Luther College is pleased to be able to offer its faculty and staff a benefit that is highly unique in today’s workplace: higher education for one’s dependents. It is a privilege to be engaged in the mission of higher education, and to be able to offer that experience to family members of Luther employees is worthy of institutional support.

To monitor and manage the cost of the Tuition Benefit Program and to ensure all employees have equal access to the process, the following guidelines have been established.

Application Process

There is a three-step application process for the Tuition Benefit Program.

Step 1: The application form, due October 1, notifies Luther College that you have a dependent who will be applying or re-applying for the tuition benefit. This is a preliminary list of colleges your child is interested in applying to.

Step 2: A finalized list of colleges that your child will be applying to is due November 1. Please email your list to Doreen Bidne.

Step 3: The confirmation form, due May 15 of the following year, confirms the specific benefit program your dependent will be utilizing and the college or university your dependent will be attending.

Both forms are available on the Human Resources web site. It is the employee’s responsibility to meet the October 1, November 1 and May 15 deadlines. Failure to do so can result in your dependent not receiving this benefit. 

Selection Process

Luther College offers four different types of tuition benefit programs:

• Luther College benefit: all employee dependents will receive this benefit in accordance with the Luther Human Resource employee handbook as long as the appropriate forms are turned in to the Vice President for Enrollment Management by the designated deadlines.

• ELCA benefit: all employee dependents will be certified as exports on this program as long as the appropriate forms are turned in to the Vice President for Enrollment Management by the designated deadlines. The receiving institution will determine the amount of the benefit and eligibility. See participating colleges.

• ACM (Associated Colleges of the Midwest) benefit: up to eight new students each year will be certified for this benefit. Certification will be offered using the following criteria: application turned in by the required date and an employee’s length of service to Luther College. All dependents certified under this program will receive a minimum of 80 percent of the importing institution’s tuition, with 30 percent of the tuition cost being covered by Luther and 50 percent being provided by the importing institution. Notification will be sent to the employee by January 15 of each year. See participating colleges. (Carleton College does not participate in the ACM tuition exchange program.)

• NTE (National Tuition Exchange) benefit: up to eight new students each year will be certified for this benefit. Certification will be offered using the following criteria: application turned in by the required date, an employee’s length of service to the College, and maintenance of Luther’s import and export balances as required by NTE. It is up to the receiving institution to determine eligibility for this benefit. The amount of the benefit is set by the NTE. Notification that Luther has certified your dependent as an export on this program will be sent to the employee by January 15 of each year. See participating colleges.