History of the Tuition Exchange

The Tuition Exchange was founded by a group of colleges and universities who wanted to make careers in higher education more attractive. The underlying concept originated in the tradition of remitting or reducing tuition costs for faculty dependents attending their home institution.

In 1952, 41 colleges and universities joined to create the Faculty Children’s Tuition Exchange. A year later, TIAA and the Ford Foundation for the Advancement of Education made a generous grant to support the exchange program.

On May 28, 1954, Tuition Exchange (successor to the Faculty Children’s Tuition Exchange) was incorporated.

Thanks to the vision and leadership of those early adopters, over 7,800 students receive Tuition Exchange scholarships each year as they pursue their education at our 700+ member schools.