Educational benefits are available to faculty, staff and their spouse/partner and dependents. Please refer to the NDSU Policy Manual regarding tuition waivers.  Forms may be obtained from the NDSU Forms page.

Faculty/Staff Tuition Waivers

Each employee is eligible for a tuition waiver for three classes per calendar year.Electronic Faculty/Staff Tuition Waiver Requestneeds to be submitted to Human Resources by the Monday two weeks prior to the start of classes each semester for which the waiver is requested.  To ensure that your waiver gets processed and routed to the appropriate entities, please have all requests submitted as soon as possible.

Spouse/Partner and Dependent Tuition Waivers

Spouses/partners and dependents of the employee are eligible for a 50 percent waiver on tuition. Electronic Spouse/Partner/Dependent Tuition Waiver Application needs to be submitted to Human Resources by the Monday two weeks prior to the start of classes each semester for which the waiver is requested.  To ensure that your waiver gets processed and routed to the appropriate entities, please have all requests submitted as soon as possible.

NDSU Policy 133 - Educational Policy (Tuition Waivers)
NDSU Policy 133.1 - Tuition Discount - Spouse/Partner and Dependents

For questions please contact the Human Resources office at (701) 231-8961 or at ndsu.tuition.waivers@ndsu.edu.

Employees of other institutions wishing to submit employee tuition waivers may submit them via email at ndsu.tuition.waivers@ndsu.edu or via fax at (701) 231-9686.

Q: What policy covers tuition waiver - spouse/partner/dependent and where can I find it?
A:NDSU Policy 133.1.

Q: What is the difference between a tuition waiver - faculty/staff and a tuition waiver - spouse/partner/dependent?
A: A tuition waiver - faculty/staff is for employees; a tuition waiver - spouse/partner/dependent is for a spouse/partner/dependent. For tuition waiver - faculty/staff information, view the Tuition Waiver - Faculty/Staff FAQ's

Q: When are the applications due to Human Resources?
A: Tuition waiver - spouse/partner/dependent must be submitted to and approved by Human Resources prior to the beginning of class. Human Resources will send out an email with the specific dates for each semester. The employee must be actively employed two weeks prior to the first day of each semester for the spouse/partner or dependent to be eligible for the waiver. 

Q: What happens if I miss the deadline for submitting a tuition waiver application?
A: If an employee fails to submit the application on time, they can submit an appeal to NDSU.tuition.waivers@ndsu.edu. Their appeal will be reviewed by a committee who will notify them of their final decision.

Q: Can my spouse/partner/dependent take a class at another North Dakota institution and receive the tuition waiver?
A: No, the tuition waiver - spouse/partner/dependent only applies to courses at NDSU.

Q: Are there age restrictions for dependents?
A: Yes, if a dependent has reached the age of 26 they will no longer qualify as a dependent.

Q: I have a “balances past due” on my account, will my tuition waiver application be processed by Human Resources?
A: The application will be held until the overdue account is paid. Once paid, the tuition waiver will be processed by Human Resources. Employees/Students must contact OneStop or Customer Account Services to resolve any disputes. 

Q:  Can an employee use the tuition waiver - spouse/partner/dependent for classes offered through the Great Plains Interactive Distance Alliance (GPIDEA) program?
A:  No, courses offered through GPIDEA are not eligible for the tuition waiver.

Q: Who do I contact if I have more questions?  
A: Contact Human Resources at (701) 231-8961.

Q: What policy covers tuition waiver - faculty/staff and where can I find it?
A: NDSU Policy 133.

Q: What is the difference between a tuition waiver - faculty/staff and a tuition waiver - spouse/partner/dependent?
A: A tuition waiver - faculty/staff is for employees; a tuition waiver - spouse/partner/dependent is for a spouse/partner/dependent. For tuition waiver - spouse/partner/dependent information, view the Tuition Waiver - Spouse/Partner/Dependent FAQ's.

Q: When is the application due to Human Resources?
A: Tuition waiver - faculty/staff must be submitted to and approved by Human Resources prior to the beginning of class. Human Resources will send out an email with the specific dates for each semester. If you submit a GTform via PeopleSoft HCM it will not be accepted and will be denied.

Q: What happens if I miss the deadline for submitting a tuition waiver?
A: If an employee fails to submit the application on time, they can submit an appeal to NDSU.tuition.waivers@ndsu.edu. Their appeal will be reviewed by a committee who will notify them of their final decision.

Q: How many classes can an employee take per year?
A: An employee can apply for a tuition waiver of up to 3 academic classes per calendar year. There is no limit to the credit hours per class.  

Q: Can an employee be released from work to attend a class?
A: Per NDSU Policy 133, an employee may be released from work for regular class sessions for one academic class per semester with approval of the employee's immediate supervisor and/or department head.  Approval is granted only if the course time does not interfere with completion of the employee’s essential job duties and the essential work of the institution.

Q: If a non-exempt employee is granted release time to attend a class using the employee tuition waiver, but the workload requires them to work a few additional hours on some weeks, how should that be handled?
A: If a non-exempt employee is allowed release time to attend a class, but on occasion based on workload, is required to put in additional hours during a work week, they should not be compensated until the release time was made up. For example, if given three hours of release time and the workload requires the employee to put in five extra hours for a specific week, the first three hours would not be compensated as the employee had not actually worked those release hours. The next two hours would be compensated at time and a half since it would put the employee over 40 hours for the week.

Q: Can an employee take more than one class per semester and still get the tuition waiver?
A: Yes, however per NDSU Policy 133, the employee can only be released from work for 1 class.  Any additional classes must be taken during non-work time, or through special arrangements with their supervisor/department head.

Q: What does the signature by Human Resources mean?
A: The signature by Human Resources means that the employee is eligible to use the tuition waiver. Supervisors and Department Heads are responsible for enforcing the policy’s absenteeism guidelines for classes.

Q: Will Human Resources enroll me in the classes I put on the tuition waiver application?
A: No, all students must enroll through normal admission/course enrollment methods.

Q: I have a “balances past due” on my account, will my tuition waiver application be processed by Human Resources?
A: The application will be held until the overdue account is paid.  Once paid, the tuition waiver will be processed by Human Resources. Employees/Students must contact One Stop or Customer Account Services to resolve any disputes. 

Q:  Can an employee use the tuition waiver - faculty/staff for classes offered through the Great Plains Interactive Distance Alliance (GPIDEA) program?
A:  No, courses offered through GPIDEA are not eligible for the tuition waiver - faculty/staff.

Q: Who do I contact if I have more questions? A: Contact the Human Resources Office at (701) 231-8961.