The Tuition Remission Process

Authorization to Read/Update Tuition Entry on Banner
Tuition Remission User Group Notification Process
Two-Step Tuition Remission Process
When to Enter Tuition Awards
When to Enter Funding Information
Funding Discrepancies
Changing a Fund Number
Tuition Fund Restrictions
Tuition Refunds
Tuition Obligation When Students Leave Assistantships
Removal of Late Fee Charge
Verifying Tuition Award on TSAAREV
Verifying Department Charge on TSAACCT
Tuition Remission Reports

Authorization to Read/Update Tuition Entry on Banner
The Banner Finance System Access Request From contains a section to request access to the Tuition Remission System. To locate the form go to the Controller's Office webpage and follow the log on steps to access the form. Tuition remission access is item 4 on the form. You will need to print the form to get a department head's signautre, then send the form to Tara Jones (0312) in the Controller's office. Access to tuition remission screens automatically enables users to access tuition remission reports (TZRTRAW, TZRTRAF, TZRTRAD, TZRTRIO) and the student account screens (TSAAREV, TSADETL, TSAACCT).

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Tuition Remission User Group Notification Process
Users authorized to view or update tuition remission entries in Banner are automatically added to an email User Group maintained by the Graduate School. Notices of award and funding deadlines, rate increases, or anything pertaining to changes in graduate assistantships are sent to this user group by the Graduate School on a routine basis.

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Two-Step Tuition Remission Process
There are two steps to the tuition remission process: awarding the amount of tuition to a student using Banner form TZATRAW, and then actually funding the award on Banner form TZATRAF. These steps cannot be performed on the same day. The award made on TZATRAW is credited by Student Accounts to the student’s billing account. No actual fund number is debited at this point. The debit is incurred later when a fund number is entered on the TZATRAF form.

Step 1: Tuition Award Entry on Banner (TZATRAW)

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Step 2 - Tuition Funding Entry on Banner (TZATRAF)

At the top of the form are two key fields:

The next section of the form contains 6 columns, all 6 of which will populate automatically.

To enter the funding amount, double-click on the ID number. A sub-screen for the individual student will open up. This screen has 4 columns:

Optional Menu Items - There are four optional menu items:

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When to Enter Tuition Awards
Once a student is identified to receive tuition, it should be awarded as soon as possible on TZATRAW. When entering awards for a term ending in "09", which is a Fall term, the ROLL box can be checked when departments want to have the same award amount automatically entered for the Spring term as well. Help at the bottom of the form reads "check to roll tuition remission award from fall to spring." A process will run daily that will actually roll the awards. When entering awards for a term ending in "01" which is a Spring term, the ROLL box is visable but not update-able, since no award can roll from Spring to any other term. The same is true for summer terms ending in "06" and "07" - awards for these terms cannot roll forward

If necessary, a Spring award that has been rolled forward on TZATRAW can be changed. The amount can be changed or the award can be deleted, the same way it is presently done.

In addition to eliminating some repetitiveness in entering awards, the process will help reduce problems in over-awarding of financial aid due to incomplete information.

There is no negative consequence to awarding tuition early, and, if necessary, it is very easy to delete or amend an award. If a department has been instructed to award tuition to students but has not been informed which fund to use, this step can still be completed. This screen simply records the intention of a department to pay an award to a student. The Bursar’s Office will record the award as a credit to the student from a department, although no fund number will be debited at this point. This step will prevent the student from receiving a bill for tuition, and will inform the Bursar’s Office that the department will be responsible for the awarded portion of a student’s tuition. A late fee will not be assessed by the Bursar for tuition that has been awarded, but not yet funded. Departments are encouraged to enter tuition awards before the Fall and Spring billing deadlines.

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When to Enter Funding Information
It only takes 24 hours for the entry on the TZATRAW award screen to update to the TZATRAF funding screen. The Graduate School sends notices to the Tuition User Group to announce award/funding deadlines.

Terms for the upcoming academic year are opened on May 1 of each year. Awards can be made at this time (using TZATRAW) for any of these terms. The funding on these terms are not allowed (using TZATRAF) until after July 1. Funding cannot be provided prior to July 1 because expenses for tuition remission for these terms are recorded in the upcoming fiscal year that begins on July 1.

Departments should provide funding for awards from 997xxx or 999xxx funds on the TZATRAF form by the following dates:

Funding from accounts other than 997xxx, 998xxx, and 999xxx can be entered until May 31st. The tuition remission system will be open for all terms of the academic year from May 1, YR1 through May 31, YR2 (i.e. terms 200706, 200707, 200709, 200801 will be opened on 5/1/07 and will be closed on 5/31/08. No awards or funding changes can be made after 5/31/08 for these terms).

All funding charges for tuition remission expenditures should be made by using the TZATRAF form (Do not send journal vouchers to the controller’s office to move tuition remission expenses between funds. All transfers should be made using the TZATRAF form. Once a term is closed, funding changes cannot be made after that date.)

