SSA - Tuition Exemption

Support Staff: Timing and Waiting Periods

The Support Staff member can receive the Tuition Exemption benefit once the waiting period is met:

• Waiting Period, Local L1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East SSA Area: Full-time hired on or after 1/1/2014 and part-time Support Staff hired on or after 6/1/2019 must meet a two-semester waiting period before being eligible to receive Tuition Exemption benefits for the following semester. The two-semester waiting period is administered as seven months.

Eligibility for Family Members

In addition to being eligible for the Tuition Exemption benefit, Support Staff eligible dependents must also be accepted into the school they wish to attend.

Dependent Waiting Periods

The following waiting periods apply before dependent children are eligible for the Tuition Exemption benefit:

• Local 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East SSA Area: Dependents are eligible after the Support Staff member has worked two years.

Must be matriculated in a Bachelors, professional or higher degree program; no non-degree programs are eligible.

In cases where the son or daughter is registered as a degree candidate outside the University system but is able to obtain admission as a non-matriculated special student at Columbia, tuition exemption will be granted. A Letter of Student in Good Standing is required.

As a Local 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East SSA Area Support Staff member, tuition for undergraduate and graduate courses is covered at 100% up to a certain number of credits per term. Note that only tuition costs are covered. This benefit does not cover course fees and/or the cost for auditing a course. There is a two-semester waiting period (seven months) to be eligible for this benefit.

In general, the benefit for Support Staff applies during the academic year (September-May) to undergraduate and graduate courses at Columbia University, Barnard College and Teachers College. Members of collective bargaining agreements should review their agreement carefully for rules regarding summer term courses. Summer term courses are covered at Columbia only.

Courses given during work hours are not normally open to Support Staff; with the department head’s approval, however, staff may register for one such course each term if they arrange an alternate work schedule.

• Full-time Support Staff: Seven points per term in undergraduate or graduate, degree or non-degree courses at Columbia, Barnard or Teachers College.
   
• Part-time Support Staff: Part-time Support Staff may receive tuition exemption for one , degree or non-degree course per term, up to three points during the first year, and up to four points per term every year after that.

Part-time SSA members must be regularly scheduled to work for at least 20 hours a week to be eligible for tuition exemption benefits. For this and other details, part-time Support Staff must refer to their collective bargaining agreement.

Benefit for Dependents

Eligible dependents may receive the unused portion of a Support Staff member’s benefit after the Support Staff member has worked for two years.

Eligible dependents can only use the benefit for undergraduate and graduate classes at Columbia only, not at Barnard or Teachers College.

In addition, dependent children must be enrolled at Columbia as candidates for a Bachelor’s, or Master’s Degree — unless they have obtained admission to Columbia as a non-degree special student while enrolled in a similar degree program at another accredited college or university.

The Tuition Exemption benefit does not cover the following course types for Support Staff or their family members:

• Non-credit courses
   
• All short-term, intensive and fee-based courses in which the instructor is paid on the basis of the number of students registered in the course
   
• Courses with no point value
   
•  Applied music courses (e.g., musical instrument instruction)
   
• Continuing education courses (i.e., those beginning with the letter “Q” or “N,” unless such a course is taken to fulfill a degree requirement)
   
• Any audited courses
   
• Any doctoral courses

Tuition Exemption Checklist – Support Staff has proven to be a helpful guide to accessing your benefit.

If it is determined you are not eligible for the course(s) you are enrolled in, you will be responsible for the cost of tuition if you continue to attend. Columbia University does not accept responsibility for denied coverage if you or the course are found to be ineligible for the benefit.

After you have been accepted as a student and registered for classes, apply for Tuition Exemption each term by completing the following steps:

Note: You will need to print, complete and sign your Tuition Benefit Eligibility Form from the CU Benefits Enrollment System ("CUBES"). Eligible dependents will need the Support Staff Member to print this form for them.

Log in to CUBES. You will be asked to enter your UNI and password and confirm your access using multifactor authentication (DUO).
 
To print this form:

• Once logged in, select "Tuition."
   
• On the Tuition Programs page, select “Tuition Exemption – For Yourself” or “Tuition Exemption – For Your Dependents.”

Note: If you are taking graduate-level courses related to your work, complete a Job-Related Graduate Course Certification form. This form must be completed by you and certified as job-related by your supervisor. Attach the form to your Tuition Benefit Eligibility Form.

Submit completed and signed Tuition Benefit Eligibility Form:

Please submit your Tuition Exemption and Job-Related forms via the email addresses below:

• Columbia Morningside and Medical Center Campuses: [email protected]
   
• Barnard College: [email protected]
   
• Teachers College: [email protected]

If you have any questions about your student account, please contact SFS at [email protected], or by phone at 212-342-4790.

If you do not want to continue a course, you should arrange with the appropriate School and the Registrar to drop it by the end of the first week of classes to avoid any possibility of financial responsibility, and to avoid having the course count toward the course limits.

Note: Dropping all of your courses means withdrawing from the University. The University may charge a $75 fee for withdrawals depending on when you withdraw from the University, and this fee is not covered under this Tuition Exemption Benefit Program.

If your employment terminates for any reason during a term in which you have been granted the Tuition Exemption benefit, you must refund the University for the remainder of the term. The accompanying “Prorated Benefit Available Per Term Based on Termination or Job Status Change” table shows how many exemption points are available if you change employment status during a given week of a term.

Tuition benefits are not available for Support Staff who are on a leave of absence. If you begin a leave during a term in which the Tuition Exemption benefit has already been granted, refer to the “Prorated Benefit Available Per Term Based on Termination or Job Status Change” table below to see how many exemption points are available.

Staff members whose status changes from full-time to part-time during a term need to consult the “Full Time” column in the “Prorated Benefit Available Per Term Based on Termination or Job Status Change” table below to determine how many exemption points you are eligible to receive.

New Job-Related forms must be submitted by your Supervisor to [email protected], confirming it has been signed and certified as job-related per the IRS criteria reflected in the policy.

Non-Degree Programs – New forms must be certified and submitted each term.

Degree Programs – Forms must only be certified once (unless you change your degree program, or job); however, a copy of the supervisor-certified form must be submitted each term.

Note: Forms must be submitted by the end date of the Change of Program End Period.

Important: If you do not submit a Job-Related Graduate Education Certification Form demonstrating these courses are related to your work at the University, your paycheck will be taxed for the tuition value of courses exceeding the annual federal limit.

Email:

Columbia Programs

• Email: Morningside and Medical Center (CUIMC) Campuses, [email protected]

If you have any questions about your student account, please contact SFS at [email protected].