GRADUATE STUDENT IN-STATE AND NONRESIDENT TUITION AWARDS POLICY


The Utah State University policy on nonresident tuition awards and in-state tuition awards for graduate students is described in the following sections:

In-state and Nonresident Tuition Awards

  • a) Awards for the nonresident (out-of-state) portion of tuition are available for master?s and doctoral students who meet the eligibility requirements.
  • b) Awards for the resident (in-state) portion of tuition are available for doctoral students who meet the eligibility requirements.

Categories of Eligible Graduate Students

Four categories of graduate students may receive nonresident tuition awards and/or the instate tuition awards:

  • Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) and Graduate Instructors (GIs)- graduate students assigned teaching responsibilities as discussion leaders and laboratory supervisors (GTAs) or as instructors of record (GIs);
  • Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs)-graduate students assigned to research projects;
  • General Graduate Assistants (GGAs)-graduate assistants assigned duties not covered under the previous two categories, to assist faculty with nonteaching instructional duties (such as grading papers and tests), with research, or with other duties related to their graduate studies;
  • Graduate Fellows-graduate students who receive stipends from School of Graduate Studies, college, or departmental fellowships/scholarships or from other fellowships/scholarships administered through the University that do not specifically cover tuition.

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Registration, Course, and Grade-Point-Average Requirements

Only full-time, matriculated students in good standing are eligible for nonresident tuition awards.

For a doctoral graduate assistant or graduate fellow to receive the instate tuition award, he or she must be matriculated and registered as a full-time student. If a doctoral student must register for credits other than those required for the doctoral degree to meet the full-time regeistration requirement, registration must be for Dept. 7990, Continuing Graduate Advisement.

Nonresident and in-state tuition awards are available for a maximum of 12 credits per semester.

Only credits useable on the Program of Study are covered by the nonresident/in-state tuition award. Up to 3 credits of 3000-4990 level courses are eligible, but these courses cannot be required by the graduate-degree department for a related undergraduate degree. No 1000-2990 level courses are covered by the awards. Also, 6970 (Thesis Research) and other courses used in the master?s degree in a dual master?s/doctoral program will not be covered by the in-state tuition award, but are eligible for the nonresident tuition award. If a Program of Study has not been submitted, the School of Graduate Studies will require verification that courses significantly outside the degree program and all 3000-4990 courses will be included on the Program of Study. Requests for exceptions to the award policy to cover undergraduate courses must include accompanying documentation specifying that the undergraduate courses are a prescribed prerequisite. This accompanying documentation must be submitted along with the tuition award request. Students using the nonresident/in-state tuition award for ineligible credits will be required to repay the nonresident/in-state tuition award. Audited courses do not qualify for a nonresident tuition award or for the in-state tuition award for doctoral graduate assistants and fellows.

Courses added by a student to his or her registration after the University deadline for approval of tuition awards are not eligible for a nonresident tuition award or in-state tuition award.

A student who drops a course after the tuition has been paid by a tuition award must pay any fees involved and must reimburse the University for the tuition charge. If a student drops a course or courses so that his or her registration falls below the required full-time level, he or she becomes ineligible for the tuition award and will be billed for the full tuition for that semester. In both cases, a hold will be put on further registration until full payment is made to the University.

To remain eligible for a nonresident tuition award and/or the in-state tuition award, the graduate student must maintain a 3.0 or higher grade point average (GPA) for those courses included on his or her Program of Study. However, if a Program of Study has not been submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, GPA is computed using all of the student?s coursework at USU since the prior degree. GPA is checked by the School of Graduate Studies at the end of each semester.


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Support Qualifications

To receive a nonresident tuition award, a graduate student must be matriculated in a graduate program and (a) a graduate assistant (GTA, GI, GRA, or GGA) employed at least 10 hours per week (.25 FTE) with a $12,000, 12-month, 1.0 FTE base ($250 per month at .25 FTE) or (b) a graduate fellow who receives at least $250 per month in direct fellowship support.

To receive the in-state tuition award, a graduate student must be (a) matriculated in a doctoral degree program and (b) a .50 FTE graduate assistant receiving at least $600 per month (a $14,400, 1.0 FTE, 12-month base for a .50 FTE graduate assistant) or (c) a graduate fellow who receives at least $600 per month in direct fellowship support.

