Employee Tuition Assistance Program

All employees who register for classes are automatically screened for ETAP eligibility and are no longer required to apply to ETAP in order to receive the benefit. The following includes information on how a faculty or staff member should proceed to take advantage of the Employee Tuition Assistance Benefit.

The ETAP provides a 100-percent waiver for graduate and undergraduate education courses for up to six (6) credit hours per academic term to vested employees. Academic terms are considered fall, spring, and summer.

The program benefit covers 100 percent of most mandatory academic fees, activity/program fees, differential fees, and lab fees for up to six (6) hours per academic term; books, supplies or other non-academic fees will be the faculty or staff member’s responsibility. Faculty and staff members are also responsible for the cost of tuition over and above six (6) credit hours per semester.

The ETAP does not provide financial support for the following:

• Admissions and application fees
• Course fee’s not applied to the IROAR student bill including but not limited to, material fee’s, licensing fee’s, etc.
• Study abroad fees
• Orientation fees, e.g. $500 MBA orientation fee
• Independent study fees and applied lesson fees through Performing Arts
• Courses through the Center for Corporate Learning

To gain eligibility for the ETAP, a faculty or staff member must meet the following criteria by the last day* to register for the class for the semester in which the benefit is being applied:

• Employment status of 75 percent time (minimum 30 hours per work week) in a regular FTE, temporary grant or time-limited position,
• Employment status at Clemson University for twelve (12) consecutive months, and
• Employment status in good standing in relation to conduct and job performance. An employee who has received disciplinary action or who has received a warning notice of substandard performance or similar circumstances in the last year is not eligible to participate in the ETAP.

*To gain eligibility for the ETAP during any summer session, a faculty or staff member must meet the criteria above by the last day to register for a class as determined in the first summer session.

• Is available to eligible faculty and staff members and does not provide assistance to their dependents.
• Applies to all undergraduate and graduate courses within programs offered by Clemson University, except the Clemson Study Abroad Program.
• Does not need to include career-related courses.
• Is not subject to time restrictions, however, programs of study may require completion in a certain amount of time.

Undergraduate ETAP participants are not taxed on this benefit.

Per IRS publication 15-B, the Internal Revenue Service has ruled that the graduate tuition benefit is not excluded from the income of employees. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires the taxation of any tuition assistance, which is provided to an employee enrolled in a graduate program and in excess of the $5,250 threshold per calendar year. Further, the IRS requires the University to establish withholdings to offset any tax liability. If it becomes necessary to establish tax withholdings, the faculty or staff member will be notified by the University and can receive advice on the best way to spread out the withholdings throughout the applicable calendar year. ETAP participants can modify the pace at which they approach a graduate program to remain within the permitted $5,250/calendar year tax-free educational assistance.

Use the Employee Tuition Assistance Program calculator to estimate your taxable income, number of withholdings and withholding amounts based on your specific information.

To assist participants in their journey, Clemson University is committed to providing ongoing guidance and support. So that the University can provide you optimum support, please refer to this list below to direct your inquiries: