Written and maintained by CASRAI Editorial Board
Last updated
Tuition remission is the tuition a university waives or pays for a student as part of that student’s compensation for work, usually as a graduate research or teaching assistant. On a sponsored project it is budgeted as a direct cost next to the stipend, and it sits outside the base on which indirect costs are calculated. Federal rules allow it only when the student’s work on the award earns it, as set out in 2 CFR 200.466. This guide gives the federal test in plain language, explains why the cost carries no indirect charge, and shows how two universities’ own policies apply it.
What tuition remission means
In research administration, tuition remission is the part of a student’s tuition that is charged to a grant or contract as part of the student’s pay for work on the project. Case Western Reserve University’s research office describes it as the portion of tuition charged directly to a grant that forms part of a student’s total compensation along with salary. Rochester Institute of Technology’s sponsored research office describes it as a benefit for graduate research assistants that waives tuition fees as part of their compensation (both pages checked 2026-10-29).
The defining feature is the link to work. A waiver that is simply a benefit of admission or enrollment, with no research or teaching duty attached, is not tuition remission in this sense and cannot be charged to a federal award on that basis.
When federal awards allow it (2 CFR 200.466)
The Uniform Guidance section on scholarships, student aid costs and tuition remission is 2 CFR 200.466. Paragraph (b), as published on the eCFR (checked 2026-10-29), treats tuition remission and other compensation paid as, or instead of, wages to students as allowable only when all of these hold:
- The student conducts activities that are necessary to the federal award.
- The remission follows the institution’s established written policy, applied consistently to students doing similar work under federal awards and other activities.
- The student is enrolled in an advanced degree program at the institution (or an affiliate) during the academic period, and the award activities relate to that degree.
- The tuition or other payments are reasonable compensation for the work performed and are explicitly conditioned on performing necessary work.
- The institution compensates students under federal awards and other activities in similar manners.
Paragraph (c) adds that these charges are subject to the personnel activity reporting rules in 2 CFR 200.430, and that they are treated as direct or indirect costs in accordance with the actual work performed. They may be charged on an average rate basis under 2 CFR 200.431.
Paragraph (a) is a separate rule. Scholarships, fellowships and similar student aid are allowable only when the purpose of the award is training and the agency approves. Tuition remission earned by working on a project and student aid given to support training are different cost types under the same section.
How it is charged, and why it sits outside MTDC
The definition of Modified Total Direct Cost in 2 CFR 200.1 lists what the base excludes: equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support costs, and the portion of each subaward above $50,000 (eCFR, checked 2026-10-29). Because tuition remission is on that list, an institution cannot apply its indirect cost rate to it. The practical effect is that the full amount is budgeted as a direct cost with no facilities and administrative charge added. For how the base works, see the dictionary entry on modified total direct cost and the guide to the de minimis indirect cost rate.
Case Western Reserve University states that it budgets tuition remission as a direct cost in the “other direct” category for each graduate assistant, and that it is excluded from fringe benefit and indirect cost assessment unless the sponsor allows otherwise. That statement is the university’s own, so check an institution’s current policy before copying its treatment. For how fringe charges work on salaries, see fringe benefit rates in sponsored research budgets.
How institutions differ
The federal section sets the conditions; each university decides how it prices and charges the benefit. The two policies below, checked on 2026-10-29, show how different the practice is.
| Point | Case Western Reserve University | Rochester Institute of Technology |
|---|---|---|
| How it is described | Portion of tuition charged to the grant as part of total compensation with salary | Benefit for graduate research assistants that waives tuition fees as part of their compensation |
| Budget category | Direct cost, “other direct”, per graduate assistant | Budgets must include a minimum of 35% of total tuition remission cost for GRAs |
| Student on several projects | Prorated and charged to each project in the same proportion as effort | The 35% minimum is proportional to effort |
| Link to a stipend | Supported through effort reporting like wages | “A GRA may not get tuition remission without a stipend” |
| Other rules stated | Elective fees and penalties (parking, lab, activity, late payment) generally not chargeable to the grant | 5% annual increase where the sponsor allows; no waivers; applies to new proposals from FY27 |
RIT’s minimum percentage and increase are that university’s policy as described on its official page on 2026-10-29, not a federal rule. The difference between the two shows why a proposal budget should be built from the home institution’s current policy rather than from another university’s figures.
Common mistakes
- Adding indirect costs to tuition remission. It is on the MTDC exclusion list, so a budget that applies the indirect rate to it overstates the request.
- Charging a waiver that is not tied to work. Condition (4) requires the payment to be explicitly conditioned on performing necessary work on the award.
- Charging one student’s remission to one project when the student works on several. Case Western Reserve University prorates it across projects in line with effort.
- Treating it like a scholarship. Student aid under 200.466(a) has its own training-purpose and agency-approval conditions.
- Charging elective fees. Parking, lab, activity and late-payment charges are generally not chargeable to the grant, according to Case Western Reserve University.
- Applying different treatment to federal and non-federal work. Conditions (2) and (5) require consistent policy and similar compensation across awards and other activities.
Related terms
| Term | Relationship to tuition remission | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Modified total direct costs (MTDC) | The indirect cost base; tuition remission is excluded from it | 2 CFR 200.1 |
| Scholarships and fellowships | Student aid allowable for training purposes with agency approval; also excluded from MTDC | 2 CFR 200.466(a), 200.1 |
| Participant support costs | Also excluded from MTDC; a separate cost type. See participant support costs | 2 CFR 200.1 |
| Graduate assistantship | The usual arrangement under which remission is earned. See the graduate assistantship guide | Institutional policy |
| Direct costs | The category in which remission is budgeted. See direct costs | 2 CFR 200.466(c) |
FAQ
What is the difference between tuition remission and a tuition waiver?
Under the federal section, remission that is charged to an award must be earned by necessary work on that award and be reasonable compensation for it. A waiver given with no work condition does not meet that test. Some universities use the two words loosely, so read the institution’s own policy.
Is tuition remission part of the indirect cost base?
No. 2 CFR 200.1 lists tuition remission among the items excluded from modified total direct costs, so no indirect cost is applied to it.
Is tuition remission the same as a scholarship or fellowship?
No. Scholarships and fellowships fall under 2 CFR 200.466(a) and are allowable only when the award’s purpose is training and the agency approves. Remission under paragraph (b) is compensation for work. Both are excluded from MTDC.
Can one student’s tuition remission be split between grants?
Case Western Reserve University says it must be prorated and charged to each project in the same proportion as the student’s effort. 2 CFR 200.466(c) treats the charges according to the actual work performed.
Does the student have to be enrolled in a degree program?
Yes. Condition (3) requires enrollment in an advanced degree program at the institution or an affiliate during the academic period, with the award activities relating to that degree.
Sources
- eCFR, 2 CFR 200.466, Scholarships, student aid costs, and tuition remission: ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.466 (checked 2026-10-29).
- eCFR, 2 CFR 200.1, definition of modified total direct costs: ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.1 (checked 2026-10-29).
- Case Western Reserve University, Charging Tuition Remission to Sponsored Programs: case.edu research office (checked 2026-10-29).
- Rochester Institute of Technology, Sponsored Research Services, Graduate Tuition Remission: rit.edu/srs/graduate-tuition-remission-grants (checked 2026-10-29).
Related reading: how doctoral study is funded.
