Cornell Children's Tuition Scholarship (CCTS)
Cornell University offers eligible employees a program to provide assistance in paying tuition costs for their children.
The Cornell Children's Tuition Scholarship (CCTS) program assists employees' children in reaching their higher education goals. CCTS provides the children of eligible employees a partial scholarship for study at Cornell or other accredited institutions, and is administered pursuant to the approval of the Board of Trustees as adopted on January 20, 1966, and as amended from time to time.
* The online application for the next academic year (Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring) will be available the first week of April each year. Applications will not be reviewed without the name of the school the student will attend.
Eligibility
The benefit payable will be dependent on the employee’s most recent hire date. The employee may be responsible for providing proof of prior service.
Employees:
- Regular full-time employees, ROTC staff or CURW Chaplain who work thirty-five (35) or more hours per week for a term of eight (8) or more months and have satisfied a four (4) year, full-time service requirement;
- Employees (hired after December 10, 2014), who worked at an institution of higher education immediately prior to joining Cornell in a permanent, benefits-eligible position and who worked at that institution for a period of at least four years of full-time service.
- The former employer/institution of higher education must have had a program substantially similar to CCTS;
- Employees will be credited with time served to offset the four (4) year, full time service requirement;
- Part-time employees hired prior to July 1, 1985 (eligible for a pro-rated benefit);
- Full-time or part-time employees who have previously satisfied a four (4) year, full-time service requirement. The benefit payable will be dependent on the employee’s most recent hire date. The employee may be responsible for providing proof of prior service. (Effective for applications filed for the 2009/2010 academic year and beyond);
- Employees who have accrued the four (4) year, full-time waiting period and move to a part-time position (no less than 20 hours per week or the equivalent effort.) (Effective for applications filed for the 2009/2010 academic year and beyond)
- Part-time employees who have worked part-time for at least eight years (Effective for Applications filed for the Spring 2015 academic year and beyond)
- University retirees
Children:
- Eligible children shall include: natural-born children, adopted children, stepchildren, and foster children, provided that the foster children have been living in the home of and primarily supported by the employee for at least five years prior to application for CCTS. Note: Only one employee may claim the student during any given semester.
The CCTS benefit is not available for:
- Employees of the County Cooperative Extension Associations
- Students working toward a certificate or diploma*
Student employment does not accrue eligibility toward the CCTS benefit.
* Board of Trustees Amendment, effective 12/11/2014: Students who have a medical condition that precludes the completion of a standard degree program, should be accorded the opportunity to complete a certificate or diploma that meets their needs and provides educational development in the appropriate setting. Medical documentation from an attending physician is required in order to approve the certificate or diploma.
Employment Status Change
Employment Status Change | CCTS Benefit Changes |
|---|---|
| Break-in-Service | Benefit levels will be based on the terms of the award in effect on the most recent hire date. |
| Part-time | An employee hired prior to July 1, 1985 may work at least 20 hours but less than 35 hours per week and receive a prorated tuition payment. |
| Layoff | Benefit will be continued through the term in which the layoff commences and continue for one additional academic term. |
| Resignation or Termination | Benefit will be continued through the term |
| University Leave of Absence | Benefit will be continued until the end of the term in which the leave of absence commences. |
| Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) | Benefit will be continued while on FMLA. |
| Disability | Benefit will be continued at the rate received as an active employee. |
| Retirement | Upon your retirement, your children retain eligibility for a CCTS whether or not they are receiving CCTS benefits at the time of your retirement. Note: To retire, you must be 55 years or older and must have completed ten years of credited service at the university. |
| Death | If you are CCTS eligible upon your death, your children will retain eligibility for a CCTS whether or not they are receiving CCTS benefits at that time. |
Benefit Level
Your benefit level is determined by your date of hire at the university.
Date of Hire | Service Requirement | Maximum Scholarship | Benefit Level at Cornell | Benefit Level at Other Institutions for all Hire Dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prior to July 1, 1983 | Currently eligible | 10 semesters of undergraduate study or a bachelor’s degree, whichever comes first.
A maximum of 14 semesters, including 6 semesters of graduate education at Cornell. | 100% of tuition, less administrative fees* (currently $9,980 per year) | CCTS pays 30% of the outside school’s tuition and fees. The minimum benefit amount is full tuition or $1,000 per academic year, whichever is less.
If the outside school’s tuition is greater than Cornell’s endowed tuition and fees, CCTS will pay 30% of Cornell’s endowed tuition and administrative fees.
No benefits are paid for graduate study at other institutions.
|
| July 1, 1983 - June 30, 1985 | Currently eligible | 10 semesters of undergraduate study or a bachelor’s degree, whichever comes first.
A maximum of 14 semesters, including 6 semesters of graduate education at Cornell. | 50% of tuition and administrative fees | |
| July 1, 1985 – present | 4 years of full-time service; part-time employees are not eligible** | 10 semesters of undergraduate study or a bachelor’s degree, whichever comes first Graduate study is not available. | 50% of tuition and administrative fees
|
* Administrative fee policy as established/amended by the Board of Trustees on July 12, 1972.
