers

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State and Instructional Employee Tuition Waivers

Personnel – Benefits and Retirement

EWU Policy 409-04	Authority: EWU Board of Trustees
Effective: December 13, 2024	Proponent: Vice President for Business & Finance

Purpose:  This policy prescribes university standards and related procedures for providing tuition waivers to EWU employees, Washington State employees, certain instructional employees, and certain K-12 classified employees.

History:  This policy revises and supersedes the previous version dated February 26, 2021.  It was adopted by the EWU Board of Trustees on December 13, 2024.

Applicability:  This policy applies to EWU employees, Washington State employees, and to certain instructional employees as described herein.

1. General

Pursuant to WAC 172-11-040, Eastern Washington University has implemented several permissive tuition waivers. EWU waives a portion of the tuition and services and activities fees for EWU employees, Washington State employees, certain teachers, other certificated instructional staff, and classified staff employed at K-12 public schools under the terms and conditions set forth below.

Enrollment information for waiver recipients under this policy shall be maintained separately from other enrollment information and shall not be included in official enrollment reports, nor shall such persons be considered in any enrollment statistics which would affect budgetary determinations.

2. Program Details

2-1. Eligibility

a. EWU Employees: To be eligible for the EWU employee tuition waiver, a person must be a state employee as defined in section 2-1(b) and employed by Eastern Washington University.  The following persons are also considered EWU Employees for the purposes of the  tuition waiver:

1. U.S. military personnel and federal employees assigned or attached to the EWU ROTC department.
2. State employees, as defined in section 2-1(b), whose primary employment location is the Washington State Digital Archives Building located on the Cheney campus of Eastern Washington University.
3. State employees, as defined in section 2-1(b), whose primary employment location is the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory located on the Cheney campus of Eastern Washington University.
4. EWU temporary faculty hired on a quarter-to-quarter or semester-to-semester basis must teach a minimum of 7.5 course credits on a quarter basis or 5 course credits on a semester basis to be eligible for the EWU employee tuition waiver during the term in which the requested waiver is to be used.

b. State Employees (Not employed by EWU): To be eligible for the state employee tuition waiver, a person must be employed half-time or more, for the entire term for which they are seeking a waiver, in one or more of the following employee classifications:

1. Permanent employees in classified service under chapter 41.06 RCW, to include cyclic positions.
2. Permanent classified employees and exempt paraprofessional employees of technical colleges.
3. Faculty, counselors, librarians, and exempt professional and administrative employees at the state universities, the regional universities, The Evergreen State College, the community colleges, and the technical colleges.

c. Certificated Instructional Employees: The waivers available to state employees under this policy shall also be available to teachers and other certificated instructional staff who are employed at public common or vocational schools.

d. K-12 Classified Staff: The waivers available under this policy shall also be available to classified staff employed at public common schools, as defined in RCW 28A.150.020, when used for coursework relevant to the work assignment or coursework that is part of a teacher preparation program.  Eligibility for a waiver under this section is determined by the Human Resource Services Manager.

Applicants must provide the following information to determine eligibility for a waiver under this section:

1. A copy of the applicant’s current classified K-12  job description;
2. A list of the courses for which the applicant is considering enrolling; and,
3. An explanation of how the coursework is relevant to the classified K-12 employee’s work assignment and job duties.

e. Ineligible Employees:

1. Faculty members employed less than half-time
2. Graduate assistants
3. Employees on unpaid leave

 2-2. Restrictions

a. Space Availability:

Tuition waiver recipients under this policy shall register for and be enrolled in courses on a space available basis and no new course sections shall be created as a result of the registration.  Tuition waiver applicants may not waitlist a course or get instructor permission to overenroll in a course.

b. Courses:

In accordance with WAC 172-11-040, the tuition waiver may not be used for self-support courses, including summer session, or for individualized instruction (such as independent study, directed study, thesis, dissertation, research, internship, tutorial, private lesson, or practicum). The University may further exclude other state-funded courses or programs on the basis of academic or fiscal considerations.

c. Credit Limits:

1. State and Instructional employees, as defined in section 2-1, may enroll for up to six (6) quarter credits, or semester hour equivalent, per academic term. State and Instructional employees enrolled for more than six (6) quarter credits, or semester hour equivalent, in an academic term are not eligible for the waiver and will be responsible for full tuition for all credits.
2. EWU employees, as defined in section 2-1, may enroll for up to ten (10) quarter credits, or semester hour equivalent, per academic term. EWU employees enrolled for more than ten (10) quarter credits, or semester hour equivalent, in an academic term are classified as full-time students and are not eligible for tuition waivers under this policy.   Such full-time students must follow regular, established student registration procedures and are responsible for full tuition and fees.

d. Student Benefits:

Tuition waiver recipients under this policy are not full-time students and are not entitled to full-time student benefits (e.g. student health center privileges, student insurance, passes to athletic events, access to services and facilities supported by service and activity fees, etc.).

e. Recreational Facilities:

A Sports and Recreation Facilities Membership is required for any classes taught in the University Recreation Center.  An Aquatic Center Pass is required for classes in the Aquatic Center.  Individual Sports and Recreation Facilities Memberships and Aquatic Center Passes can be purchased based on the term of the class.  For all other classes taught in the SRC (Phase) or on university fields or courts, facility access is included with payment of approved course fees and does not require an additional membership or access pass.

f. Waiver Priorities / Preferences

1. In awarding waivers, EWU may award waivers to eligible persons employed by EWU before considering waivers for eligible persons who are not employed by EWU.
2. In establishing eligibility to receive waivers, EWU shall not discriminate between full-time employees and employees who are employed half-time or more.

