Tuition Benefit for Employee, Dependent Children, and Spouses

Benefits eligible employees and the spouses and dependent children of active employees are eligible for tuition benefits subject to the terms and conditions below. Read this policy in its entirety in order to gain a full understanding of its benefits.

Employee: 

At the time the tuition benefit is made, the employee must meet the definition of full-time for benefits purposes. Should the eligible employee lose eligibility for the benefit for any reason including a reduction in teaching units, retirement, layoff, involuntary termination, resignation or any other reason for loss of eligibility, the tuition benefit ends as of the last day of the class that began before eligibility ended. Under rare circumstances, the President of the University in conjunction with the Cabinet may allow tuition benefits to continue for a specific period of time after eligibility is no longer in effect, however, the tuition paid, will be taxable to the recipient.

Spouse: 

At the time the tuition benefit is made, the recipient must be the legal spouse of an employee who meets the definition of full-time for benefits purposes. Bethel accepts the definition of spouse as used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Should a formerly eligible spouse cease to be the spouse under law, the tuition benefit ends as of the last day of the class that began before the end of the spousal relationship. No additional tuition benefit is available.

Dependent Child: 

At the time the tuition benefit is made, the recipient must be the legal dependent child of an employee who meets the definition of full time for benefits purposes. Bethel accepts the definition of dependent child as used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as defined below:

1. Has a specified relationship to you that includes a natural or adopted son, stepson, daughter, step-daughter, or foster child. Married students, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, etc. do not qualify as dependent children; and
2. Has the same principal residence as you for more than half of the year. (Note that a college student living in a dorm or apartment still meets this criterion.); and
3. Has not reached age 19 as of the close of the calendar year, or age 24 for a full-time student. (Note that if the child is permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year, the age requirement does not apply.); and
4. Has not provided more than half of his or her own support during the year.
5. When a formerly eligible dependent ceases to be eligible, the tuition benefit ends as of the last day of the class that began before the end of the eligibility. No additional tuition benefit is available.

Tuition Benefit Eligibility Criteria

Employees, and their eligible spouses and dependent children, who achieve eligibility on or before November 1 for fall semester, on or before March 1 for spring semester, or on or before July 1 for summer semester will receive the full tuition benefit for that term. Years of full-time service at a comparable institution of higher education immediately prior to employment at Bethel are added to service at Bethel.

Loss of Tuition Benefit Eligibility

Tuition eligibility is lost upon termination of employment for any reason. You, your spouse and/or any previously eligible dependents lose eligibility for the tuition benefit immediately as of your last day of active employment, however, the tuition waiver will apply through the end of the semester during which you worked your last active day.

Tuition Benefit Terms and Conditions

Employees:

Employees are allowed to enroll in one course per term when the course is offered during the employee's normal work schedule if permission is granted by their supervisor and the Office of People and Culture upon written request. If approved, the work will be made up by adjusting the employee's work schedule, or it may be counted as vacation or personal time until all paid time is exhausted, and then as leave without pay. If a class falls during working hours, this class is not considered work time and is unpaid.

Additional coursework, beyond the one course per term scheduled during work hours, may be taken outside normal working hours.

Employees taking courses in the College of Arts and Sciences must maintain a status of part time student, taking less than 12 credits per term.

There is no cap on the maximum number of tuition benefit credits allowed so long as it does not impair the employee’s ability to perform his or her job.

It is expected that all coursework for class assignments be completed outside of the employee's normal work schedule.

In compliance with Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code, up to $5,250 per calendar year of graduate level tuition benefit is tax-free. This tax free tuition benefit is for graduate level courses only at Bethel and only for the benefit of active employees, not spouses or dependent children. The value of the tuition benefit in excess of $5,250 will be added to the employee's compensation and will be reported to the government for income tax purposes, unless the student is employed by Bethel doing research or teaching, which may qualify for income tax exemption.

Students are admitted into a course or program on a space-available basis. If a course or program becomes oversubscribed, preference will be given to paying students.

Retired Employees:

Employees who have retired from Bethel are not eligible for tuition benefits.

Spouses:

Before tuition benefit is granted to spouses, they are required to complete a form indicating whether their employer reimburses for tuition, and if so, the maximum amount of tuition reimbursement. Bethel will then grant tuition benefit for the net amount.

• There is no cap on the maximum number of tuition benefit credits allowed.
• In compliance with Internal Revenue Code, tuition grants for graduate education for spouses are taxable. The value of the tuition benefit will be added to the employee's compensation and will be reported to the government for income tax purposes, unless the student is employed by Bethel doing research or teaching, which may qualify for additional income tax exemption.

Students are admitted into a course or program on a space-available basis. If a course or program becomes oversubscribed, preference will be given to paying students.

