Tuition Grant Program Eligibility

Guidelines & Resources

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Important: U.S. tax laws administered by the Internal Revenue Service govern the tax-free status of the Tuition Grant Program (TGP). Therefore, the TGP is subject to changes within these laws and Stanford University reserves the right to make changes at any time. Any determination of eligibility for the Tuition Grant Program is only valid for the upcoming school term.

After reviewing the information below, you can submit your application using the TGP Portal in the “Employee Center” within Axess.

Employee Eligibility

FACULTY, HOOVER SENIOR FELLOWS, UNIVERSITY OFFICERS, AND SENIOR STAFF	STAFF	RETIREES
Must be working 50% time or greater Eligible when appointment begins if you are in a university appointment of six months or longer When you apply for TGP, the benefit is prorated to your current FTE	Regular or fixed-term employees including: Staff SLAC employees Bargaining unit employees Academic staff Other teaching staff Clinician educators You are eligible once you have completed five (5) years of continuous benefits-eligible service You must work 50% time or greater Your University position must be benefits-eligible, and of six (6) months duration or more For bargaining unit employees, the duration of your position must be four (4) months or more, or to the extent provided in the collective bargaining agreement that is in effect when you apply	Your TGP eligibility continues if you are a Faculty or Staff Member who, after fulfilling the applicable qualifying service requirement, retires from Stanford as an Official Retiree. This is also applicable for Faculty Members when they retire and become emeritus, Hoover Senior Fellows, University Officers, and Senior Staff. If, at the time of your retirement, you hold a position that is less than 100% full-time service: Your TGP benefit will be paid at the full-time rate only if you worked in 100% full-time service positions for more than half of the years you were a benefits-eligible Stanford employee during the 10-year period immediately preceding your retirement If the majority of your service was not full time, your TGP benefit as a retiree will be based on the average percent of your full-time equivalency during your last 12 months of active service

Subject to special rules that apply in the case of retirement, disability or death, you must continue as a benefits-eligible employee (50% FTE or greater) during each academic term for which tuition payments are provided. Benefit levels are described in Section IV: Annual Benefit Amount of the TGP Guidelines.
If two parents are both Stanford employees, only one four-year benefit is allowed for each eligible child, regardless of which parent applies to TGP. The same limits and conditions apply as if Stanford employed only one parent.
Employees of organizations affiliated with Stanford University are not eligible for TGP. Example organizations include Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.
Contingent employees (temporary, casual, or student) are not eligible for the TGP benefit.
- In addition, service in a contingent role does not apply toward the required five (5) years of service for TGP.
Please refer to the TGP Guidelines for information regarding life events (reduction of FTE, loss of employment, employee death).

Dependent Eligibility

Children are considered eligible if they meet the following requirements and your relationship with the child is one of the following:

a. Your biological child or legally-adopted child
b. A stepchild
c. A foster child who has lived with you for at least 24 months immediately before you request benefits under the Program
d. A child of your registered domestic partner (as defined by the Domestic Partner Benefits Policy) - Review Eligibility Here
e. Your ward under a court-approved legal guardianship and who has been your ward for at least 60 months (cannot be a sibling of the employee or sibling of the registered domestic partner).

AND for tax-exempt benefit payments, one or more of the following statements is also true:

f. The child is claimed as your dependent on your federal income tax returns
g. You provide more than 50% of the child’s financial support
h. The child lives primarily with you when he/she is not away at school

If 'f' applies to you, the TGP benefit will not be taxable income to you.
If only 'g' or 'h' or both apply to you, the TGP office will contact you for clarification, as additional tax laws may determine whether the TGP benefit will be taxable income to you.
If neither 'f' or 'g' or 'h' apply to you, then TGP benefit will be taxable income to you.

Please review the TGP Dependent Eligibility Documentation for information about acceptable documents.

School Eligibility

Eligible institutions must offer undergraduate associate or bachelor degree programs. This does not include graduate level degrees or certificate programs.

Only accredited institutions are eligible for TGP. The accreditation process is rigorous and Stanford must adhere to it. Additionally, accredited institutions have to meet quality standards for their educational curricula, helping to ensure a high quality academic program.

Accredited U.S. Institutions - TGP payments will be made to accredited United States colleges and universities listed at http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation.
Foreign Institutions - TGP payments may be made to foreign colleges and universities if Stanford University determines, at its discretion, that the foreign institution’s academic standards are equivalent to those of accredited United States institutions. You may be required to provide accreditation information if requested by the TGP administrator.

TGP does not provide payment to institutions that have not completed the accreditation process.