Tuition Exchange Program (TEP)

Converse University Policy for Awarding Tuition Exchange/Council of Independent Colleges Tuition Waivers (Imports and Exports)

2.1 Export Policy

Converse University belongs to two tuition exchange organizations: Tuition Exchange, Inc. (hereinafter known as TEP), a national organization that administers multilateral tuition remission scholarships for Full-time Employees of member institutions, and the Council of Independent Colleges’ Tuition Exchange Program (hereinafter known as CIC-TEP). Both the TEP and CIC-TEP export scholarships are offered to full-time Converse employees’ dependent children who apply initially prior to the age of 22. The benefit is for undergraduate degree programs only.

3. Policy Definitions

The following definitions are used for the purposes of this policy.

3.1 Eligible Student

3.1.1 Import Student

An eligible import student is defined as the dependent of an eligible employee of a member institution who has been certified as eligible by the exporting institution and meets all Converse University admission requirements.

3.1.2 Export Student

An eligible export student is defined as an eligible dependent of an Eligible Converse University Employee who is a natural-born child, legally adopted child, or stepchild, unmarried, and who is eligible to be claimed as a deduction on the eligible employee’s income tax return for the current year and in the tax period in which the tuition is waived.

3.1.2.1 Stepchildren must also have established residency on a permanent basis in the staff member’s household. A divorce decree that states the employee is financially responsible for the dependent’s education may suffice in lieu of the above requirement. Children under the legal guardianship of employees also qualify for the benefit.

3.2 Eligible Converse University Employee

An eligible converse university employee for purposes of this policy is defined as an employee who has completed one year of uninterrupted full-time employment or full-time teaching at Converse and who continues their uninterrupted service for the full duration of the TEP or CIC-TEP scholarship period. A change in work status or termination of employment, or death of the employee, will continue the TEP or CIC-TEP scholarship through only the end of the academic year in which the event occurs. If one of these occurs prior to the start of an academic year, the TEP or CIC-TEP scholarship ends immediately.

3.2.1 Employees who join Converse from an eligible tuition exchange exporting school will be eligible for export benefits immediately. The one-year continuous employment requirement will be waived for this category of employee.

3.3 Exporting Institution

An exporting institution is defined as a University or University that is a member in good standing with the Tuition Exchange and/or the Council of Independent Colleges.

Employee eligibility will be determined and certified by the exporting institution.

4. Policy

4.1 TEP Limits Student Exports

Student Exports under the TEP are limited based upon the number of imports the University has received. The Exports and Imports must be in balance in order for the University to maintain membership in the organization without penalty or restriction. Therefore, unless the University has a surplus of export slots, a TEP export scholarship will be granted to only one student per family in any given year. There are no limitations to exports under the CIC-TEP program.

4.1.1 Export Selection, Duration, Re-application, and Exceptions
Converse must balance the number of its TEP exports with “imports” or enrollees at Converse. There may be a limited number of export scholarships available in any given year. When this occurs, the Converse Tuition Exchange Committee will serve as the TEP selection committee, primarily using merit-based criteria (GPA, courses taken, test scores, recommendations, etc.) to make their choice(s) by December each year. The duration of TEP scholarships also depends upon the status of the export/import balance at Converse. When export credits permit, recipients may be renewed for a total of eight scholarship semesters to cover undergraduate study. Fewer semesters are covered if the recipient enters the TEP or CIC-TEP program as a transfer. Export recipients wishing to renew their TEP or CIC-TEP scholarship must reapply annually by November 1, prior to the academic year being recertified. For import/export balancing reasons, there are times when these recertifications must be determined on a priority basis by the Converse Tuition Exchange Committee using primarily merit-based criteria.

Graduate study, summer school, and study-abroad courses are not covered by TEP or CIC-TEP export scholarships. New TEP or CIC-TEP exports must be admitted by the importing institution, and those students renewing TEP or CIC-TEP scholarships must maintain the required academic and behavioral standards of the importing institution.