** Effective 12/11/2014, the Board of Trustees amended the policy to allow part-time employees who have worked for at least 8 years to be considered for eligibility for this benefit. This affects those employees who are applying for the spring 2015 semester and forward.
How to Apply
CCTS is a reimbursement program. You may therefore apply for CCTS benefits at any time by completing the following steps:
- Check to see if your student's school is accredited. Search for your school on the Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs.
- Complete one application per academic year. Select all terms your student will be attending for the academic year. Please note that the collection of the student's social security number is necessary in order to track the history of usage by the student within our database. It is never shared outside of the database.
- Online application (use with active NetID)
- Paper application (pdf) is available for retirees and those who do not have an active NetID.
- E-mail ccts@cornell.edu with any status changes (eg. the student changes schools or a change in parent information). Do not complete another application.
Application Process
For Cornell Students
Once your application has been reviewed and approved for eligibility:
- CCTS notifies Financial Aid with the award amount for the academic year to credit to the student’s account;
- You will receive notification that the award payment was made once the student is enrolled for at least six credits. No further action by the employee or the student is required for that academic year;
- Cornell students may receive benefits for summer/winter courses taken at Cornell, without prior authorization from the school or college granting the Cornell degree;
- Cornell students may also receive benefits for summer/winter courses taken at another institution. Payments to outside schools are provided at 30% of the outside school’s tuition and fees. Contact ccts@cornell.edu for the form used for courses outside of Cornell. Summer/winter credits are deducted from undergraduate semesters.
For Students Enrolled at Other Institutions
Once your application has been reviewed and approved for eligibility:
- You will receive an approval email with a blank Certification attached;
- The email instructs you to keep the attachment as you will need to download it and give it to the school for each semester in that academic year that you want CCTS to make a payment;
- You will need to complete the top portion and submit the Certification form to the school your student is attending, for completion;
- Once the school sends the completed form back to you, it is your responsibility to submit the form to the HR Services and Transitions Center, 395 Pine Tree Road, Suite 110, Ithaca, NY 14850. You can also fax it to 607-255-6873 or email: ccts@cornell.edu;
- Submit only the certification for the current term the student is attending. Certification forms for future terms will not be accepted by the HR Services and Transitions Center (i.e. do not submit both fall & spring certification forms at the same time);
- Payments for CCTS awards cannot be made until the completed Certification form is received;
- Once the payment has been approved, you will receive an email confirming the amount that will be sent to the school. As indicated in the email notice, please allow 2-4 weeks for the school to receive the award;
- CCTS is not responsible for late fees that may accrue due to the date of receipt of the CCTS payment.
Any changes to the student’s status during the year, should be emailed to ccts@cornell.edu.
Benefit Payment
- Cornell students of employees hired prior to July l, 1983 will receive an award equal to 100% tuition, less administrative fees *(currently set at $9,980 per year);
- Cornell students of employees hired on or after July 1, 1983 will receive an award equal to half of the tuition and administrative fees;
- Payments for a new academic year are made at the start of the new fiscal year (July 1). Fall payments can begin being made at that time. Spring awards are processed after Thanksgiving;
- In order for awards to be made to outside schools, a completed CCTS Certification must be submitted to Cornell's HR Services and Transitions Center;
- The CCTS award is received by schools as student aid; therefore, the award may reduce other federal aid, e.g. Pell awards, workstudy. The school may also reduce/cancel grant money based on their school policy. Families should contact the college their student is considering, to find out what the policy is for adjusting the student’s aid package with the CCTS award.
A CCTS payment is always made directly to the institution.
- When a student is attending an institution other than Cornell, the plan does not make payments until the completed CCTS Certification Form is received by the HR Services and Transition Center.
- Colleges may require a student to pay tuition and fees at the time of registration. You may want to discuss if the school will waive the portion that CCTS will provide;
- The student’s college will reimburse the student after it has received payment from Cornell if there is a credit on the student’s account.
- The CCTS plan does not provide direct reimbursement to you or the student.
- CCTS is a reimbursement plan, not a prepayment.
Please be aware that the CCTS award cannot be posted to a student's Cornell bursar account until they are enrolled for at least six credits during the fall and/or spring semesters.
You or the student must notify the institution and the HR Services and Transitions Center if a student’s attendance plans change. If the CCTS payment is made, the full term will be deducted from the total semesters of eligibility unless you or the institution reimburse the CCTS plan.
Payments can be made for courses taken prior to matriculation. We would need a letter/email from the degree granting school, confirming the semester and number of credits that they are accepting as part of the student’s degree program. The student should confirm with the prior school that they will accept a retroactive payment. Some schools do not as they have been audited and that academic year closed.
CCTS benefits will only be coordinated with other scholarships or awards that must be applied to tuition. Awards that can be used for other purposes (books, room & board, living expenses), such as the PELL Grant, will not be considered. The amount of the CCTS benefit will be reduced only if the combined payment from CCTS and the other award (TAP, Excelsior, ROTC scholarships, or scholarships awarded solely for tuition costs) exceeds the total cost of tuition and fees.
* Administrative fee policy as established/amended by the Board of Trustees on July 12, 1972.
