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Answers to Common Questions

Why Join Tuition Exchange?

  • Offer an attractive benefit to recruit talented faculty and staff at minimal cost to the institution, which also serves as a retention tool for top talent.
  • Provide a pipeline of applicants from other TE institutions.
  • TE Central team and platform offers program flexibility to suite the needs of your institution.
  • Export as many students as you wish! Tuition Exchange eliminated the balance sheet in 2020, so you can give all of your faculty and staff the chance to participate in the program.
  • TE Scholarships are not limited to undergraduate degrees. Offering TE scholarships at the graduate level allows you to boost your graduate enrollment with targeted outreach to faculty and staff at other schools. Graduate TE Scholarships also give your faculty and staff – and their dependents — the chance to pursue graduate degrees as an additional tuition benefit.
  • Unlike traditional tuition benefits, Tuition Exchange scholarships are an exchange of students, not dollars. That means you can offer your faculty and staff access to a wide range of degree programs without having to reappropriate institutional funds. Better yet, you can structure the program to best meet your financial goals.

Answers to Commonly Asked Questions

What is Tuition Exchange?
Tuition Exchange (TE) is the oldest and largest tuition exchange program in the U.S. This nonprofit organization facilitates scholarship exchanges among the 700+ TE member schools. Each school determines eligibility for their employees and dependents (exports) and determines the selection process for incoming scholarship recipients (imports).

What are the financial obligations to be a Tuition Exchange Member School?
New schools pay a one-time Initiation Fee ($500) and annual Membership Dues ($750). The only other additional cost is a $55 fee charged for every Export student that is enrolled by the Import school (note: some TE member schools charge an administrative fee to cover administrative costs). While there is no monetary exchange in terms of the actual scholarship dollars, TE member schools are required to offer a minimum of three (3) new Import scholarships per year (this would be in addition to any Continuing TE Scholars’ scholarships).

Who administers the Tuition Exchange Program for participating schools?
Each school has a Primary Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer (TELO) and a Secondary TELO on their campus that administers the program for the school’s faculty and staff. TELOs come from many different areas on campus, including but not limited to: Financial Aid, Human Resources, Admissions/Enrollment Management, the President’s Office, etc. TELOs are responsible for reviewing qualified TE applications-typically in conjunction with colleagues in Admissions and/or Financial Aid-and certifying eligibility for employees/dependents based on internal policy guidelines.

The TELOs that administer the program do so with the support of TE Central. Our dedicated team provides training, programming for families and TELOs and an online platform to help schools track their Export and Import applications.

Who determines which of our faculty/staff dependents/spouses are eligible for TE consideration?
As a TE member school, you have considerable automony in how you administer the program, including how you define eligibility. For example, it may be the employee, their spouse and any dependent child under 24. Schools typically post this as part of their HR benefits policy. TE Central provides sample policy templates as a guide.

Is there a requirement to balance the number of Export students with your Import students?
No. The TE Board of Directors eliminated that requirement in 2020.  Member schools are encouraged to keep their volume of Exports and Imports somewhat proportionate, recognizing that there can be considerable fluctuation from year-to-year, depending on eligibility and interest.  Schools are required to offer three new, Import scholarships per year.

What is the value of a Tuition Exchange Scholarship?
TE Member schools may choose to offer a TE scholarship that is full tuition or the annual TE set rate. The TE set rate is a standard amount that is the average of TE member school’s tuition. The TE set rate is adjusted annually by The Tuition Exchange Board of Directors (historically, it has increased $1,000/year). For the 2024-25 academic year, the set rate is $42,000; for 2025-26, the set rate is $43,000. The TE Scholarship amount may include/be offset by any federal grants, state grants, institutional scholarships/grants or outside scholarships the student is awarded.

Is there a minimum waiting period for an employee or their dependent(s) to be eligible for the Tuition Exchange benefit?
That is up to you as a member school. For some schools, eligibility begins the first day of employment; others set various waiting periods (one year, two years, three years, etc.).  Many schools require an active, current, full-time employment status.

Is Tuition Exchange available at the graduate level?
Yes! There are a growing number of member schools that offer Tuition Exchange Scholarships at the master’s and even doctoral levels.  Schools may limit TE Scholarship eligibility to specific graduate or professional programs so be sure to check school profiles for those details.

What Application year does the student select when applying for TE?

The student should select the application year that reflects the first academic year they are seeking to receive Tuition Exchange. Example: A high school senior graduating in June 2025, that is seeking a TE Scholarship for the first time for the 2025-2026 academic year (fall 2025/spring 2026) would complete a 2025-2026 TE EZ-Application.