Tuition costs included in all new sponsored project proposals should be requested as a direct charge to the funding agency. Requests for matching from the VPR to cover tuition costs should be made following the general guidelines for cost sharing.

Requests for non-mandatory cost sharing for tuition will be considered when direct charging tuition will place a hardship on the investigator in completing the proposed research. Accordingly, researchers may cite strict expenditure limitations imposed by the sponsor or excessive requirements for out-of-state tuition as hardship factors in requesting non-mandatory cost sharing of tuition remission. Justifications for non-mandatory tuition remission cost sharing should be initiated by the dean and accompany the proposal clearance form.

If the Vice President for Research Office does agree to cover tuition remission, the specifications and procedures below apply.

1. The full stipend (salary component) for the graduate research assistant must be provided from a sponsored research grant or contract.

2. A) To qualify for tuition remission under this policy, the research grant or contract must provide full overhead cost reimbursement. The overhead may not be waived, negotiated or cost shared. 

B) If the University’s full audited overhead rate is awarded and is at least $10,000, a student’s tuition    remission will be provided up to total of 50% of the amount of overhead.

3. When the funding for a graduate research assistant’s stipend expires, the tuition remission will likewise expire. Therefore, when requesting tuition remission under this policy, principal investigators will develop a contingency plan that identifies alternative sources of funding for the student’s tuition.

The Office of Grants Management will determine the appropriateness of requests and will approve tuition remission for the position. All requests for tuition remission covered under this policy must accompany the grant or contract proposal when it is submitted for review to the Office of Grants Management. A preliminary evaluation will be made at the time of submission to ensure that all policy guidelines have been met.

Tuition remission for approved requests will be provided upon receipt of an official grant or contract notice of award which meets the requirements outlined in 1, 2 and 3 of the Policy Statement section. No commitments, either verbal or in writing, may be made to a graduate research assistant until these requirements have been met and official award notice received.

When the stipend is to be charged to a grant or contract account, the tuition remission form must be approved by the Office of the Vice President for Research.

Only VPR approved tuition remission requests will be processed by the Student Financial Aid Office.

The Office of the Vice President for Research will monitor accounts to assure sufficient funds.

To obtain a copy of the grants and contract tuition remission form go to the Grants Management Website and follow these instructions. Scroll down to the section on General Information and Forms. You can choose WORD or PDF format.