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Graduate Tuition FAQs

How will the change in tuition be communicated to the broader university community? It is important the PIs are aware for their planning but also important for folks like me to fully understand. I am hoping Graduate college and/or VPRCA have a formal communication plan so that we have similar messaging and broader understanding. An FAQ document would be very helpful.

Communication was sent out via the Provost and VPR on 12/06/2024. This was also previously communicated in an Associate Deans of Research meeting. Bethany Spurrier, Associate Director of Research Operations, will hold office hours in January 2025 to address FAQs.

HCOM is distinct in that we do not have any graduate programs currently, but our faculty are highly engaged in graduate education (serving as primary mentors or on committees in a variety of graduate programs but most notably in the TBS program). Considering this, I wonder if you could describe how this might impact HCOM. For example, how will exemptions work? Will HCOM get any allocation of TA/GA Tuition Scholarships, or will they be reliant on the graduate college or home college for the graduate program? How will reimbursements work for our college that supports graduate programming (by serving as primary mentor or committee member only) but the programs are not in our college? I appreciate that this sounds like it is in weeds and addressing money flow, but the 鈥渄evil will be in the details鈥 with this change and important to consider this especially in light of the potential changes coming with respect to IDC.

It is my understanding that the plan is for all monies recovered from student tuition to return to the generating unit.  I would read that to be the college with the grant, not the college of the student.  There will also be some expectations on these monies supporting doctoral education.  For HCOM, that could be something stacked fellowships that allow HCOM faculty to recruit students with much higher stipend offers.

I am concerned that the additional expense on external funding sources to support graduate students will mean more of our faculty will just opt to budget for a postdoctoral or technical positions (especially if HCOM gets no tuition waivers). Graduate students will become almost as expensive and usually have lower skills and less time for research. Has this been considered in a time when graduate numbers are already lower than in the past?

There is always a value proposition for Post-Doc vs. PhD student.  With a fellowship model I could envision HCOM recruiting students with offers in the $40K range for students (assuming base RA is $27K in TBS or MCB). 

In my lab and in our college, a graduate student may work on a project that might align fully with a funding source or may work partially on the funded project but also do additional work that is tangential to the grant. Will they be expected to put their whole tuition on the grant and solely work on the grant? I would think so based on at least NIH guidelines.

In general, if graduate student stipends are included in grants, the corresponding tuition should be included.  We have set thresholds that grants should fund graduate students at either the 50% or 100% level, with the corresponding 50% or 100% tuition.   For students who might work less than 50% on grants, they could be funded grad hourly.  However, grad hourly would not carry any tuition benefit for the student (they would have to pay their own tuition).

Will actively funded grants be impacted?

Unless we were to request a supplement that would also include a GA (new scope, new money) or a program is continuing at the competitive renewal stage that required submission of a new budget, current funding will not be impacted. 

Does Uniform Guidance support the blended rate?

Yes, as contemplated under : Tuition remission may be charged on an average rate basis.

Do tuition costs incur indirect costs?

Tuition is not included in the modified total direct costs base that we use to calculate indirect costs per project.  This is supported by our current Federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA).

If one uses their Research Incentive fund to provide stipend to students, will that be charged tuition or come with a tuition waiver?

This change impacts the request for and use of restricted grant funds only.

Does this rule apply to project with active transmittal form but not yet with a signed contract?

Not as long as the transmittal was submitted and approved prior to January 1, 2025