Tuition Grant Program FAQ
Find answers to the most common questions regarding the Tuition Grant Program.
Tuition Grant Program (TGP) Portal Launch FAQ
All benefits-eligible faculty and staff who utilize TGP, including SLAC employees* must use the Axess portal to apply and manage their Tuition Grant Program information.
Retirees, emeriti and beneficiaries of deceased employees should continue to use the current application process.
*SLAC employees must contact Claudia Ransom at claudia@slac.stanford.edu for first time access to the TGP portal. Once access is granted, employees can log in as often as needed with no further approvals required.
The TGP portal will launch in March 2016, and can be used immediately to apply for the spring and summer quarters of the 2015-2016 Academic Year.
For the 2016-2017 Academic Year, applications will be accepted beginning April 1.
To access the new portal, simply navigate to Axess. After logging in, select the “Employee Center” tab. Then, scroll down to the “Benefits” section and select “Tuition Grant Program.”
Yes, the TGP portal will simplify and streamline the application process, but you must still reapply each year between April and July.
The portal will automatically keep track of how many points children have used and how many remain. Each semester is worth 1.5 points and each quarter is worth 1 point. The maximum allowable is 12 points, which is the equivalent of 8 semesters or 12 quarters of undergraduate course work. The Calculator is located on the homepage of the portal, next to the child’s name.
There are six sections of the new application form. You will not be able to move on to another section of the form until everything in the previous section is complete.
To learn more about the new easy application process, visit the Tuition Grant Program application page on the Cardinal at Work website, or attend the Tuition Grant Program Information Session on April 6. Register in STARS.
No changes to the TGP policy have been made. You will be notified if or when there is a policy change in the future.
Eligibility of Employees
If you have to go out on leave when your child is in college and receiving TGP benefits, the following applies:
- Paid leave: TGP benefits continue without interruption.
- Approved disability or family leave: TGP benefits continue during the disability time period as long as you remain employed by the university.
- Sabbatical: TGP benefits continue without interruption.
- Unpaid leave: TGP is usually not payable, but there may be some allowable exceptions.
For a full explanation of how the TGP benefit is affected by leaves of absence, please consult the TGP Guidelines.
Yes, assuming the service requirement has been met and you are an official retiree, meeting the official retiree criteria.
At the time of your retirement, if you hold a position that is less than 100 percent full-time service, your TGP benefit will be paid at the full-time rate only if you worked in 100% full-time service positions for more than half of the years you were a benefits eligible Stanford employee during the 10-year period immediately preceding your retirement. If the majority of your service was not full time, your TGP benefit as a retiree will be based on the average percent of your full-time equivalency during your last 12 months of active service.
If you are rehired as a faculty member or university officers and executives, you are immediately eligible for TGP upon rehire.
If you are rehired as a staff member, you must complete another five-year period of continuous benefits-eligible service to reestablish eligibility for the TGP benefits, unless any of the provisions of Administrative Guide Memo 2.1.2 (d)(1) apply to you.
The provisions in that memo include:
- Reinstating the hire date:
Former regular staff will have their hire date reinstated if they left the university in good standing and meet these timelines:
(a) Former regular staff that has been laid off and is re-employed by the University within 24 months following the date of layoff will have the most recent hire date prior to layoff reinstated.
(b) Former regular staff whose employment was terminated for reasons other than layoff will have the most recent date of hire prior to termination reinstated if re-employment occurs within 12 months following the date of termination. Reinstatement includes all of the following:
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Bridging of service by restoring the most recent hire date in a benefits-eligible position before termination,
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Restoration of any sick leave balance at the time of termination, and
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Vacation accrual rate based on the reinstated hire date.
If you have already met the service requirement, benefit payments for your eligible children already receiving benefits will continue. Your other children, if any, will become eligible for TGP benefits when they qualify under the other conditions of the program. All eligibility for the program ends if, at the time of death, there are no eligible children participating in the program.
However, if you have completed 10 years of continuous benefits-eligible service at the time of death, or if you would qualify as an official retiree at the time of your death, your eligible children are eligible for TGP benefits under the terms in effect at the time the application is submitted, whether or not you had eligible children participating in the program at the time of death.
Children of deceased employees are eligible only up to age 40.
Eligibility of Children
No, a child's age is not a factor in determining the child's eligibility for TGP benefits, unless the eligible employee is deceased. In that case, if the service requirement was met before the employee's death, benefit payments for your eligible children already receiving benefits will continue; other remaining children will become eligible when they qualify, up to age 40.