Tax Information
Undergraduate
The CCTS benefit is generally not taxable if it covers undergraduate education; however, under the Internal Revenue Code, the child must be a natural, adopted, foster or stepchild and a dependent. For tax purposes, a child is a dependent if you provide more than half of the child's support. In short, a child can be a dependent even if he/she does not qualify as an exemption on your tax return. In the event of divorced or separated parents, if either of the parents can pass the support test, BOTH parents pass it.
If you indicate that the student is not your dependent, these additional taxes will be deducted from your paycheck during the semester in which the award is made using the withholding rate determined by your completed W4 form on file in payroll.
Retirees with a taxable value will receive a 1099 at the end of the calendar year.
All taxes will apply to the benefits paid for the children of an employee's domestic partner. State taxes will not be applied to the benefit paid for the children of the same-sex spouse who was married in NYS and can provide a marriage license (this also applies to other qualified same-sex marriages).
Visit the Department of Financial Affairs for details on taxes.
Graduate
Benefits for graduate CCTS are taxable. The CCTS award and withholding will be reflected on your annual wage and tax statement (W-2) if you are an active employee. The net value of the award will be reflected on the student's bursar account. Graduate CCTS must be completed at Cornell and only employees hired prior to July 1, 1985 are eligible to receive this CCTS benefit.
Visit the Department of Financial Affairs for details.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I complete an online application for each semester?
How does the outside school get paid by CCTS?
Do we pay the tuition that is due, or will the school waive the 30% until they receive CCTS?
How soon am I eligible?
Is there an age or marital status limit?
I have two (or more) children. Would both be eligible?
My spouse/domestic partner and I are both Cornell employees. Does this mean that our child would receive the benefit through both of us?
My parent and I are both eligible for CCTS. What type(s) of assistance can I receive?
Are benefits available for step-children?
What happens to eligibility for children upon divorce?
Legal Separation: Benefits continue.
Benefits for stepchildren will end at the end of the term in which the divorce is finalized.
Domestic Partnership: Benefits will end at the end of the term in which the partnership terminates.
Are courses taken in an Advanced Placement Program at Cornell eligible for CCTS?
What if my employment status changes?
What is the benefit for Part-Time Study?
What about summer/winter session courses?
What about study abroad?
Will CCTS be reduced by other scholarships the student receives?
What is TAP and how does it affect CCTS?
2025 Virtual Workshop Recording
Presentation Slides
Video Transcript
[Transcript auto-generated.]
00:00:00:20 - 00:00:23:19
Speaker 2
Hey. Good morning. And thank you for joining the Cornell's Children's Tuition scholarship presentation today. My name is Michelle LaFave, and I work with the benefits Services and Administration Group in central HR here at Cornell. I'm going to give you an overview today of the Cornell Children's Tuition Scholarship, which is one of the education benefits that you are afforded as a member of Cornell.
00:00:23:21 - 00:00:28:03
Speaker 2
This is a benefit for your children. So this is to help them with school tuition.
00:00:28:03 - 00:00:40:03
Speaker 2
We have a Q&A section where we'll ask you to place all your questions and we'll try to address them as we go through. But we ask that if you can wait until the end, because some of the questions you have may be answered.
00:00:40:07 - 00:01:06:05
Speaker 2
Today we're going to talk about the Cornell Children's Tuition Scholarship benefit. I'll discuss the eligibility, how you would apply for the benefit, how the payments are made to the universities for your student, how it's calculated, if there are any tax implications. They also will discuss what will happen if you have a change of employment here at Cornell. And then I'll go over some frequently asked questions that we get, about the program as time goes on.
00:01:06:05 - 00:01:34:05
Speaker 2
So the Cornell Children's Tuition Scholarship Ccts is a program that provides tuition for eligible employees, children's and is a partial scholarship benefit for study at Cornell or other accredited universities. This benefit was enacted, placed by the Board of Trustees, approved and adopted on January 20th of 1966, and there have been a few changes to the rules and how it can be administered.
00:01:34:07 - 00:02:04:17
Speaker 2
So there was an update in July of 2009, allowing part time employees to use the benefit, and also allowing those who had service at prior universities to be eligible for the benefit using that time at the prior universities. Now, also in 2014 and December of 2014, any hired staff who may have been at Cornell immediately prior were at an institution immediately prior to Cornell could use that service.
00:02:04:19 - 00:02:32:03
Speaker 2
And then also any students who may have a medical condition that precludes them from completing a standard degree. And that means an associate or bachelor's degree. They were permitted to do a certificate or diploma, and six would provide funding. One important thing to note the KTS benefit is a reimbursement program, and so we do our best to provide funding ahead of when your tuition bills are due, whether at Cornell or at another university.
00:02:32:05 - 00:02:42:01
Speaker 2
But we want you to understand that is an it is a reimbursement program, and we will do our best to provide that funding. But you may have to be reimbursed from that university.
00:02:42:01 - 00:03:04:22
Speaker 2
So let's get into how you can become eligible for the KTS benefit as an employee. The eligibility is based on your higher date, so it depends on the date you're hired here at Cornell. The service requirement is four years in a benefits eligible position. And so some people have been with Cornell for a while that may not have been in an eligible position for benefits.
00:03:04:24 - 00:03:29:14
Speaker 2
What we do is we look at your employment record and verify whether the position you were in is benefits eligible and whether you would qualify for the benefit. Now, note as noted on the other slide, if you're in a part time position, we can look at your employment and calculate the equivalent of four years. And that would get you eligibility for the benefit determining if your children are eligible.
00:03:29:16 - 00:03:57:16
Speaker 2
The child must be a natural born child, an adopted child, a stepchild, the child of a domestic partner and that domestic partner. And you should have a domestic partnership agreement on file with our H.R office. Or you can use the benefit for a foster child. And that child must be living in your home and supported by you for at least five years prior to filing the application for this benefit.
00:03:57:20 - 00:04:34:19
Speaker 2
Now, the benefit application will be on our website and the benefit period opens in April of 2025. So every academic year we open the application in April and that's for the academic year upcoming. So for instance, this academic year is a 2025, 2026 academic year which goes summer fall, winter, spring. So the application that would be submitted in April would be for any student attending in summer of 25, fall of 25, winter of 26, or spring of 26.
00:04:34:21 - 00:05:00:14
Speaker 2
With the application process, you only need to submit one application per academic year, so that again, academic year falls between summer and the spring of the academic year, and you only need to do the application online once if there are any changes. We asked that you would email us at ctfs. At Cornell, that Edu and those changes may include the child may be attending another school.
00:05:00:16 - 00:05:24:07
Speaker 2
Such changes and so we can make changes to the original application for anyone who has a student. And the parent either worked at Cornell and is retired or has, as is deceased, they can download a paper application from our website and send it in to us, and we can enter it into the system for you. But again, online applications must be submitted by current staff.
00:05:24:07 - 00:05:38:19
Speaker 2
So if you are currently applying this Cornell, please submit the online application. If you are retired or the parent who receives the benefit is deceased, then a paper application would be downloaded from our website and submitted to us as an application.
00:05:39:01 - 00:06:09:02
Speaker 2
So how are the payments made? The cash payments are made to Cornell University for students attending Cornell through the Financial Aid office. So once you submit the application, we will submit payment to the financial aid office directly. And you would not need to do anything further, as is done with those attending other institutions. If your student is attending another institution, once the application is reviewed, the online application you submitted is reviewed and approved.
00:06:09:04 - 00:06:33:16
Speaker 2
Then you will receive an email notification. This email will include instructions on next steps and an attachment of the certification form. I'm going to show you the certification form in the next slide, but note that it needs to be completed each semester the student attends, so the online application goes in only once online, but then the certification form that you will receive in your email.
00:06:33:17 - 00:06:43:14
Speaker 2
Once your application is approved, that form needs to be submitted and filled out by the school each semester so we can understand the true tuition for each semester.
00:06:43:14 - 00:06:57:18
Speaker 2
Payments are made directly to the school, so Cornell students get the payments made directly to Cornell. Any outside institutions. The payments are made from Cornell directly to the school, so we are not able to make payments to the parent or the student.
00:06:57:23 - 00:07:13:08
Speaker 2
And so it must go directly to the school if you have to make the payment before the funding is applied or sent to the school. Note that they will be sent to the school, and then you'll have to work with them in order to get it reimbursed to you or transfer it to another semester.
00:07:13:08 - 00:07:16:17
Speaker 2
We process the fall applications after July 1st.
00:07:16:17 - 00:07:28:23
Speaker 2
So if you're submitting for a next academic year, which you would be, form processing, does not start until July 1st. You can send the form in to us, but not that we wouldn't be processing it before that period.
00:07:29:00 - 00:07:30:05
Speaker 1
For the spring forms.
00:07:30:05 - 00:07:51:08
Speaker 2
We start processing after Thanksgiving. So late November, early December is when we start processing. And again, you can send those forms in, but they wouldn't be processed until that time. If you submit an application and your child is attending in the summer, we can process and start the payment so that you are not, falling behind, and we can make the payment as quickly as possible.
00:07:51:08 - 00:08:25:22
Speaker 2
So here's the form. As noted, this is a certification form that will come to anyone whose child is attending a university outside of Cornell. Whether it's a college or university, the form must be filled out each semester. And the top part, the part here in blue is filled out by you as the parent. So it's asking for your child's information, the semester they're attending during the academic year, and then your information so we can keep track of what's happening once you come complete part one, submit it to the school your child is attending and they should complete the part in yellow, which is part two.
00:08:25:24 - 00:08:49:03
Speaker 2
This is going to let us know the semester whether your child is attending full time or part time, whether it's a semester system, a trimester system, whatever, system the school is broken down by, and then the school would provide us with any tuition and fees here in the first box, and then any scholarships, funding that's received from the school or other outside entity that is tuition based only.
00:08:49:03 - 00:09:07:07
Speaker 2
So here we only need tuition based information. And that information is used to help us calculate the CTS benefit. Now note we also will need the schools information as in their address to make sure we're sending it to the correct place. And then also we need it to be certified by the school once we receive it back.
00:09:07:07 - 00:09:34:08
Speaker 2
And we're able to process, will process and send it off for payment. Please note that it's filled out every semester, and it includes any tuition and fees that the child may have for that semester, so we can only make payment on tuition and applicable fees. Those fees which are applicable include things like the matriculation fee. Maybe there's, ID card fee, facility used fee, something that applies to all students, but we are not able to make payment on room and board.
00:09:34:08 - 00:09:43:09
Speaker 2
So note that room and board does not need to be listed because we cannot count that as a part of the extent expenses, but we would make payment on tuition and fees.
00:09:43:09 - 00:09:45:21
Speaker 2
How much is payment calculated?
00:09:45:23 - 00:09:46:20
Speaker 1
If your child.
00:09:46:20 - 00:10:14:14
Speaker 2
Is attending Cornell and you were hired here by Cornell prior to July 1st of 1983, you get 100% tuition of Cornell minus the administrative fee. So those fees are administrative fees are included in tuition, but they're not paid for by KTA. So if you were hired prior to July 1st of 1983, then you were able to receive 100% tuition at Cornell minus the administrative fee.
00:10:14:16 - 00:10:37:16
Speaker 2
If you're hired after July 1st, you would receive 50% of tuition costs, and that cost would include the fee. So we would pay 50% of the tuition to either an endowed college or a state college. For your student, if your student is attending an institution outside of Cornell, we would make a 30% payment to tuition and applicable seats, as I said.
00:10:37:16 - 00:11:00:07
Speaker 2
So the fees have to be fees and apply to all students. We wouldn't be able to pay room and board. We're able to pay fees for things like course fees. If you're doing a biology or science course, there's some other course that requires a fee, but we're not able to make payments to room and board. The amount that Cornell will pay to outside schools is a maximum of 30% of Cornell's endowed tuition.
00:11:00:09 - 00:11:28:23
Speaker 2
So for this academic year, which we're currently in the 2024 2025 academic year, the maximum that can be paid for a student is 30% of Cornell's in doubt tuition, and that amount to give you an idea is $10,257. So that's the amount the maximum amount that would go to an outside school depending on the tuition. Again, the tuition is calculated based on the school's up attendance, 30% tuition and fees.
00:11:29:05 - 00:11:46:05
Speaker 2
We will take into account any tuition based fees that are listed on the form as noted above. So if the student is receiving Tap, for instance, or any other scholarships that apply to tuition only, then we would have to take those into account. When we're calculating the benefit.
00:11:46:05 - 00:11:50:05
Speaker 2
Please be aware that you can make payments to international school.
00:11:50:05 - 00:12:08:16
Speaker 2
So if your child is attending a school outside of the United States, please let us know so we can verify that we can make payment, but we can make payment to international schools. And we can also make payment if the student is doing a study abroad semester or year. No. Again, we make payments only for tuition and fees.
00:12:08:16 - 00:12:15:06
Speaker 2
We cannot cover travel. We cannot cover room and board, but we will make payments towards tuition and fees.
00:12:15:10 - 00:12:44:00
Speaker 2
So just to give you an example here of a calculation we would do when the form comes in. So we're using an example here of the school having $5,000 in tuition and fees being about $1,000 for anything. That's a mandatory fee that gives a full tuition and fee amount of $6,000. So the school here in this example has listed that there is there the student is receiving an ABC scholarship in the amount of $3,250.
00:12:44:02 - 00:13:14:08
Speaker 2
And then Tab, which is $500. Now we are under the assumption, as noted, that these fees are for tuition only and cannot be used for any other expenses. So we would take that amount into account when we're calculating the based on the $6,000, the calculation would be $1,800 and that's 30% of 6000. When we look at the outside funding that's also coming in for the student, the total of that is $3,750.
00:13:14:10 - 00:13:33:07
Speaker 2
So if we combine the seven, the $3,750 with the amount of $1,800, we would not exceed the $6,000 amount. That means Ctfs can make payment of the full $1,800.
00:13:33:13 - 00:14:03:14
Speaker 2
As an example now of the other scenario, let's say the tuition and fees are two are above the amount that would allow us to make a full payment. So here in this example again the tuition is $5,000. The fees are $1,000. Making a full tuition and fees of 6000. In this example the ABC scholarship is now $4,500. And there's also a top, contribution of $5,000 of $500.
00:14:03:14 - 00:14:32:07
Speaker 2
Excuse me. This would make a full outside funding amount of $5,000. Now, what we will do, as always, we would take 30% of the full tuition fees to school this outside of any other scholarships, which in this case would be $1,800. Again. But noting that the other funding, which is tuition based and can only be used for tuition, is going to be 5000, it shows that the full tuition amount is going to be covered by those outside funding sources.
00:14:32:07 - 00:15:00:08
Speaker 2
And so can only make a payment of $1,000. And that would be the 5000 that's going to be added as outside funding, plus the fees we would not be able to make a payment of $1,800 because it would put you over the $6,000 as the full tuition and fees. Hopefully that's a clear understanding. The information we need here for outside funding does not need to include something that can be used for room and board.
