The Employee Fee Waiver & Reduction Program is a benefit for eligible faculty, staff and management employees of the California State University (CSU) system. If the eligible employee does not utilize the Fee Wavier benefit, he/she may transfer the fee waiver benefit to an eligible dependent (spouse, registered domestic partner, or dependent child).
The Fee Waiver & Reduction Program allows the employee or, if benefit is transferred to an eligible dependent an opportunity to enroll in CSU general-fund courses at reduced rates at any of the 23 CSU campuses.
Fee waiver applies to CSU state-supported (general fund) courses only, including state-supported courses that are offered through summer term (i.e., Summer Arts). Courses in self-support (i.e., Continuing and Global Education, Extended Education) programs may not be taken through the CSU Fee Waiver program. In addition, fees for joint doctoral programs that are paid directly to the “partner” university cannot be waived under the CSU Fee Waiver Program.
It is important to note that the Fee Waiver & Reduction process is separate from the University Application Process. Fee Waiver approval does not guarantee admission into the University.
Transfer of Fee Waiver to Spouse, Domestic Partner, or Dependent Child.
If submitting a dependent Fee Waiver and your dependent is not currently on your CSU Fresno medical/dental plan, proof of relationship documents (i.e birth or marriage certificate) must be submitted along with your Fee Waiver. Please contact the Fee Waiver Coordinator for questions.
Employees with the last name ending in
A - L:
Career Development Plan (CDP) Form A-L
Career Development Plan (CDP) Form M-Z
Must be completed if submitting Waiver for the first time or updating current CDP
Employees may take courses specifically to improve their performance in their current job or to acquire additional skills needed to perform newly assigned duties and responsibilities. These employees are not matriculated students and are not working toward a degree.
The following steps must be taken to apply for Work Related Courses :
1. Submit a Faculty and Staff Fee Waiver Application via AdobeSign (link for Fee Waiver is above).
2. Provide Written Supporting Documentation via email to your Fee Waiver Coordinator (Coordinators listed above). Written documentation (e.g. internal memo) from the employee to their appropriate Administrator to support how the course applies to an employee's current position is required. A copy of this memo must also be provided to your Fee Waiver coordinator.
The memo must be signed/approved by your appropriate Administrator. The appropriate Administartor may also provide their own memo acknowledging and approving of the course the employee is requesting to enroll in.
A copy of these memos must be emailed to your Fee Waiver coordinator.
3. Admission Data Form
An Admission Data Form must be completed by the employee and submitted to your Fee Waiver coordinator via MoveIt. MoveIt instructions can be viewed by clicking here.
When all 3 documents (Fee Waiver, memo & Admission Data form) are received by your Fee Waiver coordinator you will receive confirmation that your request is being reviewed.
CSU Fee Waiver eligibility criteria for represented and non-represented employee categories are summarized below:
Full-time employees (i.e., permanent, temporary, and probationary) and part-time, permanent employees
Hourly employees are not eligible
Tenured and probationary faculty unit employees (excluding coaches), and
temporary faculty unit employees with three (3) year appointments pursuant to
Article 12 of the CBA.
Coaches must have at least six (6) years of consecutive service in the department. One (1) year of service shall be considered employment of one (1) semester or two (2) quarters in the bargaining unit on a single CSU campus during a single academic year.
FERP (Faculty Early Retirement Program) participants are considered tenured
faculty and are eligible for fee waiver only during the semesters/quarters when they
are actively employed in a FERP appointment. Timebase is not a factor.
Full-time or part-time permanent employees, and full-time probationary employees
(hourly and temporary appointments are not eligible)
Not eligible for Fee Waiver (except as provided under the Executive Order 611)
Full-time or part-time permanent employees and full-time probationary employees
(hourly and temporary appointments are not eligible)
Please note: C99 and E99 employees only attain permanent status in part-time
positions as a result of completing a probationary period in a full-time position and,
subsequently reducing their time-base.
Full-time employees (including temporary)
Full-time or part-time permanent employees, and full-time probationary employees
(hourly and temporary appointments are not eligible)
Fees waived or reduced under the CSU Fee Waiver Program vary for represented and non-represented employee categories and are based on collective bargaining agreements for represented employees and policy for non-represented employees.
* May be fully waived for a maximum of two (2) courses or six (6) units, whichever is greater per term. This includes Tuition Fee charged during the state-supported summer term.
Fee waiver applies to CSU state-supported (general fund) courses only, including state-supported courses that are offered through summer term (i.e., Summer Arts). Courses in self-support (i.e., Continuing and Global Education, Extended Education) programs may not be taken through the CSU Fee Waiver program. In addition, fees for joint doctoral programs that are paid directly to the “partner” university cannot be waived under the CSU Fee Waiver Program.
Unit Limitation: All eligible non-represented and represented employees may enroll in a maximum of two (2) courses or six (6) units, whichever is greater, per term, excluding the CSU Doctoral Programs.
Doctoral Program: A flat amount is waived which is equivalent of the Part-Time Graduate Tuition Fee for CSU Doctoral Programs in Educational Leadership, Nursing and Physical Therapy. Units for the Doctoral programs are determined independently based on program course offerings. Employees taking courses in addition to the fee waiver courses shall pay any difference in fees.
