Tuition Exemption Program Policy

Policy: INST732
Steward: Vice President of Instruction
Contact: kkealy@spscc.edu
Effective Date: 24 Feb 2021
Last Revised: 24 Oct 2023
Last Reviewed: 01 Jul 2022
Applies to:

PSCC students who meet all of the following criteria are eligible to participate in the Tuition Exemption: must qualify for federally supported levels of basic skills education (score below 256 on the CASAS or equivalent score on an NRS approved assessment); are a current or prior BEdA student (within 1 quarter); must select a program and have an approved education plan; are enrolled in an approved SPSCC I-BEST program or a course sequence that includes English, math, and/or CCS; will apply for federal and state financial aid when they are qualified to do so.

Purpose:

Students are not able to apply for federal financial aid for a number of reasons. It may be due to timing in regard to the FAFSA deadlines, immigration status, or other impacts on their lives. Providing this additional funding option for students will allow students to continue their education without interruption. This translates to improved retention and completion rates, because it gives students the opportunity to complete their general education requirements in their first year.
Process: Student will meet with a Transition Studies Transition Specialist to create a financial aid plan, determine which funding sources the student is eligible for, and if the student does not qualify for any financial aid funding, the student may apply for a tuition waiver.

The SPSCC Tuition Exemption program enables students who are Basic Education for Adults (BEdA) students (enrolled in BEdA courses the quarter prior to enrolling in pre-college or college-level courses at SPSCC) to have tuition waived for up to the first fifteen credits of courses if other forms of financial assistance, such as federal and state financial aid or workforce funding, are unavailable.

Definitions:

BEdA – Basic Education for Adults

CASAS - Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System; test used to place BEdA students in Transition Studies courses

I-BEST – Integrated basic education skills training