00:15:00:10 - 00:15:12:24
Speaker 2
It does not need to be, listed if it can be used for books or other types of fees. We only need information on any tuition based scholar ships that can only be used for tuition.
00:15:12:24 - 00:15:34:14
Speaker 2
So is there a tax implication? The CC tax benefit is mainly a tax free benefit. And so if your student is attending an undergraduate, doing an undergraduate degree, they will not you will not be taxed on the benefit. If your child is a dependent now, not the child has to be a pet or dependent in order for you not to be taxed.
00:15:34:16 - 00:15:56:18
Speaker 2
If the child does not receive more than 50% of funding from you or the other parent, then the benefit would be taxable to you. So we ask that you take a look, make sure your child is, attached, dependent of you or the other parent. And in that case it would not be taxed. We do ask that question when you fill out the questionnaire.
00:15:56:18 - 00:16:06:20
Speaker 2
So please be aware of it and answer the question as it comes. No. We do not, look at whether the child is claimed on your tax,
00:16:06:22 - 00:16:08:15
Speaker 1
Tax returns.
00:16:08:17 - 00:16:31:11
Speaker 2
It's we just asking that the top be independent. Of you our the other parent at at least 50%. One exception to this. So if the child you're applying for the benefits for is for domestic partners child. So you are not, the parent of the child and they're your domestic partners child meaning that child's parents and you are not married, so they are not your dependent.
00:16:31:13 - 00:16:52:07
Speaker 2
The benefit would be taxable to you. And we would tax it through payroll. So please be aware that the benefit is not taxable. If it is an undergraduate degree and the child is your dependent, if the child is not your dependent, it will become taxable. But then if the child is a child of your domestic partner, it would be taxable to you.
00:16:52:09 - 00:17:16:00
Speaker 2
If you have any further questions on that, please feel free to contact us. And if it's not clear, I'm happy to give, clarification for that. Now, the graduate level benefit is only for, a few of our population who were hired before 1985 to June 30th of 1985, and that benefit is only available at Cornell. So many of us would not, be eligible for that benefit.
00:17:16:12 - 00:17:38:02
Speaker 2
Now, if you have any employment changes here at Cornell, we're going to ask you to refer to our website. Just to be clear on whether this benefit is still available to you, you must be eligible for the benefit prior to any change in order for that benefit to continue. But again, please refer to our website to make sure that you are able to use the benefit.
00:17:38:02 - 00:17:41:18
Speaker 2
If you have an employee appointment change here with Cornell.
00:17:41:18 - 00:18:01:15
Speaker 2
I'm going to go over some of our top questions that we usually get. And I'm sure that you may have other questions. That may not be listed here. So if you are able to please, put them in the Q&A and we will answer them. So how soon on my eligible for the benefit if you are hired?
00:18:01:17 - 00:18:03:07
Speaker 1
Between June.
00:18:03:07 - 00:18:31:19
Speaker 2
30th, 1985 and now, you're eligible, you must be with the university, have service in a full time benefits eligible position for at least four years, or have a part time benefits eligible position for the equivalent, which is about eight years. So if you do have part time employment, please feel free to send us an email and we will be able to help you determine whether you are eligible or when your eligibility starts.
00:18:31:21 - 00:18:53:17
Speaker 2
Is there an age limit or a marital status exception? There is not. So your child can be of any age when you're applying for this benefit, of any marital status, it does not matter, but the benefit is taxable. If your child is not your dependent as noted, or if your child is independent of your your dependent, I'm sorry, your domestic partner.
00:18:53:19 - 00:19:14:10
Speaker 2
So there is no age limit. The child can be of any age, but there may be tax implications if they are not your dependents. I have two or more children. Would both be eligible for the benefit? The answer is yes. So as long as you can, you can have any number of children. You can have a twin, you can have a triplet Ccts can make payment for those children.
00:19:14:12 - 00:19:18:24
Speaker 2
As long as they're attending university and earning an associate's or a bachelor's degree.
00:19:18:24 - 00:19:39:04
Speaker 2
Next question. My spouse or domestic partner and I are both Cornell employees. Does this mean that our child would receive the benefits for both of us? Unfortunately not. The benefit can only be used by one parent. So if you are both eligible, either of you can use it, but only one parent can file for one child each year.
00:19:39:06 - 00:20:05:05
Speaker 2
And if one parent, for instance, was hired prior to 1983 and your child is attending Cornell, then you may be able to use that parent's benefit to get 100% rather than the other parents. But again, it would be, 30% at any outside school, regardless of when you were hired here at Cornell. How can I determine which institutions educational institutions are eligible for Ccts?
00:20:05:06 - 00:20:34:00
Speaker 2
So this presentation, as I said, will be on our website. Available. And here are the links that you can like. The link you can click on to find out if the school is eligible to use an accreditation based website to determine if it's eligible. If there's any confusion, you can feel free to contact us at SCT at Cornell Edu, and we'll answer that question and verify that the school your child is attending, whether it's in the United States or outside of the United States, is eligible for the Ccts benefit.
