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Office of Human Resources

  1. CCRI
  2. Department of Institutional Equity and Human Resources
  3. Benefits
  4. Educational Assistance

Educational Assistance

General fees of institutions under the jurisdiction of the Council on Postsecondary Education (i.e. the Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and University of Rhode Island) may be waived for all full-time employees. The level of eligibility for full-time employees shall be unlimited. The waiver also applies to the employee's spouse or domestic partner (as defined by RIGL §36-12-1) and legal dependents (as defined in Internal Revenue Code §§117(d), 132(h), and 152(f)(1)) who are pursuing courses in a regular study program for credit at the baccalaureate level only at any of the three institutions in accordance with each specific contract. The waiver of fees will be limited strictly to tuition. All other fees, books, supplies, travel and other expenses must be paid by the individual.

  • In the event of an employee's death, the tuition waiver benefit shall be provided for those spouses, domestic partners and legal dependents who have been accepted or are enrolled at the time of such death and who maintain continuous enrollment.
  • If an employee is on leave without pay neither he/she nor his/her spouse, domestic partner and/or legal dependents are eligible for the waiver unless specifically approved by the institution.
  • If an active member of the Rhode Island National Guard is killed or dies while in the performance of his or her duty as a member, his/her spouse and/or legal dependents receive a tuition waiver to URI, RIC and CCRI provided that the child has entered the institution between the ages of 16 and 21 and that the aid available to the spouse and/or legal dependent(s) does not exceed more than four years. The act is retroactive to June 1, 2003. For more RI National Guard tuition waiver information visit http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText05/SenateText05/S0001.htm
  • In some cases, tuition fees waived must be reported as taxable income to the IRS. There is currently an annual $5,250 calendar year exclusion from taxable wages for graduate level course work by employees. Tuition waivers for graduate level course work from RIC and URI totaling over $5,250 will be reported to the State Payroll Office at year-end and reflected on the employee's annual W-2. No tax relief is provided for spouses and dependents receiving tuition reimbursement after they have received a baccalaureate degree. Individuals should contact their tax preparer to determine how these IRS regulations may affect their tax filings.

Tuition Waiver Policy:

  • Employees are expected to enroll in courses offered outside of normal working hours. Normal working hours are those hours other than the lunch hour and work breaks.
  • Employees must receive prior approval from their department supervisor to participate in a course offered during the employee's normal work schedule. Final approval will be contingent upon the submission of a statement by the department supervisor which verifies that the time required for class attendance will be charged either to vacation or personal leave or to an adjusted work schedule. The adjusted work schedule must indicate how the time is to be made up. This statement must be forwarded for approval to the Office of Human Resources along with the Authorization for Tuition Waiver.
  • The waiver applies to full-time employees only. An employee's spouse or domestic partner and legal dependents who are pursuing courses in a regular study program for credit at the baccalaureate level at any of the three institutions are also eligible for the waiver.
  • Tuition waivers are not applicable to non-credit courses, specialty courses, or executive MBA courses.

Submitting a Tuition Waiver Request:

  1. Log into MyCCRI and click on the 'For Employees' tab
  2. Under 'Employment Details', scroll down to 'Tuition Waiver Request' and click on this link
  3. Complete the waiver form as appropriate.
  4. If the employee is enrolling in a course during work hours, the waiver request will be sent to the department supervisor for approval prior to submitting to the Office of Human Resources. Related statements regarding work schedules will need to be completed on the Tuition Waiver request form.
    • If the course is not during work hours, the Tuition Waiver request will go directly to the Office of Human Resources (no supervisor approval is required).
    • If the employee's spouse, domestic partner and/or dependent(s) are enrolling in course(s), the request form is forwarded directly to the Office of Human Resources.
  5. The Director of Human Resources (or designee) reviews and, where appropriate, approves and submits the Tuition Waiver request form. Once the Tuition Waiver request has been approved, the employee will receive confirmation through his/her CCRI email account. The Bursar's Office at the appropriate institution (CCRI, RIC or URI) will also receive a confirmation email so the waiver can be applied to the student's account.

Click here to view the Tuition Waiver workflow process

Pursuant to the requirements of RIGL §16-97-7, the Board of Education adopted revisions to Section §4.16 of its Personnel Policies. All employees taking classes and their spouses/dependents taking classes and utilizing the tuition waiver are now required to have a FERPA release on file related specifically to each tuition waiver. A form must be completed for each student. Once the FERPA form is received by Human Resources, your waiver will be approved and forward to the appropriate Bursar's Office at CCRI, RIC or URI.

Employees who seek a tuition waiver for dependent children must complete a Dependency Affidavit. Once completed, please forward to the Office of Human Resources as soon as possible.