Terms and Conditions

Overview 
Benedictine University’s Women’s Institute for Global Leadership is pleased to offer the Employer Tuition Match (ETM) program. Designed to maximize an organization’s investment in educating women leaders, the program will match the amount of tuition assistance provided by an employer for students in the Master of Science (MS) degree in Leadership program.

Award
Approved recipients will receive a tuition discount equal to the dollar amount of tuition assistance pledged by the recipient’s employer. The program will be available to each student who meets all of the eligibility criteria; there is no limit in regard to the number of recipients. The maximum value that can be awarded to an individual student is equal to half of the then current tuition rate of each course taken. At the levels set during the 2012-2013 academic year, this would equate to $18,240 over the life of the MS degree in Leadership.

The per-course award will be calculated using the lesser of the following two methods:

• (Estimated amount of tuition assistance to be provided by the employer over the life of the program) / (Number of course sessions required to complete the program) 
• (Current tuition rate of an MS in Leadership course) x (50 percent)

If the tuition rate changes, Benedictine will automatically recalculate the per-course award and make adjustments if required. Additionally, an employer can request a recalculation of the per-course award in the following circumstances:

• The student has a change in employer tuition assistance eligibility 
• The employer’s tuition assistance policies change

The recalculation method will also be used for initial applications that are submitted after the start of the program.

In a recalculation, the per-course award will be calculated using the lesser of the following two methods:

• (Estimated amount of tuition assistance to be provided by the employer over the remaining sessions*) / (Number of remaining sessions*) 
• (Current tuition rate of an MS in Leadership course) x (50 percent)

*Note: The number of remaining sessions in the program is determined based on the student’s original schedule and assumes continual enrollment. In some cases, it may not equal the actual number of sessions a particular student will attend before completing the program.

The program award will be disbursed in the form of discounted tuition and will be applied to offset the actual cost of eligible MS in Leadership courses. Students participating in the ETM program are not eligible for other tuition discounts or Benedictine-funded scholarships. No part of the award will be provided as a cash refund or for any purpose other than tuition. The award will not be applied to past balances or dropped courses. Benedictine retains all rights to administer the ETM program at its discretion and alter the program without notice.

Eligibility
To be eligible for the ETM program, students must meet the following criteria:

 1.  Entry Period: Recipients must start and complete the first MS in Leadership course at Benedictine University during the program entry period: January 1-December, 31 2013. Students who have taken MS in Leadership courses at Benedictine prior to the entry period, regardless of modality or enrollment status, are not eligible. A course is considered to have been taken if a student was enrolled after the add/drop 100 percent refund period. Benedictine courses taken as a part of other degree programs do not disqualify a student’s eligibility.

2.  Enrollment Status: Program recipients must be accepted into the MS in Leadership program at the time the first course is taken. Students taking courses as a student-at-large are not eligible. The ETM program can be applied to the MS in Leadership program taken in the online modality.

3.  Academic Performance: ETM program recipients must remain in good academic standing with Benedictine University in order to remain eligible.

4.  Employer Eligibility: To be considered applicable tuition assistance, the employer must pay some portion of the student’s course tuition either via a direct bill relationship with Benedictine or by reimbursing the student for tuition paid. The organization can qualify students for its tuition assistance program according to its own policies and discretion, but the student must by employed, in either a full time or part time basis, by the organization in order to qualify for the ETM program.

5. Employer Commitment Verification: The student’s employer must complete the following steps:

1.  An authorized representative of the student’s employing organization, defined as someone with the authority and knowledge to speak about the details of the employer’s tuition assistance program, is required to contact Benedictine by phone at (630) 366-8894. The phone call will be used to review program details and process.

2.  Following the phone conversation, an authorized representative of the employing organization will be required to sign and submit the Employer Tuition Commitment Form. The form should be submitted via e-mail to ECassidy@ben.edu

3.  The employer is responsible for alerting Benedictine within 30 days of any change to the level of tuition assistance being provided to the student. Notifications should be sent via email to ECassidy@ben.edu

Approved students will become eligible for the ETM program in the next class session that starts following the submission of the ETM Commitment Form.

6.  Program Eligibility Duration: Eligible recipients will continue to receive ETM program benefits through the 16th class session following the start of the program. Students that do not remain continuously enrolled will not receive program benefits for courses offered following the 16th session.

Benedictine University retains all rights to administer the ETM program at its discretion and alter the program without notice.

Application and Award Process

1. Prior to a student starting the first course in the Benedictine MS in Leadership program, an authorized representative of the employing organization, defined as someone with the authority and knowledge to speak in detail about the organization’s tuition assistance program, is required to contact Benedictine by phone at (630) 366-2894. The phone call will be used to review program details and process.

2. Following the phone conversation, an authorized representative of the employing organization will be required to sign and submit the ETM Commitment Form. The form should be submitted via email to ECassidy@ben.edu

3. Benedictine will use the application form to calculate the per-course award and will apply that amount to the student’s account midway through each course.

4. The employing organization is responsible for alerting Benedictine within 30 days of any change to the level of tuition assistance being provided to the student. Benedictine may also periodically contact the employer to verify continued eligibility.