Tuition Waivers for Employees,
Spouses of Employees and
Dependents
of Employees
Overview
The University extends the employment benefit of a tuition waiver as established through
Board Policy 440.1.
The administration of this employee benefit at the Fayetteville campus is defined in
Fayetteville Policies and Procedures 512.0.
The
Employee Tuition Waiver Chart
provides a Definition of Terms regarding eligibility and details regarding waivers for Employees and Spouse or Dependents
effective May 1, 2017, and exceptions to the current policy per
UA Systemwide Policies and Procedures 445.1.
IMPORTANT:
As of Fall 2020, we have implemented an acceptance deadline for all employee and spouse/dependent waivers. They are as follows:
- Fall Term: October 15
- Spring Term: March 15
- Summer Term: July 31
Waiver forms for a term will not be accepted past that term's due date.
For employees taking classes during the Fall and Summer terms, registration will begin in April; for the Spring term, registration will begin in November.
If an exception to the registration period is required for your degree program, please contact your college representative.
Tuition Waiver requests are now in Workday!
If you are a full-time employee, you may be eligible for employee and dependent/spouse tuition waivers. Please consult Board Policy 440.1, UA Systemwide Policies and Procedures 445.1, and Fayetteville Policies and Procedures 512.0 for eligibility requirements
Note that any waiver submitted for Fall 2025 will need to be resubmitted using this process. Tuition Waiver requests must be submitted for each term and approved before the waiver will be applied.
To access the request form, search Create Request and select Employee Tuition Waiver or Dependent/Spouse Tuition Waiver as the request type, based on which is appropriate. Have your Workday Employee ID ready and class schedule prepared to upload when prompted.
If requesting the waiver for a spouse or dependent, they will need to be listed as dependents on your employee profile in Workday before the form can be submitted.
For more details and step-by-step instructions on requesting a tuition waiver, quick reference guides are now available through Workday Learning:
Payroll deduction is available for Fayetteville Campus employees to pay the remaining balance after the discount is applied. Please refer to the Payroll Deduction page for more information.
UA Fayetteville campus Retiree/Emeritus employees MUST use this Employee Waiver paper form and submit it to hrbenf@uark.edu. The Retiree/Emeritus employee form requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Spouses/Dependents of UA Fayetteville campus Retiree/Emeritus employees MUST also use this Dependent Tuition Waiver paper form for requesting the spouse/dependent waiver and submit it to hrbenf@uark.edu. The Retiree/Emeritus dependent form requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Additional Employee Information
The University of Arkansas Staff Senate provides a scholarship to at least one full-time University of Arkansas staff member wishing to attend classes to assist in employee development through higher education. Employees wishing to take classes are encouraged to visit the Staff Senate website for additional information regarding this scholarship. The scholarship application is available on-line from their website. This scholarship is not available for spouses/dependents and is granted based on funds available to the program.
As mandated by federal law, the university may be required to withhold or report applicable taxes on the value of educational benefits. NOTE: Graduate employee waivers will not post for the spring term until January of the year the term begins to limit amount of taxable benefit for that calendar year.
Additional Spouse/Dependent Information
Documentation of Spouse Eligibility
Benefits enrollment records for university insurance benefits with spouse coverage (health, dental or vision) will be reviewed to verify lawful spouse status. If lawful spouse status cannot be verified through the university’s benefits records, you will be asked to submit documentation in Workday (usually a copy of your marriage license).
Documentation of Dependent Student Eligibility
Benefits enrollment records for university insurance benefits with spouse coverage (health, dental or vision) will be reviewed to verify lawful spouse status. If lawful spouse status cannot be verified through the university’s benefits records, you will be asked to submit documentation in Workday.
In accordance with Board Policy 440.1, your dependent must be a dependent student as defined by the Internal Revenue Service. There are many rules surrounding the IRS definition of a dependent student. Please check the IRS regulations to make sure your dependent qualifies. While not an exhaustive list, a few of the main qualifications that many overlook are:
- The dependent student must be able to be claimed on the tax return.
- The dependent student cannot attain the age of 24 during the calendar year. A permanently and totally disabled child is eligible regardless of age
- • The dependent student must be enrolled full-time (in at least 12 hours) during some part of any 5 calendar months of the year. The 5 calendar months do not have to be consecutive. Full-time High School attendance in the spring (January – May) makes a new freshman eligible for the fall waiver. It is important to understand that DROPPING CLASSES CAN RESULT IN RETRACTION OF THE WAIVER.