00:20:35:07 - 00:21:01:24
Speaker 2
Excuse me, what is the benefit for part time study? So what we need in order to make a payment, the child needs to be doing and enrolled in at least six credits for the fall and the spring semester. But they can have part time enrollment or any number of credits in the summer and winter. So one of the requirements is we can only make payment during the spring semester, and the fall semester is if the child is taking at least six credits.
00:21:02:01 - 00:21:07:21
Speaker 2
This is not the case for, the winter and summer semesters.
00:21:07:21 - 00:21:27:20
Speaker 2
The next question are there deadlines for the CAS application? So the answer is no, there are not. You can submit the application after the child has attended a semester or a year. But note that the funding will still be sent to the school which the child has attended, and that payment would then be reimbursed by the school to you.
00:21:27:20 - 00:21:53:18
Speaker 2
So if you're sending applications in and completed forms after the semester or academic year has ended, please note that you'll have to make sure that the child, that the school can get that payment and return it to you. And that goes into our next question. Can six payments be made retroactively? Yes, they can be the form the that the payment will be sent to the school.
00:21:53:20 - 00:22:12:08
Speaker 2
And note that if at the time of the payment, the child is no longer your dependent, that payment would become taxable to you. So it is advised that you make the do the application, send it in while the child is attending because some people have, you know, completed them all at the same time when the child is graduated.
00:22:12:10 - 00:22:23:00
Speaker 2
And you can we can make payment as long as the school can accept that payment. But note that if the child is no longer, you're dependent, the payment will become taxable and is taxed to you. At that point.
00:22:23:00 - 00:22:33:03
Speaker 2
Will ctfs, be reduced by other scholarships? The question is, I'm sorry, the answer is yes. And that's if the scholarships or funding are tuition based.
00:22:33:03 - 00:22:58:09
Speaker 2
So we do not need to know, you know, anything that's not tuition based. But if that funding source is a tuition based only funding source, we need to know. And then the final question we get a lot is will the Ctsa award reduce the employee's parental contribution to the school? The answer is possibly so. We are unaware of how the school calculates other tuition aid depending on the school you're going to.
00:22:58:09 - 00:23:11:22
Speaker 2
So we would advise that you contact the financial aid of that school, the financial aid office, and they can let you know whether Ctfs would be reduced or whether it would be better to take another funding source over Ctfs.
00:23:12:04 - 00:23:35:12
Speaker 2
Now, here are a few important reminders, and I see that we do have some questions, so we'll get to those in just a moment if they haven't been answered. The Ccts program is a reimbursement program. So note that, you we will make payment as quickly as we can to the school, but if we're not able to, you're required to make that payment and then, it will be made to the school and you can get reimbursement.
00:23:35:17 - 00:23:59:11
Speaker 2
We will not make payment for late payments or fees that are applied. So it would be best if you make the payment prior to the due date if CTS has not been funded as yet and then get that reimbursement once it's in, the eligibility is, based on your date of hire as well as the payment amount to Cornell, 30% is paid to outside schools.
00:23:59:15 - 00:24:29:10
Speaker 2
No matter what your hire date may have been. So you would need to submit one online application. And this current academic year, 2425 would be summer fall, winter spring. For the upcoming academic year 2526. It would be the summer of 2025, the fall of 2025, the winter of 2026, and the spring of 2026. That application is only submitted once online, and then each of those semesters your child is attending.
00:24:29:10 - 00:25:01:18
Speaker 2
The certification form would then be submitted for the semester of attendance. The maximum we can pay out to an outside school is 30% of Cornell's Endow Tuition, and note that the graduate level benefit is only paid to those hired prior to June of 1985, and that benefit is only available for graduate study here at Cornell. Now, note that the benefit is available for ten semesters of undergraduate study and up until the attainment of a bachelor's degree.
00:25:01:18 - 00:25:24:01
Speaker 2
So if your student completes their bachelor's degree prior to attending for ten semesters, and they view the entire benefit if they haven't completed in ten semesters, we're unable to make additional payments and those semesters are adjusted. If the child is attending a trimester system or a quarter system. It's just semesters, the most frequently used system. And so that's the word we use.
00:25:24:01 - 00:25:46:09
Speaker 2
But we do take into account any schools that have trimesters and, quota systems. So I'm going to list our resources here. And then I'm going to jump into the Q&A to see if there's any questions that haven't been answered or given a recap. It's sometimes a good idea. Here is our website. You can find more information on ctfs as well as the application form.
00:25:46:09 - 00:26:09:09
Speaker 2
When the application opens in the beginning of April, our email address is kts@cornell.edu. And this is the preferred method. We ask that you give us 2 to 3 business days to get back to you. We do get quite a bit of inquiry, so we are trying to answer them as quickly as we can, but we asked, for a little bit of patience, for us to get back to you.
00:26:09:11 - 00:26:21:23
Speaker 2
And as noted in the beginning, Michelle, the save benefits associate with the health and welfare group here at Cornell. As a part of Benefits Services. Here's my contact information if you have any questions.
00:26:21:23 - 00:26:23:03
Speaker 2
So I'm going to go.
