Tuition Policy

Policy Statement

Graduate tuition remission may be charged to research awards at Harvard as a non-overhead-bearing direct cost. Tuition remission is the payment of tuition expense as a part of compensation to students performing necessary work on federal research. Unlike salaries and wages, tuition remission must be excluded from the application of indirect costs. Students who receive salary or wages for work which benefits research awards are paid through payroll using a salary object code, usually 6140, “Students in Professional Positions”. Tuition remission and fees will be recorded as “graduate tuition and fees” in object code 6430 “Graduate Tuition + Fee Grants.”

For tuition remission charged to research awards, (not training grants), the percentage of tuition remission allocated to each research award should not, in most circumstances, exceed the percentage of effort on each research award as a percentage of effort on all research awards. This practice aligns the two payment types and allows for effort reporting in the ecrt system.

If a student is receiving tuition remission on a federal research award but is not paid salary or wages for their work on that research award, then a manual effort certification is required for the tuition remission.

If a student is receiving a stipend from any source (not salary or wages) and is also receiving tuition remission on a federal research award for their work on that research award, then a manual effort certification is required for the tuition remission.

If a student receiving tuition remission is paid salary or wages for work on research awards, but the tuition remission allocation percentage to an award exceeds the allocation percentage of salary and wages for work on that research award as a percentage of all work on research awards, then a manual certification is required for tuition remission. See Tuition Distribution 3 below.

Reason for Policy

All compensation charged to federal research awards, whether it is paid as salaries and wages or as tuition remission, is subject to effort reporting. 

Who Must Comply

All individuals involved with the administration and conduct of federally sponsored award activities, including central and departmental sponsored project administrators, principal investigators, and other research personnel must comply with this policy.

Adherence to this policy is required for all effort related to federally sponsored awards.

Examples

Facts used in example: A student receives $9,600 in salaries and wages (S&W) from two research awards and a non-sponsored source.The student receives $10,000 in tuition remission. 

 

All Salary Sources

 

Award A

$4,800

50%

Award B

$2,400

25%

Teaching

$2,400

25%

 

$9,600

100%

Tuition Distribution 1:

Tuition follows S&W on the research awards AND teaching. Ecrt statements may be certified in the system.

 

All Salary Sources

 

Tuition – All Salary Sources

 

Award A

$4,800

50%

$5,000

50%

Award B

$2,400

25%

$2,500

25%

Teaching

$2,400

25%

$2,500

25%

 

$9,600

100%

$10,000

100%

Tuition Distribution 2:

Tuition follows S&W on research awards only. Ecrt statements may be certified in the system since the percentage of tuition remission allocated to each research award does not exceed the percentage of effort on each research award as a percentage of effort on all research awards.   

 

All Salary Sources

 

Research Salary Only

 

Tuition – Research Salary Only

 

Award A

$4,800

50%

$4,800

67%

$6,667

67%

Award B

$2,400

25%

$2,400

33%

$3,333

33%

Teaching

$2,400

25%

$0

0%

$0

0%

 

$9,600

100%

$7,200

100%

$10,000

100%

Tuition Distribution 3:

Tuition remission is charged to sources other than those used for S&W. Effort must be adjusted and certified manually on each ecrt statement where the student appears.

 

All Salary Sources

 

Tuition Remission

 

Adjusted Effort

 

Award A

$4,800

50%

$1,000

10%

$5,800

29.5%

Award B

$2,400

25%

$0

0%

$2,400

12.3%

Award C

 

 

$4,000

40%

$4,000

20.4%

Dept Fund

 

 

$2,500

25%

$2,500

12.8%

Teaching

$2,400

25%

$2,500

25%

$4,900

25.0%

 

$9,600

100%

$10,000

100%

$19,600

100%

Revison History

  • December 2014 – updated references to the Uniform Guidance
  • March 2023 – updated to reflect compensation practices for unionized graduate students

Related Resources/Appendices