Tuition Grant Program: "A Profound Difference Maker"

“I had not wanted to move. I was mid-career, mid-forties, established, and could have done without the hassle of a new start-up. Two of the reasons I personally opted to come to Stanford were the chance to do something extraordinary in my field that could not be done at my home institution, AND the Stanford Tuition Grant Program.”

Jeffery Dunn, Clinical Professor of Neurology, Division Chief of Clinical Neuroimmunology, and Neurology Clerkship Director reflects on his experience making the decision to leave his role in Seattle at a non-profit specialty care center for MS, and come to Stanford.

At the time, Dunn had three teenage children at home and college planning was a primary issue for his family. In making the decision to come to Stanford, the Tuition Grant Program (TGP) was a “profound difference maker.”

A unique recruiting challenge for Stanford is that it must compete with high tech companies like Apple and Google that offer their employees stock options and competitive compensation packages. Thus, an employee benefit such as the Tuition Grant Program plays a major role in attracting the best faculty and staff to Stanford, among the 150,000 people that apply for jobs here each year.

Staffer Dolores Kincaid poses with her son Michael during his graduation from Reed College.

For many of the families who use TGP, it’s central in getting their children through college debt-free or with less debt then they would normally incur. This is especially noteworthy in today’s economy, where over 70% of college students graduate with student loan debt. Source: The Wall Street Journal.

The program pays up to half the amount of Stanford’s tuition for children of staff, faculty and retirees (who met their service requirement prior to retiring) to attend accredited institutions for up to four years.

Dolores Kincaid, registrar at the Cantor Arts Center, noted that the benefit enabled her two children to apply anywhere they wanted and choose the school that best met their needs without finances being a limiting factor.

History of the Tuition Grant Program

The Tuition Grant Program has been available at Stanford for decades. Before 1969, it covered four years of tuition at Stanford only. After 1969, the grant paid for tuition at other institutions, but only full-time employees’ children were eligible. In 2001, the program was expanded on a pro-rated basis to part-time employees who work at least half-time.

Now, Stanford’s program is among the most comprehensive among other institutions, in the amount of money awarded, the range of employees who qualify, and the variety of schools students can attend.

Dolores Kincaid and her daughter Graciela are all smiles at Graciela's graduation from Brown University.

“I think it’s very generous of Stanford to make the benefit available to all staff as broadly as it does—I have heard that in some universities it’s only offered to the faculty,” said Kincaid.

Director of HR Shared Services, Patti Smilovitz, who manages the TGP reports that the children of about 1,472 employees are receiving the grant for the current academic year.

Today, Kincaid’s son Michael is continuing his education as a graduate student at Harvard, and daughter Graciela, after graduating from Brown, now works at a tech-start up in San Francisco.

Dunn’s eldest daughter Caitlin is a UC Berkeley alum and works in tech in San Francisco. His second daughter Bronwyn is studying in Scotland and will graduate from UC Berkeley in May with a degree in Cognitive Neuroscience, and son Colin is at UC Santa Cruz studying Computer Science.

“I think it reflects very well on Stanford and the university mission here," said Dunn, "because the TGP walks the talk of placing the highest value in education; not just for immediate staff, but for their loved ones. “

More Information

For more information about the Tuition Grant Program, visit the TGP website.

Tuition & Training Programs will also hold a TGP Information Session on April 6. Register in STARS