National Tuition Exchange

The Tuition Exchange is a reciprocal scholarship program for children and other family member of faculty and staff employed at over 570 participating institutions. The Tuition Exchange, Inc., a non-profit association, serves higher education by making careers at college and universities more attractive. Members include public as well as private institutions, research and doctoral universities, liberal arts colleges and comprehensive institutions.

Each institution affiliated with TE sets its own standards for admission, determines the number of TE scholarships (MU will accept up to 10 students in the National and North Carolina Independent TE combined) to be offered and oversees the process by which eligible dependents are selected for participation. Each institution must maintain a reasonable balance between “imports” (students attending the institution as part of the TE program) and “exports” (eligible dependents enrolled at another institution as part of the TE program). Each institution has a liaison officer (LO) who monitors the number of students going out (exports) and number of students coming in (imports). The LO has the guidelines for that particular institution and applications available. The Director of Financial Aid is the LO for Methodist University. For a complete list of the schools that participate, go to www.tuitionexchange.org.

Export Policy

The following guidelines are applicable to Methodist University employees who wish to participate in the program (exports):

  • Eligible Employee: Methodist University (MU) employees must be full-time employees for six months to apply for TE. “Full-time employees” are those employees whose appointments are not temporary; whose positions are either staff or faculty. In case of restriction on the number of TE participants, length of service to MU will be considered in certifying eligibility of dependents, unless an employee received TE at MU for a dependent previously. A MU employee with less time of service applying for TE for the first time will be considered before an employee with greater time of service who has already used TE for a previous dependent. In the unlikely event of a tie, a lottery system will be used. Once a faculty or staff member has used the TE benefit, he/she may lose 8 years of service for purposes of requesting this benefit a second time, if the number of exports is an issue. No family member may have two dependents participating in the program at the same time.
  • Eligible Family Member: Dependents, pursuing a first bachelor’s degree, of full-time employees of MU are eligible. Eligible dependents shall include only those dependent children meeting the following criteria:
    1. Naturally-born or legally adopted children or step-children that have been resident with and financially dependent upon the MU employee for the federal tax filing year prior to college enrollment.
    2. Under age 25; and
    3. Financially dependent on either the employee alone or the employee and his or her spouse.
  • Regarding these criteria, ordinarily children meeting the Internal Revenue Service definition of dependency will meet the “financially dependent” requirement of the TE Program. Copies of income tax forms may be submitted to verify that the dependent child is listed as an exemption of the employee.
  • Undergraduate Education: TE Scholarships are for undergraduate education only and will not be offered for graduate study, non-degree study or a second undergraduate degree.
  • Application Process:
    1. Twelve to eighteen months before your son/daughter plans to enroll in college, contact the TE LO at MU to confirm that you (the employee) are eligible and that MU is operating without restrictions.
    2. Once your son/daughter has been officially accepted to the TE institution, it is important to contact the TE LO at that institution for their guidelines and deadlines.
    3. You must complete a TE application and return it to the Office of Financial Aid at MU. Applications are available in the Office of Financial Aid located in Stout Hall or you can download the application. It is the employee’s responsibility to complete an application for his/her dependent every academic year.
  • Maximum Scholarship: TE scholarships will not exceed a maximum of 8 semesters per eligible applicant and can be renewable each year. Current recipients have priority over new applicants. Recipients must remain in good standing (not on probation or suspension) at all times with the institutions that they are attending in order to retain the scholarships.
  • Selection Process:
    1. If the number of applicants is equal to or less than the number of TE scholarships available: Each eligible dependent will be given the opportunity to apply for a TE scholarship at TE member institutions. The receiving TE institution makes all decisions concerning how many TE scholarships it will offer and whether to accept a student based on its admissions criteria.
    2. If the number of applicants exceeds the number of TE scholarships available: Scholars will be selected based on the length of service at Methodist of the faculty or staff member. In the unlikely event of a tie, a lottery system will be used. Once a faculty or staff member has used the TE benefit, he/she will lose 8 years of service for purposes of requesting this benefit a second time, if the number of exports is an issue. No family member may have two dependents participating in the program at the same time.
  • Notification Process: The LO of the importing institution will notify the student that his or her application has been accepted or rejected by emailing/mailing completed copies of the TE Application/Certification Form to him or her and to the MU LO.
  • Student’s/Employee’s Responsibility: It is the employee’s responsibility to inform the TE Liaison Officer at MU if his/her child withdrawals or does not return to the TE college/university within an academic year and to reapply each academic year.

