Tuition remission
These procedures are issued in accordance with Research Policy 305, Tuition Remission.
Rice University charges tuition remission on amounts paid to graduate students who provide services to the university as research assistants (RAs) or teaching assistants (TAs) as part of their enrollment at the University. Research Policy 305 applies regardless of the funding source. The charge for tuition remission is based on an average rate applied to all compensation paid to graduate RAs and TAs. The tuition remission rate is set annually and may change at the beginning of each fiscal year. The current tuition remission rate is posted on the Office of Sponsored Projects and Research Compliance (SPARC).
Coding graduate student stipend payments
Proper coding of graduate student stipend payments is based on whether the graduate student is appointed as a trainee/fellow or as a graduate RA or TA, depending on his or her assignments. Separate account codes are used on the Graduate Student Payroll Authorization form for these types of stipend payments: account code 60820 for trainee/fellow; 60850 for RA; and 60860 for TA. (Note: Graduate students who are paid hourly wages are classified as graduate student workers and payments are charged to account code 60880 on the Student Payroll Authorization form available through Esther.)
Guidelines for coding of graduate student stipend payments are available on the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies website.
Tuition remission charges: The payroll system will automatically post a tuition remission charge to the same fund and organization as the payment recorded for an RA or TA. Tuition remission costs that are not eligible expenses on sponsored funding are charged, without penalty, to the department’s A1 budget (unrestricted funds).
Tuition remission and the annual budget: The University has chosen to provide to the Deans, through the annual operating budget process, an allocation equal to a portion of the tuition remission generated -- from sponsored project, designated, gift and restricted endowment funds -- in the just completed fiscal year.
Effective fiscal year 2009, Rice includes in the year-end budget carry forward calculation an amount equal to 100% of the amount charged as tuition remission on compensation paid to graduate students from departmental unrestricted (A1 and A2 budget) funds. This amount excludes tuition remission charges that defaulted to unrestricted funds because tuition remission was not an eligible expense of the external funding source.
Questions
The following offices are available for assistance:
Correct coding of graduate student stipends. Contact the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (graduate@rice.edu) or Research and Cost Accounting (email rchacctg@rice.edu).
Posted tuition remission charges. Contact the Payroll Office (payroll@rice.edu).