Tuition Benefit

Full-time, benefits eligible faculty and staff members who have completed one year of continuous full-time, benefits-eligible employment. If your one-year anniversary falls after the start of any semester/quarter you or your dependent(s) cannot use the benefit until the next semester/quarter:

• Dependent children up to the age of 24 years old, spouses and legally domiciled adults (LDA's) of full-time, benefits-eligible faculty and staff members that have completed one year of continuous full-time, benefits-eligible employment
• Loyola University Medical Center employees who transfer to the Lakeside or Health Science Division campuses that have had one or more years of continuous full-time, benefits-eligible employment
• Retirees who were at least 60 years old and were full-time benefits eligible faculty or staff members with at least 10 years of employment prior to retirement. This includes their spouse and eligible dependents
• Deceased employees’ dependent children up to the 24 years old that had more than 10 years of continuous full-time, benefits eligible service with the University at the time of death

The tuition benefit can be applied to all programs except:

• Arrupe College           
• Stritch School of Medicine
• School of Law
• Executive Education programs
• Executive MBA cohort-based programs including Executive MBA
• English as Second Language Programs (ESL)
• MBA Healthcare Management
• No Limited Enrollment or Cohort Based Programs
• *Continuum Programs (non-credit, fee-based programs)
• Any program that is not conferred at Loyola University Chicago.
• *Non-Credit Certification Programs 

*Certain certificates are covered only if the program charges tuition by the credit hour, are billed through LOCUS, and follow the other aforementioned requirements. If the courses are taught by the Continuum program or are fee-based and DO NOT CHARGE TUITION, the program will not be covered by the tuition benefit. Please contact your program of interest directly before enrollment to clarify the course structure and how the course is billed. 

The application of the tuition benefit is an automated process - therefore no paper form or verification is needed by Human Resources.

• Dependents of Faculty and Staff must complete the FAFSA form if they are registering for two or more classes and make sure their dependents are listed properly in Employee Self Service. Faculty or Staff taking undergrad courses must complete FAFSA in taking two or more classes or one graduate course. Their date of birth and entire SSN are needed. If your dependent does not have a SSN please contact the benefits department directly.
  • The tuition benefit cannot be applied until you have registered for classes as the benefit is applied according to course schedules.
  • Other aid such as awards, grants, scholarships, and loans may affect the amount of tuition benefit.
• If you have previously been awarded a tuition restricted merit scholarship and/or other institutional aid (IE. Loyola Grant, Director’s Award, Heritage Award, etc.) and are then awarded the tuition benefit, the previously awarded scholarship(s)/grant(s) will become honorary and cannot be used to cover the remaining tuition, fees, room and board, or other direct or in-direct expenses.

If you or your dependent are receiving additional aid and need more information about how the tuition benefit will be applied, please contact the Financial Aid Department’s directly at lufinaid@luc.edu.

The application and acceptance process is the same for both Faculty/Staff and their dependents:

• Apply for admission.
• Gain acceptance to Loyola University Chicago and the program selected.
• Complete Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form online at https://studentaid.gov using Loyola University Chicago School Code 001710.
  • The FAFSA must be renewed by March of each calendar year for the next academic year for degree and non-degree seeking students.
  • If you take less than two courses but are degree seeking you must complete the FAFSA.
  • If the FAFSA form is unfamiliar to you please visit the website above or contact the Financial Aid office for more information 773.508.7704.
• Complete the registration process.
• Pay any fees or tuition not covered by the Tuition Benefit policy. You can check your tuition balance and associated fees using the LOCUS Student portal. Please keep in mind the tuition benefit will not be added to student accounts until after the add/drop period of the semester enrolled.
• Any delay in the completion of the FAFSA may delay the application of the tuition benefit and accounts may be subject to late fees.

• Undergraduate students: Almost all undergraduate and some certificate programs are covered under the employee tuition benefit program. Exclusions, enrollment caps or specialized application procedures will be determined by the Chief Academic Officer.
  • The Employee Tuition Benefit pays 100% of tuition for eligible employees taking undergraduate or eligible certificate courses.
  • At no time will the tuition benefit apply to more than three courses per semester (9 semester hours) or two courses per quarter (8 quarter hours).
• Graduate students: The tuition benefit pays 100% of tuition, and at no time will the graduate tuition benefit apply to more than two courses per semester (8 semester hours) or two courses per quarter (8 quarter hours).
  • The Stritch School of Medicine, The School of Law, Continuum (non-credit) courses, executive education programs, executive MBA cohort program, and any other program that is not conferred at Loyola University Chicago are ineligible for the tuition benefit. Please check with the school or college associated with each course to determine where the degree is conferred.
  • Graduate program students who need to complete undergrad courses as a prerequisite requirement for their graduate program the undergrad courses taken will fall under the limitations of the graduate program policy. *For students that choose to enroll in the J-Term please see below. 
  • The graduate tuition benefit is taxable. Federal law currently makes any graduate tuition benefit provided in excess of $5,250 in a calendar year subject to federal and state income tax, as well as socialsecurity withholdings.
    • Graduate tuition benefits received in excess of $5,250 in a calendar year is imputed as income and taxed based on current income tax tables and tax bracket.
    • Additional tax withholdings for this taxable tuition benefit will be taken from paychecks during the course of the academic term for which tuition benefits apply.
    • Programs can overlap from one quarter/semester to the next and may have an impact on your tuition benefit and taxable income.

Tuition benefits ends when the employee completes the program, when they are no longer in compliance with university academic policies or when the employee voluntarily/involuntarily terminates their employment with the University.

