Officers: Eligibility

• When are Officers Eligible?
• Which Officers are Eligible?
• Changes in Officers’ Employment Status That May Affect Eligibility

When are Officers Eligible?

Full-time Officers are eligible to receive the Tuition Exemption Benefit for the full term that begins after their hire or promotion date.

To be able to receive the Tuition Exemption Benefit, Officers must also be accepted into the school they wish to attend, for both degree and non-degree programs. Click on the “Prospective Students” link at http://www.columbia.edu/ for more information.

About Officers' Eligibility

Most full-time Officers are eligible, with varying benefits depending on their respective positions at the University.

Only a few groups of Officers are ineligible:

• Visiting Officers of Instruction or Research

• Members of the United Doctors Association (UDA) who have less than 50% Columbia effort.

For more information about what you are eligible to receive under the Tuition Exemption Benefit Program, please see "Officers: The Benefit" at left.

Changes in Officers’ Employment Status
That May Affect Eligibility

Layoff

If an Officer is laid off during a term, tuition exemption for that term will not be revoked. However, the Officer will not be granted tuition exemption for any subsequent term.

Retirement

Upon an Officer’s retirement, the Officer is eligible to receive tuition exemption only to complete a degree program begun before retirement. To retire with this benefit, an Officer must be 55 years or older and must have completed ten years of full-time service.

Leaves of Absence

Officers on any paid or unpaid leave of absence, such as short-term disability, maternity leave or long-term disability, are still considered to be full-time Officers and are eligible for the benefit.

Involuntary Termination

In general, if the Officer’s employment is terminated, discharged or released by Columbia University — other than for cause — during a term, the Tuition Exemption Benefit for that term will not be revoked. However, the Officer will not be granted tuition exemption for any subsequent term.

However, if an Officer's employment is terminated for cause, the Officer will be required to refund the remaining portion of any Tuition Exemption Benefit received for the term, based on "Refunding Your Benefit" below.

Resignation or Part-Time Appointment

If an Officer resigns or voluntarily switches from a full-time to a part-time appointment, eligibility for the Tuition Exemption Benefit as an Officer officially ends at the close of business on the last day of the Officer’s active, full-time employment.

If the Officer does not withdraw from University courses and the Tuition Exemption Benefit has already been granted, the Officer will be required to refund a portion of the benefit, based on the “Refunding The Benefit” table below.

Refunding the Benefit

PLEASE NOTE: These are estimates only; please refer to the tuition policy and calendar of your school's Registrar.