Dependent Tuition Assistance

Eligible Employees

To be eligible for the Plan, a faculty or staff member must hold an eligible appointment on the first day of the academic term to which the benefit applies. For purposes of the Plan, “eligible appointment” means (1) a regular or term appointment of Faculty, Senior Administrative and Professional Staff, Administrative and Professional Staff, Classified Civil Service Staff, Associated Faculty, Visiting Faculty, or Clinical Instructor House Staff and (2) such appointment is at least 50% full-time equivalent (FTE).

Eligible Dependents

A dependent may not receive tuition assistance benefits under any other university tuition assistance benefit while receiving tuition assistance benefit under this Plan.

The following individuals are eligible to participate in the Plan if they have been admitted to the university through either the admissions office (undergraduate, graduate and professional) or the Office of Distance Education and eLearning:

• An eligible employee’s legal spouse. A legally separated spouse is not eligible.
• An eligible employee’s unmarried child. For this purpose, “child” means (1) a biological child of the eligible employee, (2) a step-child of the eligible employee, (3) an adopted child of the eligible employee (or a child who has been legally placed with the eligible employee for adoption), and (4) a foster child of the eligible employee who has lived with the employee for at least five years.

The Office of Human Resources has the authority to administer the Plan. All decisions of the Office of Human Resources will be final. Refer to the Dependent Tuition Assistance Plan for complete information.

Eligible dependents may receive tuition assistance for courses taken for credit through undergraduate or graduate (including professional) programs at Ohio State.

Dependent tuition assistance benefits are based on the dependent’s fee schedule. These amounts are based on current undergraduate tuition rates and are subject to change.

• For an eligible dependent of one eligible employee, the Plan will cover 50% of the dependent’s instructional and general fees, up to a maximum of $4,820 per semester.
• For an eligible dependent of two eligible employees, the Plan will cover 75% of the dependent’s instructional and general fees, up to a maximum of $7,230 per semester.

An eligible dependent may receive dependent tuition assistance benefits for a maximum of eight semesters or 140 semester hours of enrollment, whichever is greater. This is known as the maximum benefit limit.

The Plan covers only instructional and general fees. Examples of fees not covered include: application fees, registration fees, the Instructional Fee Surcharge for credits above 18 credit hours, the General Fee Surcharge for credits above 18 credit hours, late fees, lab fees, computer fees, study abroad fees, student activity fees, recreational sports fees, COTA bus fees, insurance, books, or non-resident fees (out of state).

Courses must be taken for credit. The Plan will not provide dependent tuition assistance benefits for a course that is audited.

If the dependent has enrolled in classes for the term and not reached the maximum benefit limit, the tuition assistance benefit will reduce the instructional and general fees assessed for that term. The dependent is responsible for paying the difference between the tuition assistance benefit and the total fees for the academic term.

If a dependent receives tuition-specific financial aid through the university, the amount of tuition assistance benefits provided by the university will be reduced so the combined total of financial aid and tuition assistance does not exceed the total instructional and general fees for the academic term.

To participate in the Plan, the dependent must meet all eligibility criteria outlined above on the first day of the academic term they are enrolled. Failure to meet these requirements will result in loss of eligibility for the Plan for current and future terms.

To participate in the Plan, you must provide, when requested, complete and factual information related to dependency verification. Failure to meet provide requested information will result in loss of eligibility for the Plan for future terms

The dependent must adhere to the requirements, rules and policies pertaining to Ohio State students such as registering for classes, paying fees and withdrawing from classes by the applicable deadlines.

Any fee adjustments applicable to instructional and general fees for failed or dropped courses will be covered under the Plan. The credit hours associated with failed and dropped courses will be counted against a dependent’s maximum benefit limit. Late fees will not be covered.

Failure to meet any terms and conditions of this Plan will require payment by the dependent to the Office of the University Bursar for all costs, including instructional and general fees, associated with course enrollment.

Refer to the Dependent Tuition Assistance Plan for complete information.

Tuition assistance under the Plan is provided on an academic term basis and eligible employees must enroll in the Plan for each academic term that assistance is requested.

To enroll in the Plan for an academic term, an eligible employee must complete the online application in Workday during the applicable Enrollment Window (see below) for that term for each dependent. See detailed instructions on the enrollment process.

If both parents are eligible employees, each parent must complete and submit the application for that term for each dependent. Taxation of the benefit will be determined per term by the parent completing and submitting enrollment first.

Dependents must have their Social Security number on file with their Buckeye Link university student record before dependent tuition assistance enrollment can be processed. To add a Social Security number, use the change of record form on the Registrar’s website

The Enrollment Schedule below indicates the enrollment window open and close dates for submitting Dependent Tuition Assistance applications. Active eligible faculty and staff may apply online by going to Workday, click on Benefits on the home page, then click Change Benefits and find Dependent Tuition Assistance Enrollment from the drop down menu. Employee must complete the application each term for each dependent.

If an eligible employee retires or dies and the employee has completed at least 10 years of continuous university service in a regular appointment of at least 50% FTE, then the following rules apply:

• If the employment change was prior to September 1, 2017, the employee’s eligible dependents who have used the tuition assistance benefits at least once during the five-year period following the employment change can use the benefits until the date they reach the maximum benefit limit.
• If the employment change was on or after September 1, 2017, the employee’s eligible dependents can use the tuition assistance benefits for up to five years after the employment change occurred or until the dependent reaches the maximum benefit limit, whichever happens first.

In the event of an eligible employee’s military leave of absence, the employee’s eligible dependent(s) will remain eligible to receive the dependent tuition assistance benefit during the entire duration of the military leave or, if earlier, until they reach the maximum benefit limit.

If a reduction in force results in an eligible employee’s termination or reduction in appointment to less than 50% FTE, and the employee is eligible for the university’s Staff Severance Program, the employee’s eligible dependent(s) can receive dependent tuition assistance through the end of the academic term in which the employee’s severance period ends.

In the event of any other change in employment status, the tuition assistance benefits under the Plan will cease immediately after the academic term in which such change in employment status occurs.

If a dependent is the eligible dependent of two employees and one of those employees’ FTE falls below 50% for any reason, the tuition assistance benefit will decrease from 75% to 50% for the academic term following the change in employment.

For purposes of this Plan, the last day of an academic term is the day of the commencement ceremony for that academic term.

Refer to the Dependent Tuition Assistance Plan for complete information.

General information regarding taxation of tuition benefits is summarized below. The university does not provide individual tax advice. Contact your personal tax advisor for more detail. Additional information is also available in IRS Publication 970.

Plan participants are fully responsible for any tax liability. Taxation of the dual parent tuition assistance (75% benefit) will be determined per term by the parent completing and submitting enrollment first.

Refer to the Dependent Tuition Assistance Plan for complete information.

Undergraduate Dependent Tuition Assistance Benefits

The federal government does not tax undergraduate tuition assistance benefits for an eligible employee’s legal spouse.

Undergraduate tuition assistance benefits for an eligible employee’s child are exempt from federal taxation if the child can be claimed as a tax dependent on the employee’s federal income tax return for the calendar year to which the benefits apply. If the employee’s child is not eligible to be claimed as a tax dependent, then the undergraduate tuition assistance benefits are subject to federal taxation.

Graduate and Professional-Level Dependent Tuition Assistance Benefits

Graduate and Professional-Level tuition assistance benefits for all dependents are subject to federal taxation.

You may utilize the Model My Pay feature in Workday to see how taxation may impact pay.