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Funding Trouble Shooting
If funding is entered before a student is fully registered, only a portion of the award is applied to the student’s account. The remainder of the funds are unapplied and will remain that way until the billing cycle catches up with the activity of the student. For example, a department may apply funding for full tuition at a time that a student has only signed up for 6 hours. If funding is entered too early, Banner will only apply the amount to pay for 6 hours. The additional funds will not be recognized even though they have been awarded because there were no unpaid charges. In the meantime, the student may have since added 6 more hours, and may receive a bill for partial tuition because the award process (TZATRAW) has already “updated” its information to the funding process (TZATRAF). When the funding process billed against the actual charges, it found no reason to apply the extra funds. So the TZATRAF screen may contain this information:

If the department tries to change the Funded column to $3855.50, an error message will report “No funding needed” because the cycle hasn’t updated yet, even though the student may now actually have more charges. If the problem is not resolved in the next billing cycle the department will need to contact the Bursar’s Office to have the payment applied manually.

If a department tries to enter tuition on TZATRAF that is paid from a sponsored research account (4xxxx, 5xxxxx) an error message may appear that reads “student must be on a GTA or GRA to receive funding from this account” even when this is not true, or even when the student does have a GTA or GRA. Check with the sponsored research officer in charge of that fund to get the flag removed so that tuition funding can be entered. The officer can be identified on the FRAGRNT screen.

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Changing A Fund Number
To change a fund number on TZATRAF, change the amount funded to zero, then enter the revised amount using the new fund number on a second line. More than one fund number can be used to pay an award. The system will not allow a fund number to be deleted, but it can change the amount charged to the fund to $0.00. In the example shown below, the department has decided it does not want the original fund, 999595, to pay a tuition award. Instead, it wants to use two other funds to pay the award. It must first change the amount under the original fund to zero, then enter the new fund information. The funded amount must equal the awarded amount. Then the transaction can be Saved.

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Tuition Fund Restrictions
Awards on TZATRAW are entered as either Contract 1 or Contract 2 and will appear as Contract 1 or Contract 2 charges on TZATRAF. Contract 1 is reserved for tuition, academic fees and engineering fees and Contract 2 is reserved for paying fees other than tuition, such as comprehensive/technology fees or out-of-state fees.

Departments may receive an allocation of 999xxx and 997xxx funds to be used for graduate tuition each year. When using 997xxx and 999xxx tuition fund numbers, always enter them as a Contract 1 entry.

The 999xxx funds can be used for students who have a GA, GTA or GRA appointment provided that the student's stipend is not funded by a sponsored program fund. The 997xxx funds can only be used for GTAs who have earned at least $4000 as a GTA, and whose stipend is not being paid by a sponsored program fund. These funds cannot be used to fund a GA, unless the GA has a partial GA/GTA or combined appointment and will earn over $4000 on the GTA side of the appointment, provided the GTA side is not funded by a sponsored program fund. For departments that enter split appointments for students who are partially funded on sponsored program funds and wish to pay tuition using a 997xxx fund, an exception can be requested to move the 997 funds to a 998 fund number. Exceptions can also be requested for GRAs being paid on sponsored program funds that do not allow tuition awards. Please send an e-mail to stating the reason for the request, the name and ID of the student, and the amount of tuition to be awarded. All requests will be reviewed by graduate dean Karen DePauw.

E&G funds (start with 1xxxxx) can only be used for GTA/GRA students who have earned over $4000 on their graduate assistantship. Overhead funds (start with 2xxxxx) or institutional funds (start with 3xxxxx) are not restricted and can be used to fund tuition for scholarships or graduate assistants. When paying tuition with a sponsored research account fund (those that start with 4xxxxx or 5xxxxx), the department may have to call the sponsored research officer in order for the funds to be released.

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Tuition Refunds
If a department awards tuition to a student who has already paid tuition, the student will receive a refund from the Bursar’s Office. Refunds are payable to the student by Direct Deposit. If a student has already paid the out-of-state fee portion (UF Differential) of tuition and then qualifies for the waiver, this amount will be refunded in the same way as tuition refunds. The out of state fee is waived automatically when the student's assistantship appointment has been entered in Banner, the student meets the earnings eligiblity criteria, and the student is enrolled for the semester.

A student withdrawing for medical reasons will be charged a daily tuition rate for each day enrolled. Withdrawal for medical reasons must be accompanied by a statement from the Student Health Service at Virginia Tech indicating that the student is unable to continue in school due to medical reasons.

Comp fees are non refundable unless it is a complete withdrawal and all charges are cancelled. A withdrawal means the student has not been in attendance during any part of the term and the effective date is always the first day of class or before for a term. These rules are for fall and spring terms. Summer terms are different and departments should refer to the bursar’s website.

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Tuition Obligation When Students Leave Assistantship
This table is based upon the university refund policy and will be used in calculating tuition obligations for students who leave the assistantship appointment before day 38 of the semester.

The comprehensive, technology and capital fees are non-refundable and no reduction will be made after the beginning of classes.
*Student responsible for any amount not paid by department.
**Percent of tuition paid by department

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Removal of Late Fee Charge
If a late fee charge has already been assessed due to an out of state fee or tuition award not being entered on time and it is clearly not the fault of the student, and, provided that the student has no other charges outstanding, the department must fill out and submit a Request for Fee Waiver form, signed by a department head. The Bursar’s Office must process these requests manually.

