College of Arts and Sciences Financial Awards to Graduate Students

Frequently Asked Questions

January 2017

1. When will I be paid?

Full-year fellowships are usually disbursed in two equal payments, the first following registration in
August and the second in early January. In some cases a portion of the fellowship will be disbursed
as a summer payment in May.
Student Academic Appointees (associate instructors, graduate assistants, and research assistants)
are usually paid monthly. The first check is normally issued on or near September 15th.
2. Do I need to pay taxes?
The part of the fellowship which you spend on tuition, fees, books, and required course expenses is
considered excluded from taxable income, if these costs are not paid from any other fellowship or fee
remission source. The remainder of your fellowship is subject to taxation. It is our understanding that
the fee remission is non-taxable. A student academic appointment stipend is taxable.

3. How much of my tuition and fees will the College Fee Remission cover?

College fee remissions will cover most of the cost of graduate tuition for up to 12 credit hours per
semester. If you hold a Student Academic Appointment or a Fellowship with fee remission for both the
fall and spring semesters, you will also receive up to 6 credit hours of fee remission during the summer.
College fee remissions cover at least 95% of the cost of graduate tuition for non-residents and at least
90% of the cost of graduate tuition for Indiana residents. Students should be prepared to pay the
remaining percentage of credit hour fees not covered by their fee remissions (currently $41.45 per credit
hour for a non-resident student or $497.34 for 12 credit hours for a non-resident student).
Students should also be prepared to pay the mandatory fees (currently $650.38 per semester). The
mandatory fees include the Student Activity Fee (currently $101.79 per semester), the Student Health
Fee (currently $111.54 per semester), the Technology Fee (currently $187.00 per semester), the
Transportation Fee (currently $64.60 per semester), and the Temporary Repair and Rehabilitation Fee
(currently $185.45 per semester). International students are also required to pay the International
Graduate Student Orientation Fee (currently $63.30) as well as the International Services Fee (currently
$91.80 per semester). For the academic year (fall and spring) a graduate student who holds a College
fee remission and who enrolls in 12 credit hours each semester will be required to pay a total of
$2,295.44 (at the 2016-2017 rate) for the mandatory fees as well as for the percentage of tuition not
covered by the fee remission.
4. How much is a College Fee Remission worth in dollar amounts?
Currently, a full-year College of Arts and Sciences fee remission (30 credit hours) is worth $34,281.15 for
a non-resident student.
5. What courses are not covered by a College Fee Remission?
College fee remissions should be used to pay for courses related to your degree in the College of Arts and
Sciences, including courses that count toward a Ph.D. minor. College fee remissions cannot be applied
toward a second separate degree in another IU unit (e.g., Business, Education, Law, Library and
Information Science, Music, Public and Environmental Affairs), toward undergraduate courses, or toward
 recreational courses not required for the main degree. College fee remissions cannot be applied toward
auditing fees.
Students who are enrolled in dual or joint degree programs may not apply their College fee remissions to
their professional school courses.

College fee remissions may be applied to courses offered at other Committee on Institutional
Cooperation (CIC) institutions through the CIC Traveling Scholar programs
(http://www.cic.net/Home/Projects/SharedCourses/TScholar/Introduction.aspx) or through the CIC
CourseShare partnership programs (http://www.cic.net/Home/Projects/SharedCourses.aspx).
College fee remissions may also be used for IU study abroad programs offered for graduate credit.
6. Under what conditions will the financial guarantee in my award letter be invalid?
The fellowships and employment opportunities outlined in your award letter are merit awards, offered to
you as the result of a highly competitive process. To retain the guaranteed package, you will be required
to demonstrate satisfactory progress toward your degree, to maintain a graduate GPA of at least 3.0
throughout your graduate career, and to maintain full-time enrollment in at least 6 credit hours each
semester.
Only in the case of the most severe personal hardship should termination of a student academic
appointment occur during a semester. If a student chooses to resign his student academic appointment
after the first week of classes for any reason other than personal hardship - or to accept a job off campus,
for example, the College will require the student to repay the cost of the fee remission for that semester.
7. What is a Student Academic Appointment (SAA)?
A Student Academic Appointment (SAA) is a form of internship that combines academic training with
work responsibilities. Work responsibilities depend on the specific position. For example, Associate
Instructors generally serve as teaching assistants for two semesters per year and are expected to work 20
hours per week during each semester of their employment. As an SAA in the College of Arts and
Sciences, you are entitled to benefits including student health insurance coverage and a College fee
remission. SAAs are also required to be enrolled full-time during the time of employment (minimum of 6
credits each semester).