Purpose
To provide a tuition rebate to undergraduate students who in their first baccalaureate degree in an institution of higher education have completed their degree by attempting no more than three semester credit hours in excess of the minimum required for that undergraduate degree.
Authority
Texas Education Code, Section 54.0065
Eligible Students
To be eligible for a rebate under this program, the student must meet all of the following conditions:
- They must have enrolled for the first time in an institution of higher education in the fall of 1997 or later,
- They must be requesting a rebate for work related to a first baccalaureate degree received from a Texas public university
- They must have been a resident of Texas, and must have completed all coursework at a Texas public institution of higher
education and have been entitled to pay resident tuition at all times while pursing the degree, and
- They must have attempted NO MORE than three hours in excess of the minimum number of semester credit hours required to
complete the degree under the catalog under which they were graduated.
Coordinating Board Rule 13.93 states that if a student chooses to complete the requirements for a teaching certificate, the minimum number of credit hours required for the degree should be the minimum number of credit hours in which it is possible to satisfy the requirements of both the baccalaureate degree and the teaching certificate.
Hours attempted include transfer credits, course credit earned exclusively by examination in excess of 9 such hours, courses that are dropped after the official census date (12th class day, spring and fall, 4th class day summer term), for credit developmental courses, optional internship and cooperative education courses, and repeated courses.
Courses dropped for reasons that are determined by the institution to be totally beyond the control of the student shall not be counted.
Affected Institution
All Texas public baccalaureate granting general academic Universities.
Amount of Tuition Rebate
The amount of tuition rebate is $1,000.00 unless the total amount of undergraduate tuition paid by the student to the institution awarding the degree was less than $1,000.00 in which event the amount of tuition to be rebated is an amount equal to the amount of undergraduate tuition paid by the student to the institution.
A student who paid the institution awarding the degree an amount of undergraduate tuition less than $1,000.00 may qualify for an increase in the amount of the rebate, NOT to exceed a total rebate of $1,000.00 for any amount of undergraduate tuition the student paid to the other Texas public institutions of higher education by providing the institution awarding the degree with proof of the total amount of that tuition paid to the other institutions.
The tuition rebate shall be reduced by the amount of any outstanding undergraduate student loan, including the emergency loan, owed to or guaranteed by the State of Texas, including the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation and the Department of Education.
If a student has more than one outstanding undergraduate student loan, the institution shall apply the amount of the rebate to the loans as directed by the student.
If the student fails to provide timely instructions on the application of the amount, the institution shall apply the amount of the rebate to retire the loans with the highest interest rates first.
Tuition Rebate Process Timeline
- Notification to Students: Students who submitted a tuition rebate application by the designated deadline will receive a letter by mail indicating whether their application has been approved or denied 30-60 days post-graduation.
- Initial Review by Student Business Services: All timely applications are collected and reviewed by Student Business Services, which compiles a list of eligible applicants.
- Departmental Approval Process: The compiled list is forwarded to the respective academic departments from which students have graduated. Each department is responsible for determining the final approval or denial of the rebate requests.
- Financial Aid Review: Applications that receive departmental approval are then reviewed by Student Financial Aid to verify any outstanding student loan obligations before final processing.
Student Responsibilities
- Students desiring to qualify for this rebate are responsible for complying with all university rules and regulations related to the administration of the program.
- Students desiring to qualify for this rebate are solely responsible for enrolling in courses that will qualify them for the rebate.
- A student who has transferred from another institution of higher education is responsible for providing to the institution awarding the degree official transcripts from all institutions attended by the student.
- Students must apply for the rebate prior to receiving their baccalaureate degree on forms provided by the University. It is not necessary for the student to apply for the rebate immediately upon their registration however, the student has responsibility to adequately notify the institution prior to award of the degree.
- Students applying for this rebate must ensure that both their mailing address and My Direct Deposit information are current and accurate through Raiderlink. If the application is approved and there are no outstanding loans, the rebate amount will be disbursed directly to the student via Direct Deposit or mailed check.
Click here to complete your Tuition Rebate Application