Employee Responsibility
Education benefits are extended for one semester at a time and the employee is expected to remain in service with the College throughout the semester in question. If an employee resigns, is terminated, or changes to an ineligible category during the semester, they shall be required to reimburse the College for the full or partial amount of that semester's benefit. The reimbursement shall be prorated according to the date of change in employment status.
Taxation of education benefits depends on Internal Revenue Service Guidelines.
An employee whose spouse or dependent child accepts the tuition remission benefit, accepts responsibility for payment of all other charges related to attendance at Sarah Lawrence incurred by the spouse or dependent child.
The College will not assume the cost of room and board for a student as part of the tuition remission benefit. In addition, the College will not assume the Student Activity Fee or any other fee connected with attendance at the College.
A dependent child is defined as one who receives more than one-half support from the employee and is claimed as a dependent by the employee on their tax return in each year of the tuition benefit. As proof of dependency, a copy of the "Filing Status" section of the employee's Federal Income Tax return must be attached to the tuition remission application. To prove dependency for a child of an employee and their domestic partner—where the employee may not claim the child as a dependent on the federal tax return, or for a child of the employee and their same sex spouse who may not file joint tax returns according to federal regulations, the child must be claimed as a dependent on the named domestic partner or spouse’s tax return, in each year of the tuition benefit. For same-sex married couples, to the extent that the state of residence permits joint tax returns and the claiming of the child as a dependent, a state tax return will be acceptable as proof of dependency.
Proof of a spouse's, domestic partner's or dependent child's dependency status must be provided before benefits are approved.
It is the responsibility of the employee to notify the Human Resources Office, through timely filing of an application each year, along with proof of dependency, that they will need education benefits. Retroactive payments will not be extended to employees who fail to apply for the appropriate benefits.
Maximum Benefit
The maximum undergraduate education benefit (tuition remission, cash grant, tuition exchange or a combination of the three) for any one child is eight semesters or the equivalent of 120 registered credits. The maximum graduate education benefit at Sarah Lawrence is 36 credits. For example, if your child registers for a 15 credit semester but earns only 12 credits (because of an incomplete, failure, etc.), their educational benefit "account" will nevertheless be charged for 15 credits. Once the maximum undergraduate or graduate benefit has been reached, no further benefit will be allowed to the child in question and the employee will be responsible for full payment of any tuition charges still necessary for attainment of a degree.
Tuition Benefits for children of employees are awarded to the dependent child, not the employee. Therefore, if a child has two parents employed by Sarah Lawrence College, this does not affect the educational benefit awarded to the child.
Employees, spouses and domestic partners may take 5 credits per semester or summer term only.
Application for Benefits and Enrollment
Application forms for all education benefits may be obtained from the Human Resources Office. No benefit can be granted until the appropriate form, along with proof of dependency (if applicable), has been completed and returned to the Human Resources Office with the required income tax information attached, if applicable.
Application for an employee or spouse to enroll in any undergraduate course must be made to the Director of the Center for Continuing Education. The faculty member must also approve arrangement for entrance into the class. Formal matriculation for an undergraduate degree must be done through the Center for Continuing Education and is not guaranteed. Application to enroll in any graduate course or program (employees only) must be made to the Director of Graduate Studies, matriculation for a graduate degree is not guaranteed.
An employee who plans to enroll in a course must have the approval of their Department Head to ensure that departmental coverage is adequate and to arrange a schedule for making up the time away from work. Such approval will not be unreasonably withheld.
Application by a dependent child to enroll as a matriculated student must be done through the College’s Admission Office.
Withdrawal Policy
A child who is attending Sarah Lawrence College under the tuition remission benefit will be governed by the Tuition Refund Policy as outlined in the College Catalogue. This means that their education benefit "account" will be charged in accordance with the terms and conditions of the refund policy. A child who is attending another institution under the cash grant benefit will necessarily be governed by the refund policies of that institution. Their education benefit "account" at Sarah Lawrence will be charged on a prorated basis according to the portion of the cash grant refunded by the institution to Sarah Lawrence.