UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
Office of Research
Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines

 

Policy

Tution Payment
Effective: May 9, 1995

Under the terms of the Graduate Assistants United Collective Bargaining Agreement at the University of South Florida, graduate students who meet the following criteria are eligible for a partial tuition payment. Eligible students must:

No distinction is made between students who hold State of Florida provided assistantships and those who are funded on grants and contracts, or among in-state, out-of-state, and international students.

The tuition-waiver award to the University from the State of Florida Legislature does not meet the needs of all eligible graduate students, regardless of campus, program, or State funding allocation. To alleviate the increasing deficit in funding tuition payments for graduate students, the USF Student Financial Support Committee supported a policy that includes several potential solutions:

  1. Effective Fall Semester 1995, all Principal Investigators applying for new grants and contracts that will have eligible graduate students appointed to the grant or contract account will include in the proposal (and subsequent award) the direct-charge of tuition payments to the grant or contract. At a minimum, the costs of tuition only will be paid by all grants and contracts at the in-state fee level or out-of-state fee level, if appropriate, and at the minimum number of hours required for eligibility. Payment of out-of-state fees is highly desirable. If the grant or contract is not budgeted at the higher cost of out-of-state tuition or, if for any other reason, out-of-state rates cannot be applied, the State waiver may be applied contingent on available funds. Payments for hours above the required minimum are at the discretion of the Principal Investigator.

When dealing with granting agencies that traditionally provide the costs of tuition (e.g., the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health), Principal Investigators are required to include the full costs of in-state and out-of-state tuition in the grant or contract proposal. Units may negotiate cost-sharing to charge only a percentage of tuition costs to the grant or contract; such cost-sharing should be appropriately indicated in the contract or grant proposal and agreed to by all parties as indicated on the Division of Sponsored Research (DSR) Proposal Review and Certification form. It is important to note that federal accounting procedures require all units within the indirect cost pool to treat tuition charges to grants consistently.

  1. All students who are out-of-state United States citizens or non-Florida resident aliens should apply for Florida residency as soon as they qualify. Students will be informed of such when offered an assistantship and tuition waiver. The Graduate School will mail reminders to the departments and students to initiate the action. Lack of said action on the part of the student will jeopardize the waiver or payment of out-of-state fees.

  2. It is recognized that some research grants and some foundation awards will not permit direct tuition charges. State waiver in these cases may be applied contingent upon available funds.

  3. With assistance from DSR and the Graduate School, colleges and departments are strongly encouraged to apply for more training grants and fellowships.

  4. The Graduate School, colleges, departments, and faculty are strongly encouraged to expand efforts to help graduate students obtain competitive funding.

  5. With guidance from the Office of University Advancement and college development officers, the University is strongly encouraged to establish endowments for graduate fellowships (within the University, colleges, and departments/programs).

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