Policy ID:
Date Instituted: January 1, 2009
Last Revised: January 1, 2009

Policy Description

1. Purpose
   
   Seton Hall University is a member of Tuition Exchange, Inc., a 501(c) 3 non-profit association of colleges and universities that was founded in 1952 for the purpose of making careers in higher education more attractive. It is a reciprocal scholarship program whereby eligible, dependent children of faculty, administrators and staff employed at participating colleges or universities may earn an undergraduate degree at another participating college or university (the “importing” institution) with financial assistance being provided by the importing institution in the form of tuition waiver. Currently, there are 586 colleges and universities in the United States participating in the Program.
   
   The purpose of this policy is to establish the terms and conditions for participation in the Tuition Exchange Scholarship Program (“the Program”). The University’s membership in this organization provides faculty, administrators and staff with both the opportunity and financial support for their eligible, dependent child(ren) to earn an undergraduate degree at another college or university that participates in the Program.
   
   
2. Scope
   
   This is a University-wide policy.
   

3. Policy
   
   Eligible faculty, administrators and staff at Seton Hall may apply for tuition exchange scholarships for their eligible, dependent child(ren) consistent with the policies and procedures of Tuition Exchange, Inc., and Seton Hall.
   

4. Eligibility

1. Dependent children of regular, full-time, active employees are eligible to apply for tuition exchange scholarships in accordance with deadlines set by the University each year for acceptance of tuition exchange scholarship applications, following the employee’s completion of six (6) months of continuous service. Children must be full-time, matriculated students at the importing college or university.
   
   
2. Dependent children of regular, part-time, active employees are eligible to apply for tuition exchange scholarships in accordance with deadlines set by the University each year for acceptance of tuition exchange applications, following the employee’s completion of 940 hours of continuous service.
   
   
3. To be eligible to participate in the Program, eligible employees’ children (by birth, marriage or legal adoption) must meet the Federal government’s definition of “dependent” as used when applying for financial aid, which includes among other criteria, that a child must be under age 24 and unmarried.
   
   
4. Children must also be dependent upon the eligible employee for support as defined by the Internal Revenue Code (the “IRC”). The University reserves the right to request a copy of the Federal income tax return of the employee to verify dependency.
   

5. Procedures
   
   Each participating college and university establishes its own policies and procedures for determining eligibility of its own employees’ children, criteria for tuition exchange scholarships it will award, number of scholarship awards granted each year and any other requirement for participation in the Program. Satisfying admissions criteria does not make tuition exchange scholarship awards automatic as each institution is obligated to maintain a balance between students sent on the exchange (“exports”) and students received on the exchange (“imports”). One-third of participating colleges and universities make tuition exchange scholarship awards to less than one-half of the qualified applicants. Interested applicants should check the specific requirements of participating colleges and universities.
   
   Seton Hall determines (or “certifies”) whether an employee’s dependent(s) is eligible as a tuition exchange scholarship applicant based on the length or longevity of the employee’s University employment, as well as the number of imported and exported participating students each academic year.
   

6. General Information and Requirements

1. Tuition exchange policies, procedures and scholarship amounts are determined independently by each participating college and university.
   
   
2. Tuition exchange scholarships are competitive and cannot be guaranteed. In order to be considered for a scholarship, a student must meet the eligibility requirements of the exporting college or university and admissions requirements of the importing college or university.
   
   
3. If a dependent child is awarded a tuition exchange scholarship at a participating college or university, Seton Hall will certify, as appropriate, the student’s eligibility for tuition exchange by academic year, not to exceed eight (8) semesters or four (4) years. Additional semesters or years are not permissible.
   
   
4. Each eligible employee, regardless of the number of children he or she has, is limited to receiving a maximum of 16 semesters or eight (8) years of tuition exchange scholarships. Each child is limited to receiving a maximum of eight (8) semesters or four (4) years of tuition exchange scholarships. Neither employees themselves nor spouses of employees are eligible to receive tuition exchange scholarships. No other family members, such as nieces or nephews, are eligible to participate in the Program.
   
   
5. Tuition Exchange scholarships may only be used for full-time matriculated undergraduate study during the academic year. Summer and winter session courses are excluded.
   
   
6.  If the employment of a member of the faculty, administration or staff terminates, for any reason, while his or her child is attending another college or university on a tuition exchange scholarship, the scholarship will be terminated immediately. The employee is responsible for payment of tuition to the importing college or university in accordance with the tuition policy of the importing college or university.
   
   
7. Faculty, administrators and staff who are participating in the Program are required to pay to Seton Hall, on an annual basis, a participation fee established by the University for each child who receives notice of a tuition exchange scholarship award. The fee is intended to offset the costs incurred by the University in administering the Program and will be charged even if the child does not attend the anticipated importing institution. Payment is due when the employee receives notification of approval from Human Resources. Late payment may jeopardize a child’s participation in the Program.
   
   
8. The associate vice president for Human Resources or her/his designee is responsible for reviewing applications for tuition exchange scholarships, determining eligibility of applicants and, depending upon the availability of scholarships, awarding scholarships on the basis of the employee’s length or longevity of employment at Seton Hall.
   

7. Application Process

1. Employees submit a tuition exchange scholarship application to the Department of Human Resources by October 17, 2008 for the 2009-2010 academic year. The application deadline will be updated annually.
   
   
2. Human Resources will verify the employee’s date of employment and establish priority for participation in the Program based upon the employee’s longevity or length of employment with Seton Hall.
   
   
3. Employees will be notified of the status of their application by e-mail on or before November 21, 2008. The notification date will be updated annually.
   
   
4. Notification of eligibility does not guarantee that a child will receive a tuition exchange scholarship award. The scholarship is still subject to approval by the importing college or university to which the child has applied. The amount of the scholarship award is determined by each importing college or university. The scholarship award by the importing college or university may or may not cover one hundred percent (100%) of the child’s tuition expense.
   
   
5. The Department of Human Resources will send a copy of the Seton Hall Tuition Exchange Certificate of Eligibility to the Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer at the participating college or university selected by the eligible dependent child.
   
   
6.  Employees are notified by the participating college or university to which their eligible, dependent child has applied whether the request for a tuition exchange scholarship has been granted or denied.
   
   
7.  It is the responsibility of the Seton Hall faculty, administrator or staff member to notify the Department of Human Resources at the beginning of each academic year (Fall semester) whether the eligible, dependent child has enrolled at the participating college or university that awarded the tuition exchange scholarship.
   

8. Responsible Office and Executive
   
   Responsibility for the interpretation and administration of this policy resides solely with the Department of Human Resources. The associate vice president for Human Resources serves as the University’s Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer and is responsible for the overall administration of the University’s Tuition Exchange Program.
   
   The University reserves the right to amend this policy at any time.
   
   This policy was amended and approved by Monsignor Robert Sheeran, President, and the Executive Cabinet on October 2, 2008.
   
   Effective date of this amended policy is January 1, 2009.