However, if the child is over the age of 24 (19 if not a full-time student) and has gross income equal to or exceeding the IRS exemptions amount, the child will not qualify as a dependent and TGP benefits will be treated as taxable compensation to you.
Yes, as long as the maximum amount of semesters or quarters has not been reached.
However, if you are receiving the benefit as taxable compensation, additional rules apply. Taxable TGP benefits for a child will not be paid over a period of more than four consecutive years. If benefits for a child become taxable part way through the child's college education, the remaining benefits for which the child is eligible must be taken in consecutive regularly-scheduled quarters or semesters for all benefits to be available.
If time off is taken during the period of time in which the benefit is taxable, the consecutive quarters/semesters rule remains in effect and the student will only have the remaining consecutive quarters/semesters in which to use TGP benefits. If the TGP benefits are not fully utilized in this timeframe, they are forfeited. Please review the full taxable benefit policy in the TGP Guidelines.
No TGP benefits continue beyond your eligible child's attainment of the baccalaureate degree.
Yes, if your eligible child takes eight or fewer units in a term, then TGP will pay only half of the equivalent full-time academic term of eligibility.
The amount payable to the institution cannot exceed one half of the amount available for that term, or the balance of half of the TGP maximum annual benefit amount. Additional restrictions may apply if the benefit is being received on a taxable basis.
Please review the full taxable benefit policy in the TGP Guidelines.
Yes, the program will pay for your eligible child’s summer session if payment does not exceed the annual maximum benefit for that academic year. If he or she is enrolled part time for eight or fewer units, one half a term of eligibility will be deducted. If your child is enrolled full time for nine or more units, a full term of eligibility will be deducted.
Eligibility of Institutions
Obtain backup information from the institution that proves it is accredited and includes it with your application to determine the eligibility.
Tax Issues
If the child is your domestic partner's child whom you have not adopted, or is otherwise not your dependent for federal income tax purposes, the benefit payments do not qualify for tax-exempt treatment.
Follow the steps below on how to make the tuition payments directly to the child's institution.
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When your application is reviewed and eligibility is determined, you will be issued a taxable compensation authorization letter.
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When you receive the invoice from your child's institution, your are responsible to pay it.
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Provide a copy of the invoice and proof of your child's tuition payment to our office.
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Reimbursements for current employees will be processed within two pay periods on either the 7th or 22nd of the month, depending on the receipt date for proof of payment.
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Reimbursements for official retirees will be sent to your home address approximately 15 days after receipt date for proof of payment.
- The reimbursement will be classified as taxable supplemental compensation subject to withholding. The university will not help pay any taxes due on such compensation.
- The supplemental compensation will not change your base salary; such other benefits will continue to be calculated on your regular salary.
In situations of divorce or legal separation, as long as the parent who is the Stanford employee claims the child as a dependent for federal income tax purposes, the Stanford parent can receive program benefits without taxation.
If someone else, including the child, provides more than 50 percent of the financial support of the child, tuition payments made on behalf of the child will be treated as taxable compensation to you.
If the child reaches the age of 24 (19 if not a full-time student) and has gross income equal to or exceeding the IRS exemptions amount, the child will not qualify as a dependent and TGP benefits will be treated as taxable compensation to you. Please consult your tax advisor if you have questions about the IRS exemptions amount.
The TGP benefit is offset by any applicable grants or scholarships your child may receive from his/her institution. Participation in TGP could also affect other financial aid benefits for your child's education. Contact the financial aid office at your child's institution for more information.
If your child will attend Stanford, our office will notify Stanford's Financial Aid Office and you after the application is processed. When registering, the student receives the maximum benefit amount per quarter toward Stanford's tuition through the process specified in the university's registration procedures.
Please consult your tax advisor. Remember, if the payments were made directly to your child's college or university and not to you, they are considered tax exempt.
If the TGP benefit is taxable, there are some additional time constraints associated with the program. Once the benefit becomes taxable, any remaining benefits must be taken in consecutive, regularly-scheduled quarters or semesters for all benefits to be available.
If time off is taken once the benefit is taxable, the consecutive quarters or semesters rule remains in effect. If the TGP benefits are not fully utilized in this timeframe, they are forfeited, even though your child may not have attained their baccalaureate degree.
Please review the full taxable benefit policy, including examples, in the TGP Guidelines.
Yes, tuition payments are non-taxable only if your child is claimed as your dependent on your federal income tax return for the year that includes the tuition payment date. The payments are made directly to the institution on behalf of your eligible child. These payments are excluded from your gross income for federal income tax purposes and are non-taxable.
If your child is not claimed as your dependent on your federal income tax return, the benefit is considered taxable compensation.
