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Wesleyan's Undergraduate Dependent Tuition Scholarship Program

The Wesleyan dependent tuition scholarship is a payment toward the cost of tuition and applicable academic fees up to a maximum dollar amount equivalent to 50% of Wesleyan's tuition. 

Maximum scholarship: $29,543 for the 2020-2021 academic year.

One scholarship is available per dependent and is paid directly to the dependent’s college or university.   This allows the scholarship to be non-taxable to the employee.  Please reference IRS publication 970 for information about taxability.

Eligibility Requirements - Employees

• Beginning with the date of hire, eligible employees must have accumulated a minimum of five years of benefits-eligible service as a Wesleyan faculty member (tenured, tenure-track, retired tenured, adjunct faculty on multi-year appointments and Professor of the Practice) in a .5 FTE capacity or as an administrative staff working in a .75 FTE capacity.
• Verified prior service in a benefit eligible position at other accredited colleges and universities will count toward the five year qualifying period.  If this requirement is met during a semester, the scholarship will apply the following semester.
• The employee must be employed by Wesleyan at the time the application is made (May of each year) and the beginning of each academic term for which the scholarship is granted.  
• If both parents are Wesleyan employees, the scholarship applies to one parent.
• The dependent tuition scholarship amount is pro-rated based upon the employee’s FTE. All other program requirements must be met.
• Bargaining unit employees are should reference their contracts for plan information and eligibility requirements.

Eligibility Requirements - Dependent Children

• In order for dependent children to be eligible for the scholarship, they must be claimed as a dependent on the employee’s most recent calendar year tax return and they must meet the IRS “qualifying child” Suitable proof of dependency in connection with approval of your application may be requested.
• Dependent children of domestic partners are also eligible provided they meet qualifying child criteria for the domestic partner.  Per IRS regulations, the scholarship is taxable to the Wesleyan employee unless they meet the qualifying child criteria for the employee as well.
• The dependent child must be enrolled in a 2 or 4-year undergraduate program working toward a first undergraduate degree on a full-time basis at Wesleyan or at another accredited college or university. The maximum award is four full-time undergraduate years or 8 semesters.
• The dependent child must be under the age of 24 at the end of the tax year in which they receive the scholarship.
• Human Resources will notify the Office of Student Accounts of any dependents who will attend Wesleyan and the appropriate accounts will be credited. 

Academic Fees & Book Reimbursement

• If the student’s tuition charge is less than the Wesleyan scholarship maximum for the semester, the difference may be applied to eligible academic fees and books. The reimbursement for books has a maximum of $500 per semester.  All scholarship requests must include the Dependent Tuition Book Reimbursement Form and be uploaded to the secure drop box along with a copy of the University invoice.

 List of Eligible and Non-Eligible Fees:  

• Eligible Fees: Educational, Curriculum Support, Technology, Labs
• Non-Eligible Fees: Room and Board, Community, Fine Arts, ID Cards, Personal, Student Societies, Supplies, Development, Health Insurance, Infirmary, New Student, Parking, Student Union, Transportation, Matriculation, Activity, Orientation, Registration, Student Center, Student Service, Campus, Contingency, Athletics, General, Non-Residential, Out-of-State Charges, Late Fees
• Tuition-based scholarships and grants will be offset against the Wesleyan scholarship amount as tax law prohibits double reimbursement of eligible expenses. If written documentation from the dependent’s institution is received documenting the scholarship(s) or grant(s) can be applied to non-academic fees or room and board, they will not be offset. Loans will not be offset.

Example of Wesleyan’s Dependent Undergraduate Tuition Scholarship Program calculation of scholarship

Total scholarship maximum is $14,771.50 per semester (2020-2021 Academic Year)

Example - Amount Wesleyan pays after offsetting non-eligible fees. 

Breakout of charges and aid

Application Information

Human Resources notifies campus when applications for this benefit are available in WesPortal.  

All scholarship requests must include the Dependent Tuition Claim Form and be uploaded to the secure drop box along with a copy of the University invoice.  Please do not email forms to Human Resources or the benefits staff.  

All invoices submitted for the fall semester will be paid after July 1. Invoices must itemize all scholarships and grants along with a breakout of all fees.  If any of this information is not provided, the invoice cannot processed in a timely manner.   Please allow three weeks for processing and payment.

Taxability of Tuition Scholarship

Scholarships paid for eligible dependent children of an employee are considered non-taxable income for the employee.  Scholarships paid for dependents of a domestic partner are taxable to the Wesleyan employee in the year in which the scholarship is paid.