Faculty Association fights for increased tuition remission; 651 students received free credits last year

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Faculty and other full-time employees at Central Michigan University receive a maximum benefit of 24 credit hours of tuition remission per year for themselves, their spouses or their dependent children.

The Faculty Association has proposed to raise the cap to 30 hours, but university officials disagree.

History Associate Professor Jennifer Green said during fact-finding the increased remission cap will serve as a recruiting tool for students and faculty.

“We think … it would encourage staff members to come knowing they could have their children go through school, also to encourage continuing their education,” Green said.

Diane Fleming, associate director of Programs and Client Services for the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, said a total of 651 students received tuition remission in the 2010-11 academic year. She said 461 of the students received tuition remission as a benefit from their parents, and 190 received it as employees.

Fleming said at least 531 students have received tuition remission for the fall 2011 semester so far, and the number is increasing as forms are still being received.

Mount Pleasant junior Andy Brockman receives tuition remission because his mother, Elizabeth Brockman, is a professor of English language and literature. However, he said the benefit did not influence his decision to attend the university.

“Growing up, I’ve always wanted to go to CMU,” he said.

The FA also proposes to offer tuition remission for the College of Medicine but to cap it at graduate doctoral credit cost. The university does not propose offering the benefit to CMED or any other professional program that may develop in the future.

According to a fact-finding document on CMU’s bargaining position, preliminary planning suggests CMED tuition “will exceed $30,000 for Michigan residents and $60,000 for nonresidents” in the 2013-14 academic year.

If the course or professional development program is not available at CMU, the FA has proposed to provide reimbursement at the CMU in-state, on-campus rate for graduate or undergraduate courses or the other institution’s rate, whichever is lower.

Other Michigan universities do not provide tuition waiver programs for professional schools, except Ferris State University, which provides the benefit for its Optometry and Pharmacy Colleges. The University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University and Oakland University do not apply tuition remission to their medical schools.

Ernest Yoder, CMED dean, said the scope of tuition remission is a university policy issue, and would not comment if reimbursement should be applicable to the medical school.

“I think the subject deserves careful study to find an approach that is optimal for both the CMU employee and the university,” Yoder said in an email.

Two other Michigan universities have credit hour caps for tuition remission, according to a CMU fact-finding document. Ferris State University has a 24-credit-hour-per-year cap similar to CMU, and Western Michigan University has a 130 credit hour cap per individual at the undergraduate level.

Many Michigan universities that do not have credit hour caps do have other limits on tuition remission. Eastern Michigan University, Michigan Technological University and Wayne State University provide 50-percent tuition remission under certain requirements, Western Michigan University provides 75-percent remission and Saginaw Valley State University provides 75-percent tuition remission for employees and 50 percent for dependents.

Northern Michigan University, Grand Valley State University and Oakland University have small limitations for tuition remission.

Michigan State University and the University of Michigan have no tuition remission applicable to faculty.