State Employee Tuition Waiver

Florida State University Panama City looks forward to providing state employees with an opportunity to pursue their academic goals on our campus. PLEASE NOTE: There have been recent changes to the State Employee Tuition Waiver process in an effort to make it easier for you to register for the courses you need. State Employees may now complete the waiver application online available at: https://studentbusiness.fsu.edu/waivers/state-employee-waiver.  State Employees may also register for courses during the appropriate registration window instead of waiting until the 5th day classes. However, it is important that you read/follow the instructions as listed below. Please take the time to carefully review the documents found on this page and contact the Admission and Records Office at (850) 770-2311 if you have any questions.

Attention

Student Eligibility

In order to qualify for the State Employee Tuition Waiver, employee students must meet certain eligibility criteria:

  1. Employees must be currently employed by the State of Florida in a budgeted authorized position of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch. An individual compensated exclusively through Other Personal Services funds is not entitled to receive State fringe benefits and is not eligible to participate in the Program.
  2. Employees must be in good academic standing (undergraduates - 2.0 FSU GPA and graduates - 3.0 FSU GPA)
  3. Employees must be in good financial standing with the University and the US Department of Education
  4. Employees participating in the Employee Tuition Scholarship Program are also eligible to receive financial aid. It is the employee's responsibility to notify the Office of Financial Aid each semester if you intend to use the FSU Employee Tuition Scholarship along with other forms of aid
  5. An employee who resigns, terminates, or otherwise loses eligibility during an academic term will remain eligible for the remainder of such academic term.

Program Eligibility

  1. The State Employee Tuition Waiver covers a maximum of two classes, up to 6 credit hours per semester (Fall, Spring, and Summer). Classes taken must be for a minimum of 1 credit hour.
  2. The Scholarship does not cover the following additional fees:
    • Auxiliary Fees for C.P.D. and Distance Learning courses
    • Material and Supply Fees
    • Repeat Course Fees
    • Transportation Access Fees
    • Excess Credit Hour Fees
  3. The waiver is limited to academic courses. The following courses are ineligible under the State Employee Tuition Scholarship:
    • Remedial math (i.e. MAT1033)
    • Applied music
    • Graduate courses in the Colleges of Law and Medicine
    • Physical Education Activity courses
    • Dissertation, thesis, directed individual study (DIS), internship, supervised research, supervised teaching, exam, portfolio, or other one-on-one courses
    • Audited courses
    • Center for Academic and Professional Development courses
    • All non-state funded courses or sections (including some distance learning courses that are funded solely by student tuition and fees)
  4. The form must be submitted by the first Friday of classes to guarantee its application by the Fee Payment Deadline to avoid the $100 Late Payment Fee and potential schedule cancellation
  5. The waiver will not be processed until after the drop/add period, which could delay the refunding of financial aid.
  6. Under IRS Section 117(d), any qualified tuition reduction provided to a state employee enrolled in undergraduate level courses is not subject to income tax. However, under IRS Section 127, annual amounts exceeding $5,250 of qualified education assistance provided to a state employee enrolled in graduate level courses is subject to income and the appropriate taxes must be withheld.

Application Process

Applications for the State Employee Tuition Waiver are completed and submitted through DocuSign. Student Business Services no longer collects data on specific courses or job-related indicators. Instead, this information is extracted automatically from the system during the process of applying an employee's waiver. Supervisors who wish to see a copy of an employee's schedule for their own records may work with the employee to generate a schedule from MyFSU.

Space Available Limitations

Florida State University does not accept State Employee Waivers for the following:

  • Graduate courses in the Colleges of Law and Medicine
  • Undergraduate limited-access programs
  • Dissertation, thesis, directed individual study (DIS), internship or other one-on-one courses
  • Audited courses
  • Center for Academic and Professional Development
  • All non-state funded courses (including some distance learning courses that are funded solely by student tuition and fees).

For instructions on how to search for state-funded courses, please see the How To Search for & Add a Class to Your Shopping Cart help topic. Please note the special instructions under step six.

Degree-seeking state employees planning to enroll in one of the above course categories may pay tuition out-of-pocket or may apply for financial aid. For tuition payment information, please refer to the Student Business Services website. Degree-seeking state employees may register for such courses during the normal registration windows. For registration information, please refer to this semester's Registration Guide.

For a complete list of limited-access programs, please click here to view the University General Bulletin.

Admission

Returning students who were registered in any of the previous three terms can proceed directly to the Registration section below. All other prospective students must pursue admission to the University. State employee registration and fee waiver processing cannot be performed for students who have not been admitted to the University

Immunization Requirements

The Florida Legislature has mandated that, in addition to providing proof of immunization for Rubeola and Rubella measles, all university students must be informed of the risks of meningitis and hepatitis B infections. Incoming students are required to either show proof of immunization or sign a waiver declining the vaccines for meningitis and hepatitis prior to being permitted to register. Since this is a new requirement, please visit the University Health Services Website at http://uhs.fsu.edu/ or call (850) 644-3608 for more information. Information about the immunization requirements is included in the acceptance packet for newly admitted, readmitted, degree seeking, and special students.

FSUCard

As students at Florida State, state employees are eligible to obtain an FSUCard. To obtain an FSUCard, please the Student Affairs office on the 2nd floor of the Barron Building during normal operating hours or call (850) 770-2170.