In 2015, we sent our youngest to college and soon thereafter I published a book on how to pay for college. One of the chapters focused on working at a college or university that offered tuition benefits for your family members. This is a great option for a parent looking for a job and who would like help paying for college for their children.
Tuition Benefits for College Employees
These benefits could be something called tuition remission, meaning tuition was free at the school where you worked. Or the school might offer employees tuition reimbursement or one of a handful of other programs that, basically, help employees send their children to college. Some even offer this benefit for your spouse.
The notion here is that by choosing to work in higher education, you might be able to send your children to school for free. Interestingly, you don’t need to be a professor or even a college president to enjoy these benefits. At most institutions, it is something available to all full-time employees. At some Maine colleges, even part-time employees could qualify for tuition benefits.
After reading a post on a community Facebook group about the University of New England’s tuition benefits for employees — 100% tuition waiver for dependent children available after one year of employment — I decided to do a deep dive on the differing tuition benefits that employees at colleges and universities in Maine might enjoy. Some offer tuition remission for children to attend four years at the school where a parent works. Others offer this home campus benefit plus potential tuition remission if your child attend a college in a tuition consortium through two organization:
- Tuition Exchange
- Council of Independent Colleges
Finally, since Maine shares a border with New Hampshire, I’m also working on a list of New Hampshire colleges and universities that offer similar benefits and which are within commuting distance of Maine.
Tuition Exchange
Tuition Exchange, an organization based in Maryland, runs a reciprocal scholarship opportunity for eligible faculty and staff dependents at 700+ individual member schools in the United States. There are currently 8,000 Tuition Exchange Scholars enrolled in undergraduate and graduate degree programs throughout our network. Some dependent children are able to go to college tuition free through the Tuition Exchange program.
Currently, there are three schools in Maine that are listed on the Tuition Exchange website as participating:
- Maine College of Art and Design
- Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
- University of New England
Council of Independent Colleges
The program at the Council of Independent Colleges is also called a tuition exchange but it is not the same as the organization with that name. CIC’s Tuition Exchange Program (CIC–TEP) is a network of CIC member colleges and universities that are willing to accept students as tuition-free. Each participating institution in the network agrees to import a limited number of students on the same admission basis as they accept all other students, without regard to the number of students it exports.
Currently, there are four Maine colleges that offer CIC-TEP benefits to their employees. They are:
- Husson University
- Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
- Thomas College
- University of New England
Maine Colleges and Universities with Tuition Benefits
Below you’ll find an alphabetical list of the Maine colleges and universities with some sort of tuition benefits for their employees. Many offer tuition remission for employee’s children right on campus. Others participate in the aforementioned tuition exchange programs. If that’s an option, I’ve included it here. Finally, note that these benefits are for tuition — emphasis added. These benefits typically do not cover housing, meal plans or books, supplies and fees.
Bates College
At Bates College in Lewiston, they offer tuition assistance, which is exactly what it sounds like — help or assistance in paying your child’s college tuition. I grabbed the information below from the benefits page for Bates College employees:
- Tuition assistance is provided to Bates College employees who have worked at the school on a full-time basis for at least five years.
- Assistance comes in the form of 10 percent of the cost of attending Bates.
- This benefit covers the equivalent of four continuous years of study at a college or university that grants Bachelor’s degrees.
Honestly, it was hard to decipher exactly how this tuition benefit worked so if you’re applying for a job at Bates, I would ask for clarity on this benefit.
Bowdoin College
At Bowdoin College in Brunswick, those who have completed seven year of full-time employment are eligible for a scholarship benefit that they can apply to their child’s tuition at an accredited, four-year college or university. Currently, that set amount is $8,000 a year for up to eight semesters — or four years — of undergraduate study.
Colby College
Full-time employees will have to work at Colby College in Waterville for six years before the dependent tuition benefits kick in. And these tuition benefits are a subsidy to help parents and guardians pay for college — at Colby or another college. In other words, Colby will reimburse parents up to $33,334 per year or $16,667 per semester for tuition only. This is the 2024-2025 rate.
Acording to the tuition benefits page on the Colby College website, “Tuition benefits paid on behalf of any one eligible child may not exceed the equivalent of two semesters, three trimesters, or three quarters in a fiscal year. Benefits are payable up to four academic years for a maximum of eight semesters or twelve quarters to any one dependent and are intended for undergraduate instruction only at any regionally accredited institution.”
