Exports: Associated Colleges of the South (ACS)

Our favorable import/export balances allow the University of Richmond to sponsor unmarried, dependent exports, ages 23 and under, for undergraduate study only. Please note that the University cannot guarantee that admitted ACS export applicants will receive an ACS award from the school(s) of their choosing. First, the student must be admitted and then he/she will compete with other admitted applicants for a limited number of new ACS scholarships. An ACS applicant may not find out until April or May if they have received an award. The guidelines and timelines vary for the ACS programs so please read the information for each carefully.

Where to Apply

You are encouraged to research the available profiles of the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS) member schools by visiting the ACS website. If you have additional questions, your benefits and compensation specialist will be happy to provide you with the contact information of the ACS tuition exchange liaison officers at the colleges in which you are interested. They are usually receptive to email inquiries.

It is recommended that you apply to three or four institutions on the Tuition Exchange or ACS list in case your first choice institution is unable to award you an ACS scholarship. It is also recommended that you apply for financial aid at each institution. If you do not receive an ACS scholarship, other financial aid may be available.

In the majority of cases, the exchange vacancies available at an institution are determined by the number of exports an institution expects to have. It is difficult for a college to predict the exact number of new scholarships available until all the admissions decisions are made on or about April 1. A student must be accepted by a participating college or university through the normal admission process before he/she will be considered for an ACS tuition exchange opportunity. Each member school sets its own criteria, and criteria can vary greatly from school to school. For example, some institutions will rank the accepted exchange applicants on the basis of grades, strength of academic schedule, test scores, and extracurricular activities. Others will grant exchange to the majority who are accepted through the normal admission process, and still others will award exchange based on financial need. Some colleges will be able to award only one or two new ACS scholarships in a given year because they already have a significant surplus of ACS imports.

The 15 ACS institutions participating in the current ACS TEP are:

  • Birmingham-Southern/Birmingham,AL
  • Centenary College/Shreveport, LA
  • Centre College/Danville, KY
  • Furman University/Greenville, SC
  • Hendrix College/Conway, AR
  • Millsaps College/Jackson, MS
  • Morehouse College/Atlanta, GA*
  • Rhodes College/Memphis, TN
  • Rollins College/Winter Park, FL
  • Southwestern University/Georgetown, TX
  • Spelman College/Atlanta, GA*
  • Trinity University/San Antonio, TX
  • University of Richmond/Richmond, VA
  • University of the South/Sewanee, TN
  • Washington & Lee, Lexington, VA*

*Morehouse, Spelman, and Washington and Lee are the only ACS TE schools that are not also members of the Tuition Exchange, Inc. consortium. If applying for TE at any of the other ACS TE schools, you are encouraged to apply for exchange scholarships through both TE programs.

Davidson College is also a member of the Associated Colleges of the South consortium but by choice does not participate in the ACS Tuition Exchange Program.

Please review the Tuition Exchange, Inc. information also.

Application Process

Please complete the ACS application between October 1 and January 10 of your dependent's senior year and research guidelines and deadlines for each member school to avoid missing any deadlines. ACS applications should be sent to the University of Richmond benefits and compensation specialist. It is recommended that applications are submitted at the same time the student applies for admission. Faculty and staff eligibility will be verified by Human Resources after the dependent's application is received. Please list only the colleges to which your dependent will definitely apply; additional schools may be added to one's original list at a later date, if necessary. If your dependent ultimately decides not to apply to all the schools that were listed on the form, please let the benefits and compensation specialist know. Note that ACS scholarships are awarded for a total of eight consecutive semesters (fall and spring only) or an undergraduate degree, whichever is less. Participants in the program must be full-time undergraduate degree candidates, and only tuition charges for the regular academic year are covered by ACS tuition exchange. If one applies for ACS through this or any TE program, he/she must also apply independently and be admitted through each institution's Office of Admission before he/she will be considered for a scholarship.

If UR exports have to be limited in a given year, eligibility will be determined by the seniority in length of service of the faculty or staff member.

An applicant is encouraged to apply for financial aid at each member institution.

What Happens After Receiving an ACS Award

Virginia residents who receive an ACS award at a private Virginia institution are responsible for applying for the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant (VTAG) through their sponsor institution'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 exchange will not cover this amount.

Tuition Exchange through the ACS Tuition Exchange Program is subject to an annual participation fee of $2,000 payable by the student directly to the Associated Colleges of the South in early July prior to each academic year. The benefits and compensation specialist at UR will forward the ACS invoice to the parent and will also pay a matching fee of $2,000 per export to ACS annually. ACS TE is available for eight consecutive semesters of study or until the requirements for the undergraduate degree are met, whichever is less. If a student plans to withdraw from ACS TE at any time, they must notify UR's benefits and compensation specialist immediately.

Participants must make satisfactory academic progress and remain in good standing; he/she must apply for recertification through the TE officer at their sponsor institution in the spring of each academic year. The program policies, guidelines and participation fee are reviewed each year and may change from time to time.

If you have further questions about the ACS Tuition Exchange at the University of Richmond, please contact URHR at URHR@richmond.edu or 804-289-URHR (8747).