Continuing TE Students must remain in good standing at the institutions they are attending. If a student takes a medical withdrawal, his or her TE scholarship will remain available for the subsequent year providing that the institution he or she is attending agrees to allow the student to return on a TE Scholarship. If a student leaves school for any other reason, the TE scholarship will be forfeited.

Import Policy

The following guidelines are applicable to students who wish to attend MU as tuition exchange scholarship students (imports):

  • Undergraduate Education: TE scholarships are for tuition expenses only for students who are enrolled full time in undergraduate education at MU. Qualified applicants must be first-time, first-year freshmen, transfer students or currently enrolled students as defined by MU. Graduate students, non-degree seeking (special) students, visiting students and students seeking a second undergraduate degree will not be eligible for TE scholarships. TE scholarship funds cannot be used for summer courses.
  • Certificate of Eligibility for TE scholarship: A TE eligibility letter or on-line application from the home institution certifying a student’s eligibility for TE funds must be submitted to MU.
  • Application Deadline:
    1. Freshman and Transfer applicants – To receive primary consideration as a TE scholarship recipient, the student must be officially accepted as a degree seeking student to MU and the exporting institution must submit a TE eligibility letter by May 15.
    2. Students who are currently enrolled at MU – and become certified by a member institution, must notify the Office of Financial Aid as soon as possible in order to be considered for any TE scholarship funds that may become available.
  • Selection Process: The LO of MU will offer TE on a first come first served basis with continuing TE students having first priority.
  • Notification Process: The LO of MU will notify the student that his or her application has been accepted or rejected by emailing/mailing completed copies of the TE Application/Certification Form to him or her and to the exporting LO.
  • Maximum Scholarship: TE covers up to full-time day (12 – 18 credits) tuition for the fall/spring semesters only. TE scholarships will not exceed a maximum of 8 semesters per eligible applicant and can be renewable each year. Current recipients have priority over new applicants. Recipients must remain in good standing (not on probation or suspension) at all times with the institutions that they are attending in order to retain the scholarships.
  • Additional Scholarship Offers:
    1. TE scholarship recipients are eligible for other MU academic-based or performance-based scholarships; however, no combination of tuition exchange and MU scholarship offers may exceed the cost of tuition.
    2. TE scholarship recipients may use external scholarships to meet the cost of attendance at MU. If the total of the scholarship offers (including the TE scholarship) exceeds the cost of attendance (COA), loans, if applicable, will be reduced first. If the scholarship offer is still over the COA, then the TE amount will have to be reduced.
    3. Applicants who may be offered a full ROTC scholarship must choose whether to accept the ROTC funding or the TE scholarship.
  • Study Abroad: TE scholarship funds may not be applied to study abroad programs. TE students will be responsible for all costs associated with study abroad.

Additional Information

Continuing TE Students must remain in good standing at MU and have a minimum cumulative GPA of at least a 2.5 at the end of the academic year in order to retain the TE Scholarship.

  • If a student takes a medical withdrawal, his or her TE scholarship will remain available for the subsequent year. If not reinstated during that year, he or she will have the opportunity to reapply for the scholarship when he or she re-enrolls.
  • If a student leaves or is dismissed from MU for any reason other than a medical withdrawal, the TE scholarship will be forfeited.