To receive a nonresident tuition award or the resident tuition award, a graduate assistant must be employed for the total semester, except for any beginning or ending week that has less than 4 class or test days. A graduate fellow?s monthly stipend must be at least $350 for a nonresident tuition award or $600 for the in-state tuition award for each month and fraction thereof in the semester.

If, at the end of a semester in which a graduate student has received a nonresident tuition award and/or the in-state tuition award, the student has (a) received less than the required compensation or stipend or (b) been dismissed from his or her assistantship for inadequate performance, the award will be revoked by the School of Graduate Studies and the student will be billed for tuition for that semester. A hold will be put on further registration until full payment is made to the University.


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Meritorious Status and Residency

The nonresident portion of tuition is waived for ?meritorious? graduate students, as provided by Utah law (Utah Code 53B-8-101, Subsection [4]). Meritorious status is established by;

  • Admission to Utah State University as a matriculated graduate student;
  • Selection by a department or other academic or research unit to serve as a graduate assistant or by a department, college, or the graduate dean to receive a graduate fellowship;
  • Recommendation by the department head and/or college dean;
  • Continued satisfactory progress toward degree completion, including maintenance of a 3.0 or higher GPA.

Out-of-state, non international graduate students will receive the nonresident tuition award for 40 credits only. Students applying for residency must live in Utah for 24 continuous months prior to beginning school in Utah OR live in Utah while completing a minimum total of 60 semester credit hours at a regionally accredited institution of higher education in Utah. It is important to note that graduate students who are seeking residency may count any credits at the 5000 level and above at 1.5 times the actual credit. Therefore, students may achieve residency after 40 credits (and, therefore, no longer require nonresident tuition) or pay the nonresident tuition portion themselves. The graduate dean will review requests for exceptions, based on a good-faith effort to achieve residency.


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Restrictions

Nonresident tuition awards and in-state tuition awards are not provided to students who are compensated for their work through organizations other than Utah State University (for example, internships for which pay is received directly from another institution or agency).

The number of credits for which students may receive nonresident tuition awards and/or in-state tuition awards is limited. The nonresident tuition award for a master?s degree is limited to 40 credits, 70 credits for a postmaster?s (60-credit) doctoral degree, and 90 credits for a postbaccalaureate (90-credit) doctoral degree. The in-state tuition award is limited to 70 credits of coursework/dissertation credits and unlimited 7990 credits (up to the minimum number required to achieve full-time status each semester). This limit applies to both the 60-credit (postmaster?s) and 90-credit (postbaccalaureate) doctoral degree. If additional credits are necessary to complete quality thesis or dissertation research, due to supervisory committee expectations and not the negligence or procrastination of the student, the graduate dean may, upon written request by the student?s major professor and department head, extend the student?s tuition award eligibility.

The restrictions on tuition award eligibility do not limit the number of years or semesters that a program, department, or college may choose to support a student with a graduate assistantship. However, School of Graduate Studies? time limits for coursework validity and degree completion still apply.

The student and his/her department are responsible for tracking the number of credits for which the student has received a tuition award. If a student receives a nonresident tuition award and/or an in-state tuition award for credits beyond the approved limit, he or she will be billed retroactively for the award for the excess credits. A hold will be put on further registration by the student until payment is made.


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Administration of the Tuition Award Program

For a graduate student to be considered for a nonresident tuition award and/or an in-state tuition award, a Tuition Award request must be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies by the student?s home department, regardless of the source of the graduate assistantship or fellowship. The deadline for tuition award requests is three weeks (15 business days) prior to the first day of class each semester. To expedite processing for timely student registration, requests should be submitted as soon as possible, but not later than this deadline. Exceptions for personal emergencies, such as illness or international travel difficulties, or for departmental exigencies, such as late notification of funding for a research project, may be approved by the graduate dean upon written petition by the student?s department head. In no case will a nonresident tuition award or an in-state tuition award be allowed for a semester that has ended.

The School of Graduate Studies will verify eligibility for nonresident tuition awards and/or in-state tuition awards and submit award requests for eligible students to the Financial Aid Office. When students register, the approved tuition funding will be paid against the balance owed.

After the last day to register or add classes for each semester, the School of Graduate Studies will check employment and registration records to identify any tuition award recipient who does not meet the support qualifications for that semester. The School of Graduate Studies will also check end-of-semester cumulative grade point averages to verify the future eligibility of tuition award recipients.


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