Dependent Children:

Dependent child tuition benefit will be limited to completion of the child’s first bachelor degree program (according to the Registrar), or nine semesters, whichever comes first at Bethel or any other institution.

• If a student has less than full time status, the benefit is extended proportionately. The terms need not be consecutive.
• The tuition policy recognizes all credits attempted, regardless of final disposition.
• Dependent children are eligible to utilize tuition benefit for undergraduate coursework only.
• The tuition benefit is added as a supplement to the student’s normal financial aid package so that the total gift aid offered to students equals the “percent of tuition covered by tuition benefit.” The receipt of private scholarships may cause the total of all grants and scholarships to exceed the “percent of tuition covered by tuition benefit.” When appropriate, the tuition benefit will be reduced so the sum of grants and scholarships and tuition benefit from all sources will not exceed the cost of tuition and room and board paid to Bethel. Contact the Office of Financial Aid for details.

The tuition benefit may be utilized through a tuition exchange program sponsored in conjunction with participating members of the Christian College Consortium, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, or The Tuition Exchange Program. Contact the Provost's Office for further details.

Excluded Programs:

Some programs are excluded from tuition benefit coverage. Currently these programs include:

• M.S. in Physician Assistant
• M.S. in Nurse-Midwifery
• M.S. in Medical Sciences
• M.A. in Counseling
• Post-Baccalaureate Nursing
• BUILD
• Play Therapy Certificate

Other Items:

• Cost of private instruction (for example, music lessons), tuition for non credit special programs and workshops, laboratory fees, thesis or dissertation extension fees, travel fees, activity fees, and other special fees are not covered by tuition benefit.
• Students are not eligible to receive Bethel-sponsored performance scholarships.
• Overload courses are covered by tuition benefits.
• Students whose financial aid is terminated due to not demonstrating Satisfactory Academic Progress can continue to receive tuition benefits.
• Summer school courses are eligible for tuition benefit, but are subject to the same guidelines and limitations as courses held during the school year.

How to Use Tuition Benefit

Tuition Benefit is not applied automatically to employees enrolled in classes at Bethel. Specific steps must be followed so all offices can process the benefit for you. In order to avoid interest charges on your Bethel account and to ensure that any taxable tuition benefit is applied in a timely fashion to your W-2, please be sure to follow these steps. Note that these same steps should be followed when a course is being audited.

1. Through the applicable admissions office, apply to be a student at Bethel according to published admissions standards and deadlines. You must be an admitted student to be eligible to apply for tuition benefits.
2. Once accepted into the school, register for the desired classes or program.
3. Complete any required paperwork with the Office of Financial Aid for all eligible financial aid grants, including state and federal programs, and/or assistance prior to receiving this tuition benefit. In some cases, outside aid must be applied for to help subsidize the cost of the tuition benefit for the institution. All students eligible for the tuition benefit who fail to submit their FAFSA information and consequently miss the deadline for the Minnesota State Grant will be responsible to pay the amount Bethel would have received from the state. Tuition benefit will not cover that cost.
4. Complete the tuition benefit application form through the Office of Financial Aid at least two weeks before the term starts. Employees who submit tuition benefit applications late, and are subsequently billed and accrue interest on the amount assumed due, will be required to pay the interest charges on the billed tuition.

Contact the Office of Financial Aid if you have questions regarding this benefit.

Taxes for Graduate-Level Tuition Benefit

For employee and spouse graduate-level tuition benefit, in addition to reporting the graduate-level tuition benefit as taxable income for federal and state purposes, it must also be reported as taxable for FICA, (Social Security and Medicare). This means that Bethel must withhold these taxes directly from employee paychecks. These taxes cannot be paid as part of personal income tax returns. The process below outlines how this will occur.

August and December Paychecks:

Any taxable tuition benefit applied to an employee’s account between January and July will be added to their August paycheck. Any taxable tuition benefit applied to an employee’s account between August and December will be added to their December paycheck.

This means that on the August and December paychecks those amounts that are taxable will be:

1. Added to an employee’s federal and state taxable wage bases. But no federal and state withholding for the tuition benefit will be deducted from the paycheck.
2. Added to an employee’s FICA taxable wage bases. FICA withholding for tuition benefit will be deducted from the paycheck. The Social Security withholding will equal 6.2% of the taxable benefit. The Medicare withholding will equal 1.45% of the taxable benefit.

A few important things to note:

• This does not affect employees who receive the tuition benefit for undergraduate-level courses, either for themselves or their children.
• Undergraduate tuition benefit is not taxable.
• Employees will be taxed on all the graduate-level tuition benefit for their spouses, but will only be taxed on any amount over $5,250 for themselves.
• It is important for employees to apply for the graduate tuition benefit in a timely way. If tuition benefit forms are turned in late, employees may see all taxes deducted from one paycheck rather than two.