Guide · Tuition Exchange Programs
Tuition Exchange Programs: Free or Discounted Tuition for University Employees
If a parent works at a college or university, their child may qualify for free or heavily discounted tuition at hundreds of other schools through a tuition exchange network.
Tuition exchange programs are reciprocal agreements between groups of colleges and universities. If a parent is a full-time employee at a member institution, their dependent children can apply for a tuition scholarship at other member schools. The three largest networks are The Tuition Exchange (TE) with 680+ member schools, the Council of Independent Colleges Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP) with 430+ members, and Catholic College Cooperative Tuition Exchange (CCCTE) with roughly 70 Catholic institutions. The benefit varies: TE covers full tuition at the importing school, CIC-TEP covers full tuition or a significant discount, and CCCTE covers tuition at the lower of the two schools’ rates. Eligibility typically requires the parent to have worked full-time at the home institution for at least one year, sometimes three. These are competitive scholarships, not entitlements. Each importing school sets its own acceptance criteria and caps how many exchange students it takes per year.
The three major tuition exchange networks
The Tuition Exchange (TE)
Founded in 1954, TE is the largest network with over 680 member institutions. Member schools include Georgetown, Lehigh, Villanova, Fordham, Case Western Reserve, and many mid-size private universities. The benefit is full tuition at the importing school, which can be worth $50,000 to $65,000 per year at the top private members. Each institution sets its own eligibility requirements for employees and its own import limits for incoming exchange students.
TE operates on an import/export balance system. Schools that export more students than they import accumulate credits. Schools that import more than they export carry a deficit. Schools with deficits may restrict new imports to maintain balance, which means eligibility at the home institution does not guarantee a slot at every member school. The practical acceptance rate for popular member schools (Georgetown, Villanova) can be quite competitive.
CIC Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP)
CIC-TEP covers 430+ member institutions, mostly small to mid-size private colleges. Members include Elon, Drake, Butler, Susquehanna, and DePauw. The benefit is typically full tuition, though some member schools offer a flat-rate scholarship that may not cover the entire tuition. CIC-TEP is generally less competitive than TE because many of its member schools are actively seeking enrollment.
Eligibility at CIC-TEP schools usually requires the parent to have been employed full-time for at least 12 months. Some schools extend eligibility to part-time employees who have worked at least 20 hours per week for three or more years. The student must meet the importing school’s admission standards independently. The exchange covers tuition only, not room, board, or fees.
Catholic College Cooperative Tuition Exchange (CCCTE)
CCCTE is the smallest network, with about 70 Catholic colleges and universities. Members include Marquette, Gonzaga, Loyola Chicago, Saint Louis University, and Creighton. The benefit is tuition at the lower rate of the home or importing institution. If the parent works at a school with $42,000 tuition and the student attends a school with $55,000 tuition, the exchange covers $42,000. The remaining $13,000 is the family’s responsibility (though other merit aid may apply on top).
How to find out if your employer participates
Start with your HR department, not the exchange network website. Each member institution has a designated Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer (TELO) who manages the program internally. The TELO knows how many export slots are available for the current year, what the internal selection criteria are (seniority, GPA thresholds, first- come first-served), and which schools have been accepting exchange students recently. HR can also confirm whether the benefit extends to part-time employees, adjunct faculty, or specific employee classifications.
The parent’s institution typically has a limited number of export slots per year. At a mid-size university with 1,500 employees, there might be 8 to 15 export scholarships available. Demand often exceeds supply, which means the internal selection process can be competitive even before the student applies to the importing school. Some home institutions rank applicants by seniority, others by the student’s academic profile, and others on a first-come basis. Ask the TELO how the internal allocation works at your specific school.
What tuition exchange does not cover
Tuition exchange scholarships cover tuition only. Room and board, mandatory fees, books, and personal expenses are not covered. At a school with $58,000 tuition and $18,000 in room and board, the family still owes $18,000 plus fees. The student can apply for need-based aid to cover the remaining costs, but some importing schools reduce need- based grants for tuition exchange recipients because the tuition scholarship itself is treated as outside aid. Check the importing school’s stacking policy before committing. See our displacement guide for how outside scholarships interact with institutional aid and the COA breakdown for what those non-tuition costs actually include.
Frequently asked questions
Can a student receive tuition exchange and merit aid at the same school?
It depends on the importing school’s policy. Some schools allow tuition exchange to stack with merit scholarships up to the Cost of Attendance cap. Others treat tuition exchange as a full-tuition replacement and reduce or eliminate other institutional merit. The importing school’s financial aid office is the only source for a definitive answer on this. Ask before the student applies.
Is tuition exchange available for graduate programs?
Rarely. Most tuition exchange programs are limited to undergraduate dependent children. A small number of TE member schools extend the benefit to graduate programs, but this is the exception. CIC-TEP is undergraduate only. CCCTE is undergraduate only. If graduate tuition is a concern, check whether the parent’s home institution offers a direct tuition benefit for employee dependents, which is a separate benefit from tuition exchange.
What happens if the parent leaves the home institution mid-year?
Most exchange programs require continued employment at the home institution for the scholarship to renew each year. If the parent leaves or retires, the exchange scholarship typically ends after the current semester or academic year. Some programs allow the student to finish the current year but not renew. This is one of the biggest risks of tuition exchange: the benefit is tied to employment, not to the student.
Tuition exchange is one of the most underused benefits in higher education. MeritPlaybook can identify whether your employer participates, which member schools fit the student’s profile, and how tuition exchange stacks with other aid at each target school. Start a personalized playbook, or see a real sample playbook first.