Tuition Remission Policy

Important Information Regarding Eligibility for this Policy which Applies only to Classes Offered at the University of Richmond

Full-time employees are eligible for tuition remission. Under this benefit you are eligible to take five non-credit classes per calendar year and one credit class per semester during your first year of employment. After your first year, you may take two credit classes per semester. Please note, employee tuition remission does NOT apply to any classes in the Law School.

  • MBA Program – full-time employees are not eligible for tuition remission for the MBA program until they have completed three years of full-time employment with the University. Once eligible, employees may use tuition remission to cover all MBA courses taken in each semester.  Full-time employees hired prior to 8/1/2024 who have not met the three-year requirement will be grandfathered under the previous education eligibility policy. Please see eligibility chart for details.

Credit Classes

There is no tuition remission for special fees or materials that may be associated with the course(s) taken.

The employee, spouse, or dependent children must be academically qualified and must go through regular admission and registration procedures. A tuition remission form for credit courses must be completed and submitted to Human Resources for each course taken or for each semester the student is enrolled. Please note: Summer Term is not part of the Academic Year (Fall and Spring) so a Tuition Remission Application should be submitted prior to the start of the summer session. 

Failure to submit your tuition remission form and any required dependent verification documentation by the first day of the term will result in:

  • A late fee being applied to your account. You will be responsible for the payment of this fee. Fees may be found on the Controller's website. AND

by the last day of the term will result in:

  • Denial of the tuition remission. If tuition remission is denied you will be responsible for the full cost of the course.

Virginia residents are responsible for applying for the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant (VTAG) through the University's Financial Aid Office. Failure to apply for the VTAG will result in the student being charged tuition for the amount of the VTAG award for that semester; tuition remission will not cover this amount. For deadline information, please contact Financial Aid. 

Coverage for Staff

Employees may enroll in class immediately upon employment unless employment begins in the middle of a semester or summer school session. In this instance, benefits will be available at the beginning of the next full semester or session.

All work will be on the employee's own time. If University time must be used, then the employee must secure written supervisory approval and work an equal amount of make-up time during the same week. The written approval will be maintained in the employee's personnel record in Human Resources.

Should an employee terminate their employment prior to completing half of a session in which any tuition remission was received, both credit and non-credit, they will be responsible for the full cost of the session for themselves and dependents receiving tuition remission.

Employees with an undergraduate degree enrolled in classes will be taxed for the tuition remission amount exceeding $5,250 for the calendar year at the end of each semester in which a year to date excess of $5,250 exists.

Coverage for Spouses

Remission of tuition and fees for a spouse of an employee shall be made only to the extent that the person does not already have some form of grant or scholarship to cover their educational costs. 

There is a waiting period that must be satisfied before a spouse may take credit courses. Please refer to the Education Eligibility for more information. Dependents must be verified in the WEX Benefits Portal before eligibility will be approved.

If an employee's spouse is receiving tuition remission benefits and is the holder of an undergraduate degree, the entire amount of the spouse's tuition remission in a calendar year is taxable income and taxes will be withheld from the employee's paycheck at the end of each semester. 

Coverage for Dependent Children

Classes may be taken by an employee's dependent children on the following basis: tuition and college fees in any undergraduate division for courses taken for academic credit will be waived only to the extent that the student does not already have some form of scholarship or grant to cover their educational costs and that the student does not have an undergraduate degree.

The dependent child of an employee shall be defined as the following natural issue of the eligible employee, a stepchild, a child legally adopted by the employee, or a foster child, provided that the foster child shall have been living in the home of the qualified employee and shall have been supported primarily by the employee for at least two (2) years prior to matriculation in a college or university. The child must meet the definition as a legal dependent of the employee as stipulated by the United States Internal Revenue Code. If the employee's child is older than age 23, the parent employee must be able to claim the child as a dependent on their last annual tax return. In this instance, a copy of the tax return must accompany the request for tuition waiver.

Children of retired employees are eligible for this benefit in accordance with the provision above. 

There is a waiting period that must be satisfied before a dependent child may take credit courses. Please refer to Education Eligibility for more information. Dependents must be verified in the WEX Benefits Portal before eligibility will be approved.

How to Apply for Tuition Remission

Credit courses

  1. Confirm your eligibility for tuition remission at hr.richmond.edu/benefits/education/eligibility.html.
  2. Register for the class. 
  3. Fill out the Tuition Remission application on the Forms page.
  4. HR will review your application, and when approved, send it to Financial Aid, Student Accounts, and the Bursar's Office. The department of Financial Aid will apply the tuition remission to your account. Tuition remission will not be applied to your account until the Add/Drop period closes.
For account inquiries, email finaid@richmond.edu.

Non-credit courses

  1. Confirm your eligibility for tuition remission at hr.richmond.edu/benefits/education/eligibility.html.
  2. Register with School of Professional and Continuing Studies (SPCS).
    1. To register for OSHER classes, visit the SPCS website and navigate to Lifelong Learning.
    2. To register for non-credit professional education classes, visit the SPCS website and navigate to Professional Education.
    3. To register for non-credit lifelong learning classes, visit the SPCS website and navigate to Lifelong Learning.
    4. For online partner registrations (Ed2Go, Trilogy, etc.), please submit to SPCS both the Non-credit registration form and the Tuition remission form.
  3. Upon logging in to the registration portals, a tuition remission promo code will be provided to employees and their dependents in the shopping cart.
For registration inquiries, email spcs@richmond.edu.