State Employee Tuition Exemption

The State Employee Tuition Exemption Program is one of the most valuable benefits offered to Washington State employees, covering up to 6 credits of qualifying coursework per quarter on a space-available basis.

The University’s Tuition Exemption Policy is governed by Chapter 28B.15.558 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) and UW Administrative Policy Statement 22.1.

All quarterly application, registration, and payment dates referenced herein are based on the Academic Calendar.

Tuition Exemption at UW Seattle

The information on this page applies to state employees enrolling and registering for courses at the UW Seattle campus only.

Tuition Exemption at Other UW Campuses

University of Washington Bothell and University of Washington Tacoma maintain their own policies and procedures regarding tuition exemption. Please review the following resources and contact their respective registration offices for more information or assistance.

• UW Bothell Tuition Exemption
• UW Tacoma Tuition Exemption

Tuition Exemption at Non-UW Campuses

The Professional Organizational Development (POD) office assists UW staff and faculty who intend to enroll at other participating colleges or universities. Additional information can be found at Tuition Exemption webpage.

Tuition Exemption Eligibility

The Office of the University Registrar cannot determine an employee’s eligibility to participate in the tuition exemption program. For UW staff and faculty with questions about if your position is eligible to participate in the tuition exemption program, please contact POD at pod@uw.edu and include your Employee ID number and quarter you wish to attend.

UW Employees

Employment Program	Eligible for Tuition Exemption	Eligibility Begins
Classified Staff (minimum 50% FTE)	Yes	Completed 6 month probationary period
Professional Staff (minimum 50% FTE)	Yes	First day of employment
Faculty (minimum 50% FTE)	Yes	First day of employment
Hourly or Temporary Staff	No	NA

Fixed duration Classified staff project appointments are not eligible for the program, nor are most hourly employees (exceptions noted above). Spouses and dependents of UW employees are not eligible.

Washington State Employees

“State of Washington employees” means persons employed half-time or more in one or more of the following employee classifications:

• Permanent employees in classified service under chapter 41.06 RCW;
• Permanent classified employees and exempt paraprofessional employees of technical colleges; and,
• Faculty, counselors, librarians, and exempt professional and administrative employees at institutions of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016
• Classified staff may receive waivers as part of teacher preparation programs (as an alternative to the current limitation to being relevant to their work assignment as defined in RCW 28B.15.558

Obtaining Student Status

The first step to being a tuition-exempt student at the University of Washington is to decide the appropriate student status and how to apply for that status. The types of student statuses at UW and their contact information are provided below. Active student status is required in order to register for courses.

Employees need only apply for student status once as long as continuous enrollment is maintained in the same status. In order to change statuses, employees will need to reapply for the appropriate status.

Types of Student Status

Tuition Exemption Forms and Instructions

The second step is to submit the correct Tuition Exemption Request form.

Forms

• UW Employees (including Harborview): Complete and submit Faculty Staff Tuition Exemption Request Form [UoW 1374]
• WA State Employees: Complete and submit Washington State Tuition Exemption Request Form [UoW 1250]

Instructions

• Quarterly registration: Students must complete and submit their respective Tuition Exemption Request Form every quarter they intend to register for courses.
• Employee and supervisor signatures are required in order to process the tuition exemption request.
• UW Employees only: The Employee Identification Number (EID) is required in order to process the request.
• Non-matriculated and undergraduate students must complete the top portion of the form only.
• Graduate, post bac, and GNM students must complete the bottom portion of the form. (Please review job related taxes FAQ.)
• Application Deadline: Completed forms must be submitted no later than two (2) weeks or ten (10) business days before the first day of the quarter.
• Late Applications: Forms submitted after the deadline date are considered late. Students may have one late submission only; after which tuition exemption forms cannot be accepted.

In Person	Email	Fax
2nd Floor Schmitz Hall	regoff@uw.edu	206-616-3222

Registering for Classes

The third step, once an employee has obtained student status and submitted a tuition exemption form, is to log into MyUW and register for courses on the appropriate eligibility date.

Tuition exempt students do not register using the Non-Matriculated (NM) or Graduate Non-Matriculated (GNM) paper registration approval or registration forms and do not require instructor signatures to register. Review the registration resources for additional information.

Registration Eligibility Dates

• All UW employees register on the 3rd day of the quarter
• All non-UW Washington state employees register on the 4th day of the quarter

Course enrollment is not permitted prior to the appropriate registration eligibility date for all courses when using a tuition exemption, this includes any additional courses even if they are not taken as tuition exempt. However, students may attend classes with instructor permission prior to the registration eligibility date.

Students registering before the assigned tuition exemption registration eligibility date will not be permitted to convert to the tuition exemption program and will be required to pay regular tuition for all registered credits. Course Adds are not accepted after the third week of the quarter.

Courses Covered by Tuition Exemption

Generally, all state-funded programs and courses 599 and below are covered with tuition exemption with the following exceptions.

Courses Not Covered by Tuition Exemption

All fee-based sections, fee-based degree programs, and certificate programs offered through the UW Professional and Continuing Education (PCE) are not covered by tuition exemption. Additional information can be found via Fee-Based programs FAQs.

Tuition exemption program does NOT cover:

• ENGL 100 through 105
• MATH 098
• All NCLIN-prefix courses
• NMETH 598, 600, 700, 800, 801
• NURS 499, 599
• All independent study, thesis, dissertation, research internships, tutorials, private lessons, or practicum courses
• All self-sustaining or fee-based courses
• Early start courses that begin and end prior to the beginning of the quarter
• UW Online or Distance Learning courses
• College of Education Matriculated degree students cannot use tuition exemption; only College of Education GNMs and NMs can use the benefit for those courses. More financial aid information from the College of Education
• Evans School of Public Policy and Governance Matriculated students cannot use tuition exemption; only Evans School GNMs and NMs can use the benefit for those courses. More financial aid information from the Evans School

Also, certain state-funded sections or programs may be excluded from the tuition exemption program on the basis of academic or fiscal considerations.

Fees

Registration & Student Fees

Students may check their UW account balance after registering for classes by logging into Log into MyUW.

• Students will be billed a $30 non-refundable registration fee and any additional tuition for credits over 6.
• Students will be billed the quarterly Student Technology Fee.
• A $25 late registration fee will be assessed if the student initially registers for the quarter on or after the eighth calendar day of that quarter.
• A $75 late registration fee will be assessed if the student initially registers for the quarter on or after the 15th calendar day of that quarter.
• A $20 fee will be charged for all registration changes made on a single day beginning the eighth calendar day of the quarter.
• Tuition and fees are typically due on the 3rd Friday of the quarter.

Frequently Asked Questions