 3. Costs

a. Registration Fee: EWU employees, as defined in section 2-1(a)., must pay a five dollar registration fee per term. Eligible tuition waiver recipients that are not employed by EWU must pay a thirty dollar registration fee per term.

b. Other Fees: Tuition waiver recipients under this policy are responsible for all lab fees, course fees and any special charges related to their registration (e.g. late registration, add, drop and withdrawal fees, etc.).

c. Instructional Materials: Tuition waiver recipients are responsible for the cost of books and all other instructional materials for their course(s).

d. Registration fees are not refundable after the completion of the registration process. Requests for refund of other fees are governed by established withdrawal policies.

4. Procedures

The Office of Records and Registration is the primary contact for assistance with requests for tuition waivers under this policy.

4-1. State, Certified Instructional, and K-12 Classified Employees

To request a tuition waiver under this policy, a state, certified instructional employee, or K-12 classified employee must:

a. Apply to, be admitted to, and be seeking a degree from Eastern Washington University;

b. Submit a Tuition Fee Waiver Request Form;

1. Request forms must be submitted separately for each term.
2. Requests must include certification from the requestor’s human resources representative confirming the requestor’s eligibility for the waiver. K-12 classified staff must also submit the information identified in section 2-1(d).
3. Requests must be received by the Records and Registration office at least 15 business days prior to the first day of the term (no exceptions). Waiver request forms received after this date will not be accepted.
4. All requests for tuition waivers must be signed by Human resources, certifying that the employee meets the employment eligibility requirements of chapter 2.

c. Register:

State, certified instructional, and K-12 classified employees may register on the first day of the term by completing an in-person registration form. If employees register prior to the first day of the term, all courses will be dropped from their schedule by the Records and Registration office.

Registration must take place in person at Sutton Hall on the Cheney campus or at the Student Support Center in the EWU Spokane Center at the Riverpoint Campus.

The $30 non-refundable registration fee and all other fees are due at time of registration.

4-2. EWU Employees

To request a tuition waiver under this policy, an EWU employee must:

a. Prepare a tuition waiver request form. A new request form must be completed each term.

b. Obtain Required Approval/Coordination. All requests for EWU Employee Tuition Waivers must be signed by the employee’s supervisor or department chair. In addition, tuition waiver requests for faculty members must also be signed by the faculty member’s academic dean.

1. For classes held during the employee’s regular work schedule, these signatures constitute approval to attend the class and certification that an alternative work schedule, if required, has been arranged (per EWU Policy 401-09, Employee Training and Development).
2. For classes that are not held during the employee’s regular work schedule, these signatures constitute certification from the supervisor, department chair, and/or academic dean that they have been informed of the employee’s request and that the classes requested do not occur during the employee’s regular work schedule.

c. Obtain Eligibility Certification. All requests for EWU Employee Tuition Waivers must be signed by Human Resource Services, certifying that the employee meets the employment eligibility requirements of sections 2-1.a. and 2-1.b.

d. Admission:

If seeking a degree, the employee must be formally admitted to the University by the published admissions deadline.  If not degree seeking, the employee may use the non-matriculated registration process to create a matriculation enrollment.

e. Register:

EWU employees may register up to seven (7) days prior to the first day of the term.  Registering for course(s) earlier than 7-days prior to the beginning of the term negates the employee’s eligibility for the tuition waiver and will result in full tuition and fees being assessed.

To register, the EWU employee must:

1. Submit the completed tuition waiver form along with an In-Person Registration/Change form or Non-Degree Registration form to Records and Registration.  Registration must take place in person at Sutton Hall on the Cheney campus or at the Student Support Center in the Phase 1 building at the Riverpoint Campus.
2. Pay the $5 non-refundable tuition waiver fee and all applicable course fees and applicable registration fees at the time of registration.

4-3. Adding Courses

Tuition waiver recipients under this policy must submit a separate tuition waiver form for any course(s) added after an initial waiver form has been submitted.

4-4. Appeals

Denial of a tuition waiver may be appealed by submitting a written appeal to the Associate Vice President of Human Resources within seven (7) calendar days of the waiver denial.  If a timely appeal is not filed, the denial becomes final.

Appeals will be reviewed by the Associate Vice President of Human Resources to determine the appellant’s eligibility for a waiver and to either uphold or overturn the initial waiver denial.  Additional information may be required during the appeal process.  The appellant will be notified in writing of the decision within seven (7) calendar days of submittal.  The determination by the Associate Vice President of Human Resources regarding the appeal is final.