*For J-Term students: Please check with the program to make sure that the tuition is charged during J-Term and not the Spring Semester. If tuition for the J-Term courses are charged during the Spring Semester you will only receive the benefit for three courses per semester/nine credit hours for undergrad studies and two courses/eight quarter hours allowed for graduate studies. Any course load above policy limits will be the financial responsibility of the student enrolled. Programs are subject to change at any time so please contact your program prior to enrolling in classes. How a class is billed is determined by the bursar's office. The semester or quarter in which a class is taught and subsequently billed is determined by the department chair and the bursar's office. Any discrepancy or miscommunication in the student syllabus in regards to how and when a class is billed should be discussed with the courses department and bursar's office as it can have an impact on financial aid and tuition benefit.

An employee may enroll one adult, either a spouse or one LDA in their benefits. Dependent children, spouses/LDA’s are not eligible for the tuition benefit for graduate programs. Eligible dependents are able to receive the benefit for the Summer Scholars Program, Summer Semesters (all sessions), Fall, J-Term, Spring and approved study abroad programs. All dependents (dependent children, spouse or LDA's) require dependent verification and are subject to approval before the tuition benefit is approved and applied. No verification from Human Resources is required for participation once employee and their dependents meet eligibility requirements.  

Dependent Children
Dependent children are eligible for the benefit until the age of 24 only. If your dependent child reaches the age of 24 prior to the start of the semester they are no longer eligible to receive the tuition benefit. However, if they reach the age of 24 mid-semester they can continue to receive the benefit until the end of the semester only. Dependent children are only eligible to take undergraduate courses. Dependent children are excluded from receiving the tuition benefit for all graduate programs, certificates and courses. Dependent children can continue to receive the tuition benefit if their parents retire from the university and meet the retiree eligibility requirements.

Faculty and Staff Children Exchange Program (FACHEX)—The FACHEX program is an undergraduate tuition remission program that allows high school-age dependents eligible for tuition benefits at the “home” institution to apply for the same benefits at other participating Jesuit institutions.

The FACHEX program has its own application procedures separate from Loyola University Chicago. The application process including deadlines and qualifications can vary by university. The number of FACHEX spaces is limited at each institution and can be very competitive. As a result, there are no guarantees to employees that they will be able to utilize the FACHEX benefit at the institution of their choice. It's recommended that employees and their dependents apply for the FACHEX program of their choice by their dependent child(ren) 1st semester of their Senior year of high school. High school dependents of eligible retirees can participate in the FACHEX program as well.

Tuition Exchange Program
Tuition Exchange Program(TEP) is a reciprocal scholarship opportunity at over 677 member schools and is effective at the onset of the 2023-2024 academic year. Dependent children of benefits eligible full-time faculty and staff who are pursuing their first bachelor’s degree may apply for a scholarship at participating “host” schools. The Tuition Exchange Program is administered by the Financial Aid Office. Details, benefits and application procedures are available at https://www.luc.edu/finaid/fachex/.

FACHEX and TEP participants are also subject to the guidelines of the FACHEX and TEP programs in addition to the guidelines set forth by Loyola University Chicago's tuition benefit policy. For more information, please visit the Financial Aid Office FACHEX/TEP program page or contact the Financial Aid office directly at lufinaid@luc.edu.

Tuition Benefits for all eligible dependents will not be added until they have registered for courses and completed the FAFSA.   

Dependent Spouses or Legally Domiciled Adults (LDA)

The undergraduate tuition benefit is non-taxable for spouses. Faculty and Staff members are only allowed to use the undergraduate Tuition Benefit for a spouse or one LDA but not both. At no time shall the benefit be applied to more than one LDA. If you are not currently approved to carry a Spouse or LDA on your benefits the benefit will not be applied. Dependent spouses or LDA are only eligible to take undergraduate courses. Dependent spouses or LDA are excluded from receiving the tuition benefit for all graduate programs, certificates and courses. All dependent requests are subject to approval and eligibility requirements. Please note that any LDA tuition benefit received is taxable and imputed as income for the employee if the LDA is a not a tax dependent. Human Resources will add the value of the benefit to the employee's bi-weekly or monthly pay and the employee will be taxed on that amount. 

Dependent Tuition Billing, Payment, and Tax Implications

Employees and/or their dependents are responsible for a dependent tuition benefit co-pay which applies to each semester/session a dependent is enrolled. Beginning July 1, 2017 the co-pay will be 10% of the full tuition cost. The co-pay is due every semester for which the dependent is enrolled. For summer semesters each session will have separate co-pay. All fees, deposits and co-pays should be paid through the bursar's office. If you have questions about how to pay the various fees, co-pays or non-tuition related charges please contact the bursar's office directly 773.508.7705.  

Faculty and Staff covering a Legally Domiciled Adult for the Tuition Benefit is subject to imputed income if they are not a legal tax dependent. The value of the tuition benefit will be added to the Faculty and Staff members earnings per semester enrolled and taxed on this amount. Spouses and dependent children under 24 tuition is non-taxable. 

Retiree Tuition Benefit

For retiree eligibility please see our policy. 

For Tuition Benefit related questions please contact Benefits@luc.edu.

4.23.2024

Retirees (or their dependents) must meet the eligibility requirements noted in our policy prior to their enrollment and application of the benefit. Spouses and dependents of active or deceased retirees must send email to benefits@luc.edu and lufinaid@luc.edu prior to their enrollment and every semester thereafter if they wish to receive the benefit.

Questions about the timing of when your award will post or the amount of the award you receive may be sent to the financial Aid Department, lufinaid@luc.edu.

Questions about faculty/staff eligibility or general questions regarding the Tuition Benefit program may be sent the Benefits team, benefits@luc.edu. 

Edited: 7/28/2016, 3/7/17, 11/08/18, 7/17/2019, 1.6.2023, 4/17/23, 8/12/24