The credit cap that has drawn much attention during the past year is not applicable to all Kent State students. Students who are eligible for the faculty/staff fee waiver are exempt from overload fees for taking 17 or 18 credit hours.

“The tuition waiver allows dependents or employees, whether they’re faculty or staff, to take classes here without paying tuition,” said Bob Springer, adviser in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

According to the Policy Register, full-time employees who are eligible to receive this benefit are those who work at least 40 hours per week.

The Policy Register also stated eligible part-time employees include those appointed to a teaching position with faculty rank in a department for at least one semester or summer session and part-time classified or unclassified administrative employees who have worked a minimum of 1,250 hours within the past 12 months.

Kristin Olafsdottir, manager of student accounts in the Bursar’s Office, said employees who are eligible to receive the faculty/staff fee waiver must go through FlashLine and request it electronically.

Kent State phased in its credit-hour overload fee last fall, which means students who took 18 or more credit hours were charged $447 per hour above the 18-hour credit cap. The limit is now 17 credit hours.

Olafsdottir said the overload fee of $447 is the per-credit-hour rate for undergraduate students.

“Anything 17 and above, you’re subject to that overload fee,” Olafsdottir said.

Students who receive the faculty/staff fee waiver do not have to pay for the 17th or 18th credit hours, Olafsdottir said, but they will pay $447 for each credit hour starting at the 19th hour.

The waiver only covers instructional and general fees, so lab fees, for instance, are not covered. Room and board is not covered either, Olafsdottir said.

Denise Zelko-Schraitle, associate vice president of university budget and financial analysis, said the faculty staff fee waiver is “part of the employee’s compensation package.” It is paid for by the operating budget of the university.

Olafsdottir said Kent State covers 100 percent of tuition and fees for qualifying faculty and staff unlike other universities that cover only a small percentage.

Contact Katie Smith at [email protected].