California Residency Requirement - The fee waiver applies only to certain fees incurred by California residents. Thus, employees who do not meet established in-state residency requirements (and who do not qualify for classification as residents in accord with the provisions of Title 5, Section 41910, California Code of Regulations; see Appendix A) will be responsible for paying non-resident tuition charges based upon the total number of units in which they are enrolled.
Use of state time for class attendance - Permission may be granted for an employee to use a reasonable amount of release time from work to enroll in one (1) on-campus job related or Career Development course per semester providing that the operational needs of the department are met as determined by the appropriate administrator. Faculty enrollments shall not conflict with scheduled classes or scheduled office hours
Fee waiver approval is for one semester only and must be reestablished for each semester of enrollment.
Eligible faculty or staff members may transfer their fee waiver benefit to a spouse, dependent child (within applicable age limits) or Registered domestic partner. A domestic partner is eligible for the fee waiver benefit if the domestic partnership is registered through the Secretary of States designation process. For more information, visit the Domestic Partners Registry web site.
The Dependent must be matriculated toward a degree or a teaching credential program at any of the (23) California State University campuses and the courses must be for credit toward completion of the designated degree or teaching credential. The Dependent is subject to the same academic standards that pertain to all students and is responsible for meeting all enrollment and registration requirements and deadlines.
Fee waiver approval is for one semester only and must be reestablished for each semester of enrollment.
The fee waiver benefit may be transferred to only one person at a time, regardless of whether that individual uses the full entitlement of 2 courses or 6 units. Dependents taking courses in addition to the fee waiver courses shall pay the difference in fees.
If both parents are employees eligible to transfer their fee waiver benefit to a dependent child, each employee may transfer the benefit. Therefore, it is possible for one child to receive both benefits and be eligible for a full tuition waiver, on a fee waiver basis. Alternately, each employee could transfer his or her benefit to a different child, and each child would be entitled to up to 2 courses or 6 units of fee waiver eligibility. Dependents taking courses in addition to the fee waiver courses shall pay the difference in fees. Please note: the full State University Fee (Tuition Fee) is waived if a dependent takes two courses that exceed 6.0 units.
A dependent child for all units including Statewide University Police Association (SUPA) is defined as:
Units 2, 5, 7, and 9 (CSUEU)
Unit 3 (Faculty)
Unit 4 (APC)
Unit 6 (Skilled Trades)
Unit 8 (Public Safety)
Ineligibility
Dependent Fee Waiver will be denied based on the following:
- Student has Academic Standing of ‘Probation’ or ‘Disqualification’- please refer to the Academic Standing section
- Is no longer registered in courses at the CSU
Please note: There are occasions where the dependent turns age 23 or 25 (depending on employee category) during the semester while they are enrolled in courses. When this occurs, it is acceptable for campuses to allow the dependent(s) to complete the semester. Fee Waiver benefits are not pro-rated. However, any future courses taken, once the age threshold has been met, would be ineligible for the Fee Waiver Program.
Fees waived or reduced under the CSU Fee Waiver Program vary for dependents of represented and non-represented employee categories and are based on CBA for represented employees and Policy for non-represented employees.
The Dependent must be matriculated toward a degree or a teaching credential program at any of the (23) California State University campuses and the courses must be for credit toward completion of the designated degree or teaching credential.
Fee waiver approval is for one semester only and must be reestablished for each semester of enrollment.
Fee waiver applies to CSU state-supported (general fund) courses only, including state-supported courses that are offered through summer term (i.e., Summer Arts). Courses in self-support (i.e., Continuing and Global Education, Extended Education) programs may not be taken through the CSU Fee Waiver program. In addition, fees for joint doctoral programs that are paid directly to the “partner” university cannot be waived under the CSU Fee Waiver Program.
The fee waiver benefit may be transferred to only one person at a time, regardless of whether that individual uses the full entitlement of 2 courses or 6 units. Dependents taking courses in addition to the fee waiver courses shall pay the difference in fees.
California Residency Requirement - The dependent fee waiver applies only to certain fees incurred by California residents. Thus, spouses, registered domestic partners and dependent children who do not meet established in-state residency requirements (and who do not qualify for classification as residents in accord with the provisions of Title 5, Section 41910, California Code of Regulations; see Appendix A) will be responsible for paying non-resident tuition charges based upon the total number of units in which they are enrolled.
Eligible employees may participate in the Fee Waiver Program in one of two ways:
Employee s pursuing this option need to complete a Career Development Plan (CDP). The course of study for a CDP will be established by the employee and an appropriate advisor of choice and shall be subject to approval by the appropriate administrator. Once the CDP is on file, the employee does not need to submit with subsequent waiver applications. The CDP shall be updated periodically, including whenever there is a change in degree program or objective or the employee has not attended courses in over one academic year.
Career Development Fee Waiver Participants are:
Both work related and career development courses must be taken for credit and auditing of classes is not permitted.
The employee is responsible for meeting all University enrollment and registration requirements and deadlines.