Verifying Tuition Award on TSAAREV
Departments can check the student account screen TSAAREV, to verify that the tuition has been awarded.

Verifying Department Charge on TSAACCT
Departments can verify whether a student’s tuition has been paid by their own or another department by checking this screen. Enter the student ID, then select “EXEMPTIONS/CONTRACT” from the menu options to the left of the screen. Details of the transaction may be viewed on TSADETL.

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Tuition Remission Reports
Departments can track their spending or check tuition entries that need funding adjustments at any time by running the TZRTRAW or TZRTRAF fund reports from the Banner system. Reports are sent to the user by email. Instructions for running the reports are as follows:

Tuition Remission Award Report
The TZRTRAW (Award) report provides information by student and contract (tuition or fees) for a specified organization and term. The report provides the amount awarded, actual amount (amount of award applied to student’s charges), funded amount (amount of actual amount that department has provided a Banner Finance fund to charge the award), and a difference amount (difference between actual and funded).
The report can be requested for any level of the organization hierarchy (senior management, department, organization, etc.).

Tuition Remission Funding Report
The TZRTRAF (Funding) report provides information by fund by feed date (to Banner Finance) for a specified organization for a specified feed date range. The report provides the amount funded by student. This report can be used to reconcile between the Tuition Remission system and the Banner Finance system.
The report can be requested for any level of the organization hierarchy (senior management, department, organization, etc.).

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Submitting the Report - TZRTRAW
The following provides step by step procedures for submitting the report.
1. Enter the report name (TZRTRAW) in the direct access box on the main menu screen in Banner. Press the enter key afterwards. You will be taken directly to the GJAPCTL form (Process Submission Control Form).
2. Perform a next block function. Enter “webdist” as the printer. This will cause the report to go to the Virginia Tech Webviewer system and an email will be sent to the user notifying he/she that the report is ready for viewing or printing.
3. Perform a next block function. Tab to the value field for organization. Enter the organization code. Multiple organization codes can be entered by selecting “record” on the menu bar and then select “insert”. This puts a blank line in the parameter section. Enter a “01” and tab to the value field to enter the second organization number.
4. Use the down arrow key to move to the value field for the term code parameter. Enter the desired term (i.e. fall = 200709, spring = 200801, 1st summer = 200806, 2nd summer = 200807). Multiple terms can be entered if desired (using the method described in item 3 above).
5. Use the down arrow key to move to the value field for the “Only Adjustments Required” parameter. The value should remain “N” in this field if the user desires a report that includes all students awarded for the term. If the user desires a report of only students that need funding provided, change the value in this field to “Y”.
6. Use the down arrow key to move to the value field for the “Report Type” parameter. The value should remain a “D” in this field if the user wants a detail report that lists individual students. If the user wants a summary report, change the value in this field to “S”.
7. Perform a next block function. To submit the report, single click on the save icon on the icon bar at this point.
8. Exit the form and wait for the email that will be sent for notification that the report is ready for viewing or printing.

Viewing and Printing the Report
Once the email is received, click on the web address in the email. The webviewer system will be accessed and the report can be viewed in PDF format.

Click on the PDF button for the “Report – lis” file to access the report. This will start a session of acrobat reader. The report can be viewed or printed using acrobat reader.

Submitting the Report - TZRTRAF
The following provides step by step procedures for submitting the report.
1. Enter the report name (TZRTRAF) in the direct access box on the main menu screen in Banner. Press the enter key afterwards. You will be taken directly to the GJAPCTL form (Process Submission Control Form).
2. Perform a next block function. Enter “webdist” as the printer. This will cause the report to go to the Virginia Tech Webviewer system and an email will be sent to the user notifying he/she that the report is ready for viewing or printing.
3. Perform a next block function. Tab to the value field for organization. Enter the organization code. Multiple organization codes can be entered by selecting “record” on the menu bar and then select “insert”. This puts a blank line in the parameter section. Enter a “01” and tab to the value field to enter the second organization number.
4. Use the down arrow key to move to the value field for the fund. Tab to the value field for fund code. Enter the fund code (ONLY ENTER THE ORGANIZATION CODE OR THE FUND CODE—NOT BOTH). Multiple fund codes can be entered by selecting “record” on the menu bar and then select “insert”. This puts a blank line in the parameter section. Enter a “02” and tab to the value field to enter the second fund number.
5. Use the down arrow key to move to the value field for the “Date Range Start” parameter. The format is DD-MMM-YYYY.
6. Use the down arrow key to move to the value field for the “Date Range End” parameter. The format is DD-MMM-YYYY.
7. Use the down arrow key to move to the value field for the “Report Type” parameter. The value should remain a “D” in this field if the user wants a detail report that lists individual students. If the user wants a summary report, change the value in this field to “S”.
8. Perform a next block function. To submit the report, single click on the save icon on the icon bar at this point.
9. Exit the form and wait for the email that will be sent for notification that the report is ready for viewing or printing.

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