00:26:23:03 - 00:26:23:18
Speaker 1
Over to our.
00:26:23:18 - 00:26:53:19
Speaker 2
Q&A now to see if there's any questions that were not answered. For you, somebody asked a question about the information on our website that says the benefit level for other institutions, as 30% of outside schools or a minimum of $1,000 per academic year. Now we we have not updated that understanding that they're very there probably are very few schools that have an academic year total of $1,000.
00:26:53:21 - 00:27:14:06
Speaker 2
That was for back in the day when tuition was a lot less, but maybe there's a school out there that has $1,000 an academic year, and that's the amount that we would make payment for us. So, I know that, you know, it's kind of old information, but still, if there is a school that has a tuition amount of $1,000 per academic.
00:27:14:06 - 00:27:14:16
Speaker 1
Year.
00:27:14:22 - 00:27:16:24
Speaker 2
That's what we would make the payment for.
00:27:16:24 - 00:27:42:01
Speaker 2
We have another question. Will the benefit be paid for two children at the next at the same time? Yes. So any number of children that are attending college or university can we can make payment for them. The maximum is ten semesters or the attainment of a bachelor's degree. So note that if your child, is attending a university, has completed the bachelor's degree in less than ten semesters, and they've used the full benefit,
00:27:42:01 - 00:27:47:03
Speaker 2
we have another question about a combination of a bachelor's and master's degree at the same time.
00:27:47:05 - 00:28:12:16
Speaker 2
So we can make payment towards the Bachelor degree credits, understanding that they're not, evenly, nicely broken out. But if the student when the student rather completes the portion that would be considered for the bachelor's degree, then we have to stop making payment. If you have any further questions or there's something specific on that, please feel free to contact me.
00:28:12:18 - 00:28:22:10
Speaker 2
But if we can, we can work with the school to determine if we can make payment towards something. But again, it's towards a bachelor's degree or ten semesters.
00:28:22:10 - 00:28:26:12
Speaker 2
Merit based scholarships that are tuition based are listed
00:28:26:12 - 00:28:34:18
Speaker 2
in the example I gave, you know, the amount that's given is based on the tuition, the maximum tuition listed on the floor.
00:28:34:21 - 00:28:52:24
Speaker 2
So if the, amount that's listed in other funds is for tuition only, we can only make payment for what puts you up to the full amount for tuition and fees. We cannot make anything exceeding that. If I did not answer that question clearly, please again, feel free to contact me. Let's see. We have a question.
00:28:52:24 - 00:28:55:19
Speaker 2
My child is already a junior in college,
00:28:55:19 - 00:29:27:02
Speaker 2
So the child must be, dependent and being supported at least 50% by you or the other parent. So the child does not have to physically reside with you. They can, reside with their other parent, but it's not taxable if they're, considered a dependent. We have a question about phase retirement. So if someone if the professor has met the four year eligibility by the time they're in phase retirement, yes, the benefit can be used at this point.
00:29:27:02 - 00:29:47:14
Speaker 2
The six benefit is also allowed to be used for those who are in sole retirement. So if there are the four year requirement was met prior to retirement and the child is not of school, college attending age is yet. Yes, they would be able to use the benefit once they're eligible, even if you're retired and have met that eligibility period.
00:29:47:24 - 00:30:06:21
Speaker 2
So we have a question. Would a summer payment count towards the ten semesters? Yes, the summer payment would count towards a portion of a semester. So if your child is taking less than a full time load, they wouldn't use a full semester, just a portion of that semester. And that can be calculated and more information can be given.
00:30:06:23 - 00:30:09:00
Speaker 2
If you want to contact us directly.
00:30:09:00 - 00:30:37:14
Speaker 2
Let me read it correctly. So 30% tuition and fees for other institutions. That is correct. 30% is calculated on full tuition or the remainder. So the 30% calculate is done on the full tuition and fees as calculated and given by the school. We will then determine if that full calculation in addition to any other scholarships, would meet the requirement for full payment, or we would make a partial payments and put it up to the maximum of the tuition fee.
00:30:37:14 - 00:31:03:10
Speaker 2
So when we do the calculation, we first look at what the tuition fees are and calculate that 30%. We then look at what any additional outside funding would be. This tuition based. And if the total of that tuition based scholarship plus RCTs would not exceed the full tuition and fees, and we can make the full payment if it does exceed that, we can make anything up to 100% of the payment to make it full tuition and fees.
00:31:03:12 - 00:31:06:02
Speaker 2
So I hope that answered that question.
00:31:06:02 - 00:31:19:14
Speaker 2
Let's see, there is a question if divorce, does the stepchild still qualify? So if that stepchild still is counted as your dependent, they would be able to use the benefit if you're still providing benefits for them.
00:31:19:16 - 00:31:33:22
Speaker 2
But again, if you're divorced they may not be able to use the benefit. So I ask that you submit, a request to our email and we'll look at the situation, let you know if the child would still apply.
00:31:33:22 - 00:31:40:16
Speaker 2
thank you all for your time. Thank you all for attending, and I hope that the information was helpful and answered your questions.