Willamette University

Human Resources

Tuition Remission and Exchange

Northwest Tuition Exchange Program

Lewis & Clark College

Rosslyn Nayer
Provost's Office

0615 SW Palatine Hill, Box 37
Portland, OR 97219

(503) 768-7200

Willamette University

Laura Collins

Assoc. Dir. of Financial Aid
Salem, OR 97301

(503) 370-6273

University of Puget Sound

Shannon Briggs

Director, Comp & Benefits
1500 N Warner
Tacoma, WA 98416

(253) 879-3116

As an institution of higher education, Willamette University believes in the value of education, whether for self-improvement, social advancement, or as a means for improving knowledge, skills, and abilities for success at work.  One of the many outstanding benefits afforded to full-time employees of Willamette University is our Tuition Remission and Exchange program. Tuition benefits are available to employees as well as their dependent spouse/domestic partner and dependent children. For more information on these benefits, click on the links below.

Dependent Tuition Remission/Exchange

Eligible Dependent children of Willamette Univeristy faculty and staff may receive up to eight (8) semesters of tuition remission for full-time undergraduate attendance at Willamette University.  Additionally, there are opportunities for dependent children to receive tuition exchange benefits through the national Tuition Exchange program, which includes over 600 schools, or the Northwest Exchange program. 

** Please note that important changes specific to the Northwest Exchange have occurred which will eventually lead to the end of the program.  The University has assembled a task force to make recommendations for program changes and to address the upcoming end to the Northwest Exchange program.  Currently, dependents of faculty and staff may still send their children to the University of Puget Sound and Lewis and Clark under the Northwest Exchange. 

Taxability for Graduate Tuition Remission

The Tuition Remission program for employees complies with IRS regulations that allows for up to $5,250 of non-taxable educational assistance to be provided to employees per tax year for graduate level courses.  Tuition benefits in excess of $5,250 in the tax year are accounted as a taxable benefit to employees such that they will need to pay taxes on these amounts as if they received the dollar value of the benefit in cash. Taxability FAQ

All employees who utilize this benefit are strongly encouraged to track their tuition remission benefit for the year and plan accordingly with the payroll department. Graduate tuition remission becomes taxable to the employee when the benefit is received and execeeds the $5,250 exclusion. At that point, every dollar of the graduate-level tuition remission benefit is taxable. If you are taking graduate courses throughout the year, this means that the additional income and additional taxes will always occur in the latter part of the year. Employees who are receiving this taxable benefit should plan accordingly for the decrease in net pay that will occur when the additional taxes are withheld.

Information