Educational benefits

How to apply for grants-in-aid as an employee:

1. Complete the grants-in-aid form at the beginning of each semester. This may be done before or after enrolling as a student and registering for courses.
2. Have your immediate supervisor and your dean, director, or AVP sign your completed form.
3. Submit your completed grants-in-aid form to Human Resources as soon as possible, or by the deadlines listed on this page.
4. Human resources will pay the Cashier's Office (or reimburse you directly if you have already paid your tuition).
5. Classified employees only: At the end of the semester, Human Resources will automatically verify that you did not drop the class and that your grade met our program requirements. For any course that is dropped or a sufficient grade is not earned ("C" for undergraduate, "B" for graduate), you will be required to repay any disbursements made for that course. There is no grade or completion requirement for other eligible employee types. If you are attending an institution other than the University of Nevada, Reno, you will be required to submit a transcript to Human Resources at the end of the semester.

How to apply as a spouse, domestic partner, or financially dependent child:

1. Student or employee completes the grants-in-aid form at the beginning of each semester. This may be done before or after enrolling as a student and registering for courses.
2. Employee signs the form. (No supervisory signatures needed.)
3. Submit your completed grants-in-aid form to Human Resources as soon as possible, or by the deadlines listed on this page.
4. Human resources will pay the Cashier's Office (or reimburse the student directly if they have already paid their tuition).
5. There is no requirement for the student or employee to repay their grants-in-aid if a course is dropped or a certain grade is not earned.

Late to apply?

We strongly encourage students to apply as soon as possible to ensure eligibility and prevent late fees. Sometimes employees or eligible family members submit their applications to us a little late. If this happens, and you haven't already done so, please call Human Resources at (775) 784-6082 to verify that your paperwork has been received and get an estimated processing completion date. If it will be processed after the date that tuition is due, you can either:

• Pay your tuition by the due date and wait until your grants-in-aid are approved. In this case, payment will be disbursed directly to you instead of the Cashier's Office; or
• Visit or call the Cashier's Office at (775) 784-6915 and let them know when your grants-in-aid is expected to be processed and ask if an extension or delay on late fees is possible.

Late fees

Your account will be subject to late fees of $25.00 per day or up to $250.00 if your payment has not been made by the due date, as listed in the Academic Calendar. Grants-in-aid does not cover late fees. If you have not made any payments on your account by the due date, and your grants-in-aid has not yet been processed, your courses are subject to cancellation. If this is not desired, please communicate early and often with the Cashier's Office and Human Resources to explore your options.

• TBD, 2021 | Final date to submit grants-in-aid in order to have fees posted in time and avoid late fees.*
• TBD, 2022 | Final date grants-in-aid can be approved retroactive to the start of the semester.

*The employee is responsible for gathering required signatures and submitting their application to HR on or before the deadlines listed above. This also applies to the submittal of grants-in-aid approvals granted by HR at the University of Nevada, Reno to student recipients at other participating NSHE institutions.

General restrictions

• Students who are graduate assistants cannot apply for, nor receive, grants-in-aid as they are assisted through the graduate assistantship waiver.
• Extended Studies, 365 Learning, and Summer Session reserve the right to refuse to honor faculty/classified grants-in-aid for any academic course. Only for-credit courses may be considered for eligibility. Please check with the applicable office in advance.
• Grants-in-aid will not cover excess credit fees.

Exclusions

The following courses and programs are ineligible for grants-in-aid reimbursement:

• All remedial classes (<100 level)
• Doctorate of Philosophy in Judicial Studies (JD)
• Executive MBA Program (EMBA)
• Gerontology classes (GERO)
• Intensive English Language classes (IELC)
• Intensive English Language classes (IELC)
• Justice Management (JM)
• Master in Physician Assistant Studies (PA)
• Master of Justice (MS)
• Non-credit classes offered through Extended Studies
• Pearson online sponsored programs (PEARSON)
• Sports Management Executive Certificate

Your grants-in-aid may be subject to additional tax payments

Employees: Tuition for employees using grants-in-aid for themselves is 100% tax-exempt for undergraduate-level courses. Tuition above $5,250 for graduate-level courses is taxable.

Family: Tuition for spouses, domestic partners, and financially dependent children are 100% tax-exempt for undergraduate-level courses. 100% of tuition for graduate-level courses is taxable.

All non-exempt grants-in-aid are taxed at the supplemental tax rate of 22%. This rate is subject to change annually per the IRS. To calculate how much tax you will owe, please use the following formula: taxable eligible tuition x 0.22 = total tax payment.

See  IRS Publication 970: Tax Benefits for Education.

When will grants-in-aid tax payments be deducted from my paycheck?

NSHE Payroll Services is charged with executing tax withholdings and other payroll deductions. After the deadline to drop classes each semester, Human Resources provides information on employees who owe taxes on their grants-in-aid benefit to Payroll, and payments are scheduled as outlined below.

*To reduce the financial burden on our employees, grants-in-aid taxes are typically split into two equal payments. Should your information not be delivered and processed in time for the first of the two payments, the entire payment will be deducted on the latter of the two dates listed for that semester.

Federal tax credits

You may be eligible for additional tax credits, such as the Hope Scholarship for eligible first- or second-year undergraduates or their parents. Learn more by reading IRS publication 970.

IRS Publication 970

Supplemental support for classified employees

If you are a classified employee, you may be eligible for additional assistance for mandatory fees, required texts, kits, software and more from the Staff Employees’ Council.

Classified Staff Development Fund

Departmental support for classified employees

Departments may elect to pay for any supplies or books required for your course(s) from departmental operating funds. The department may also elect to pay for additional courses from operating funds. Speak with your supervisor to determine what level of departmental support may be available to you.