History of the Tuition Exchange

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

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, more than 7,800 students currently attend colleges and universities across the United States and abroad on Tuition Exchange scholarships. Those awards represent $328 million in funding, putting higher education within reach for students who might otherwise not be able to pursue their dreams.