4.2 Export Scholarship Value

The importing institution determines the value of the TEP or CIC-TEP scholarship it awards and records this on the Application/Certification Form returned to Converse’s Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer and the student. The scholarship usually covers tuition charges but not room, board, course overloads, and other fees. Higher-tuition universities may elect to reduce their award to the “Minimum Value Scholarship'' established each year by the TEP or CIC-TEP (TE) Board of Directors. Before accepting a TEP or CIC‑TEP scholarship, the student should seek cost information from the host institution for which they will be responsible.

4.3 Export Application Process

Each TEP or CIC-TEP candidate must submit a completed preliminary tuition exchange application form (available on the Human Resource website) to the Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer as early as possible after September 1, but no later than November 1. The applicant will then receive all applicable instructions and information necessary to complete the entire TEP or CIC-TEP scholarship application process.

4.4 Enrollment Status

A traditional undergraduate student is considered full-time in a given academic term or session when enrolled in twelve (12) or more credit hours (in a January term). If a student incurs tuition expenses, the tuition exchange will cover up to six (6) academic credits). An eligible student must be enrolled full-time in every academic term to be eligible for the tuition waiver.

5. Eligibility Requirements

Students must meet the following criteria for consideration of their application for a tuition waiver through the aforementioned programs.

• Must meet all requirements for regular admission as a degree-seeking traditional undergraduate student. Must apply for admission before November 15^th.
• Must have a minimum 3.5 cumulative high school GPA.
• Must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year before November 15^th.
• Applications for tuition waivers must be received by December 1^st for consideration. Late applications will only be considered if award limits have not been met.
• Must maintain a cumulative 2.50 or higher GPA while a Converse student.
• Students must be meeting minimum satisfactory academic progress standards based on the University’s published SAP policy.
• SC residents who are recipients of the SC HOPE scholarship in their first year must meet minimum state requirements to convert the HOPE Scholarship to SC LIFE (earn a minimum of 30 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0). Students who fail to meet eligibility criteria will not have their tuition waiver award increased to compensate for the lost financial aid.
• SC residents who are recipients of SC LIFE, SC LIFE Enhancement, SC Palmetto Fellows, or SC Palmetto Fellows Enhancement must maintain eligibility for these programs as defined in the rules, regulations, policies, and procedures for each respective program. Students who fail to meet eligibility criteria will not have their tuition waiver award increased to compensate for the lost financial aid.
• Eligible employees must be recertified by the exporting institution each year.

6. Limitations & Restrictions

6.1 Availability of Tuition Waivers

The total number of tuition waiver recipients and awards will be established by the Vice President for Finance and Business, the Vice President for Enrollment Management, and the Associate Vice President for Student Financial Services. These annual limits will be calculated in accordance with regulations regarding import and export ratios as required by the program.

These personnel may recommend changes, additions, deletions and/or termination of this program at any time with approval by The Leadership Council of the University.

6.2 Awardees

Converse University will award initial tuition waivers through the aforementioned programs to first-year, full-time freshmen only with consideration given to new transfer applicants and upper-class students if annual limits have not been met.

6.3 Award Limits

Converse University limits the number of semesters for which a student is eligible to eight (8) full-time semesters and four (4) January terms at Converse. Students are not eligible for these tuition waivers for summer terms.

6.4 Tuition Waiver Award Amounts

The value of the tuition waiver shall not exceed the published tuition. Current tuition rates can be found in the current catalog.

6.5 Other Financial Aid and the Tuition Waiver

All other grants and scholarship aid will be discounted from the value of the tuition waiver. This includes grant and scholarship aid from federal, state, and institutional sources.

Private scholarships earned by the student may be used for on-campus room and board and book expenses (only if there is an excess of funds after fixed costs are paid). Commuting students may use outside scholarship funds earned by the student not to exceed the cost of books. Students wishing to use excess aid for books must present a written estimate of books and materials provided by the University’s bookstore to the Associate Vice President for Student Financial Services for approval.

All financial aid is subject to the University’s policy for grant aid refunds.