Staff Fee FAQ

Oregon Public Universities employees appointed at half time (.5 FTE) or more (not including temporary employees, graduate assistants, and other student employees) may register for courses.

The reduced tuition benefit may be transferred to eligible family members including a spouse or domestic partner and their qualifying dependents. Employees and family members may register for a maximum of twelve (12) credit hours per term. Course enrollments must be approved by an employee’s supervisor or manager and may not take precedence over the performance of an employee’s duties.

Yes. The expected number of enrollments by staff and eligible family members each term requires a cutoff date to adequately complete processing. The deadline for staff members to submit Staff Fee Approval Forms is two days prior to the start of classes.

Yes. Your department or supervisor must approve your use of Staff Fee Privileges to ensure that your department and job duties will not be affected by the number of credit hours you request.

The staff fee rate is 30% of resident undergraduate tuition. Semester rates, where applicable, are calculated on adjusted term rates, rounded to the nearest dollar. At campuses where an undergraduate differential tuition structure is in effect, the staff fee rate will be assessed at the “regular” (not differential) resident undergraduate tuition rate for both undergraduate and graduate students. Additional information about staff fee rates is located in the current academic year fee book.

To provide the highest value for Staff Fee Privileges, graduate level courses are offset by the staff rate first, before the staff fee rate is applied to undergraduate courses.

Yes. There are certain programs / classes that are excluded. For a comprehensive list of classes /programs not eligible for the reduced tuition benefit, please go to the Exclude Programs by Campus listing.

You are still responsible for the income tax liability on the difference between the reduced tuition benefit received and the full-cost of tuition. The university will send you a letter requesting a tax payment if you have:

• Exceeded the IRS annual limit of $5,250.00 for taking graduate courses
• Transferred the staff fee to family members taking graduate courses
• Transferred the staff fee to domestic partners and/or dependents of domestic partners who take either undergraduate or graduate courses.

Retirees are not taxed on tuition reductions when taking for-credit undergraduate courses or graduate courses taken to complete an undergraduate degree. Retirees are taxed on tuition reductions associated with for-credit graduate courses if the aggregate reduction for the class course work in a calendar year exceeds $5,250.

Staff Fee Privileges are transferable to eligible dependents of the employee, spouse, or domestic partner as defined in Internal Revenue Code Section 152. IRC Section 152 describes two types of dependents, a “qualifying child” and “qualifying relative.”

• Qualifying child criteria: 23 years or younger; student; not disabled; lived w/parent (guardian) at least 6 months of the year; or financially supported by parent (guardian) and is a dependent for tax purposes.
• Qualifying relative criteria: 24 years or older; student; not disabled; lived w/parent (guardian) at least 6 months of the year; or financially supported by parent (guardian) and is a dependent for tax purposes.

The Internal Revenue Service Code Section 152 generally defines a dependent child, or “qualifying child,” as a son, stepson, daughter, or stepdaughter of the taxpayer (employee, spouse or domestic partner). Additionally, the criteria for “qualifying relative” applies to a child over age 23, as well as a dependent brother, sister, niece or nephew of the employee, spouse or domestic partner so long as they meet the IRS conditions for tax purposes as listed above.

Please consult an Oregon tax professional if you have any questions regarding whether or not your dependent meets the IRS qualifications. Note: A disabled “qualifying child” or “qualifying relative” who is a dependent for tax purposes of the employee, spouse or domestic partner, at any age, is eligible to receive the staff fee benefit.

A qualified family member may take up to twelve (12) credit hours per term at the staff instructional fee (tuition) rate. At Eastern Oregon University, Portland State University, Southern Oregon University and Western Oregon University; the family member staff fee rate is 30% of regular (not differential) resident undergraduate tuition for both undergraduate and graduate students.

Instruction rates vary by teaching institution and should be confirmed with the institution where classes will be taken. Note: There is no tuition plateau available to family members using the staff fee rate. 

You must certify that your family member is eligible on the Staff Fees Approval Form. For example, with regard to a spouse, you certify that you are legally married; for a domestic partner, you complete and submit an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership with the Approval Form or obtain a “Certificate of Domestic Partnership.” For a dependent child, you certify that the child or qualifying relative is your dependent, or the dependent of your spouse or domestic partner, for tax purposes. Note: You may be required to submit a copy of your last year’s tax return if asked to do so by the campus where you’re employed.

Yes. If your dependent child meets the enrollment requirements of the university where classes are taken,
he or she may use the reduced tuition up to the maximum of 12 credit hours per term.

No. Staff fee benefits may not be subdivided among family members during a term.

Yes. You will need to complete a new approval form each term or semester and may change the qualified recipient each term or semester.

Your family member may use your staff fee privilege at any of the Oregon Public universities with the exception of Oregon Health Sciences University. You may also pick up an Approval Form at your campus Human Resources office.

No. An employee or transferee may use the staff fee privileges only once per academic term or semester, limited to twelve (12) academic credits per term.

Yes. The value of the reduced tuition is considered a resource available to the family member and is added into the calculations for determining the total financial aid package. It may affect the type of award or amount of award given. Contact the campus financial aid office for more information.

Yes. Staff fee privileges reduce only tuition amounts for family members. Except for courses taken on audit status, all applicable student fees are charged to eligible family members using the transferred benefit.

Yes. Generally, on-line courses are treated the same as other classes. How a class is delivered is not a question that determines whether specific classes are included or excluded within a given program. However, certain Distance Education classes as well as other classes excluded from the reduced tuition benefit.

No. There are no fees assessed to audit a course. See information on fees applicable to family member who is auditing for-credit courses in section 1(8), above.

Staff fee rates for up to 12 credit hours per term are based on resident undergraduate rates for eligible, non-resident family members. A non-resident qualified family member or same-sex domestic partner enrolled for more than twelve (12) credits per term or semester pays the campus non-resident rates for credits in excess of the allowable credit hours.

No. You do not need department or supervisor approval to transfer staff fee privileges.

Yes. Although you and your spouse are legally separated, your spouse is still eligible to receive the reduced tuition benefit. Please note that when you, as the employee, sign the family transfer approval form and submit it to your campus Human Resources Department each term, the benefit cannot be revoked after the first day of classes.

The dollar value of the tuition reduction is reported to your employing university, and taxes are withheld based on this “imputed income.” You do not see the tuition reduction as an increase in your paycheck; the tax withholding for the value of the benefit is all that is shown. State and federal income taxes, plus Social Security withholding, is taken on the value of the benefit for both undergraduate and graduate tuition for your domestic partner and dependents of domestic partners.

Same-sex domestic partners who take undergraduate classes are not subject to Oregon income tax on the imputed value of the benefit.

The employing institution will provide the amount of the imputed income withheld on the employee’s W-2 form. The employee is advised to seek tax advice regarding how to claim the associated Oregon income reduction.