Unfortunately, Colby doesn’t define which schools qualify as a “regionally accredited institution.” Also, the college offers a 529 program for parents to invest in to help pay for college.
Husson University
You need only work for Husson University in Bangor for 90 days before tuition benefits kick in. Husson’s website describes these employee benefits in two different buckets.
- Tuition Exemption (Full-Time and Part-Time Staff/Faculty):
After the introductory period of 90 days of employment, employees are eligible for a generous tuition waiver benefit for themselves. An additional tuition waiver benefit is available for spouses and eligible dependents of full-time employees. - Tuition Exchange Program (Full-Time Staff/Faculty):
Husson University participates in the Council of Independent Colleges Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP). After the introductory period of 90 days of employment, full-time employees, their spouses, and their eligible dependents can apply for undergraduate tuition waivers from 440 participating institutions.
Maine College of Art and Design
Even though the Maine College of Art and Design is listed as participating in the Tuition Exchange program, I could not find tuition benefits listed for employees at this college in Portland. I’ll keep looking.
Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
Employees at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine in Standish must have worked for one year on a full-time basis for their dependents to be able to attend St. Joseph’s for free. The tuition remission program here has a few steps, though. For instance, parents must apply for financial aid via the FAFSA. Whatever money the federal government assigns — assuming this program continues with the current state of flux with the U.S. Department of Education — the College will provide tuition remission to cover the remaining amount.
Also, though the websites for the Tuition Exchange Program and Council of Independent Colleges Tuition Exchange Program (CIC–TEP) both mention Saint Joseph’s College of Maine as participating, the tuition benefits page on the College’s website does not mention either program. So if you’re considering applying for a job there and were interested in that benefit, I would definitely ask about it.
Thomas College
Even though Thomas College is mentioned as participating in the Council of Independent Colleges Tuition Exchange Program, the College’s website does not list tuition remission as an employee benefit that is easily discoverable. It does list a partnership with the City of Portland and Hannaford Supermarkets to give employees at both discounts to attend Thomas College. However, I could not find specific information about a program that helps employees at Thomas College in Waterville that helps pay for their children’s education. I’ll keep digging and if I find something more, I’ll update this section.
University of Maine System
The University of Maine includes a number of schools throughout the state, including the University of Maine campuses in Orono, Augusta, Farmington and more as well as the University of Southern Maine in Portland. Here, full-time employees have access to tuition benefits as soon as their first semester after they are hired. For dependent children, they will receive a 50 percent discount on tuition to attend any school in the University of Maine system.
The University of New England (UNE)
There are three levels of tuition benefits at UNE where a dependent child could potentially attend college without paying any tuition at all. This includes studying at UNE for free. As mentioned above, the school offers a 100% tuition waiver for dependent children to study at UNE that is available after one year of employment. Also, UNE participates in the Tuition Exchange as well as the Council of Independent Colleges Tuition Exchange Program (CIC–TEP).
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1. **Husson University** – Offers a generous tuition waiver benefit for employees after completing their introductory period (90 days), applicable for themselves and sometimes dependents ([source](https://www.husson.edu/about/human-resources/employeebenefits)).
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If you want a comprehensive list or details on eligibility and coverage, I can help gather that too!
Colleges and universities often use a variety of terms to describe employee benefits related to tuition assistance beyond just “tuition remission” or “tuition benefits.” Common alternative phrases include:
Final thoughts on tuition benefits at Maine colleges and universities
If you are interested in finding a job at a Maine college or university that offers tuition benefits for employees, keep in mind that different places describe this benefit using different terms. Here are some of the phrases I came across while researching this article:
- Tuition Waiver
- Tuition Assistance
- Tuition Discount
- Tuition Subsidy
- Educational Assistance Program
- Employee Tuition Program
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Tuition Exchange
- Dependent Tuition Benefits
- Employee Education Benefits
- Tuition Support
- Tuition Scholarship for Employees and Dependents
These terms often reflect slightly different program structures. Using these alternate terms can help when searching or inquiring about such benefits at different institutions.
Some of these colleges offer free EV charging on campus.
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