Department of Biostatistics Guidelines for Awarding Tuition Remissions

Beginning with the Fall 2001 Semester, the following criteria will be used by the Department of Biostatistics (and followed by the Directors of Graduate Admissions and Studies, and by the Department Registrar) for making decisions about Tuition Remission awards. All such awards are, of course, subject to the availability of funds, which are allocated by the Graduate School.

A student can be awarded a Tuition Remission for at most a total of four semesters in Master's program and 10 in Doctorial, in any UNC department, not just Biostatistics. This is a cumulative total across ALL UNC departments, not just counted Biostatistics semesters. The Department of Biostatistics elects to award eligible students a total of 4 semesters of tuition remission/instate award during their careers, however will consider future semesters if funds are available at lower priority. Full time status (9 or more credit hours) must be maintained during any semester in which a Tuition Remission is granted. If a student reduces course load below full time, he/she will not receive full tuition remission to cover the credit hours that were dropped. The student is personally responsible for paying the cost of the credit hours dropped (i.e. if a student has 9 hours and drops 3 hours, the tuition remission amount will cover 6 credit hours and the student will have to pay for the 3 credit hours dropped). During any of the four semesters in which a student receives a Tuition Remission, if that student drops below nine credit hours, he/she must submit a letter to the Department Registrar justifying why he/she should be allowed to compete for a Tuition Remission in a following semester. Current Master's students who have completed all requirements for the Master's degree, and have been granted permission to proceed to a doctoral program, are eligible to compete with other doctoral students for Tuition Remission awards.

When possible, approximately five Tuition Remissions may be awarded to new students, and the remaining available Tuition Remissions will be awarded to eligible returning students. Each award to a new student will be for one academic year (fall and spring). Returning student Tuition Remission eligibility is determined on a semester basis and is contingent on the availability of funds, GRA status, excellent academic progress, and financial need.

Criteria indicating lack of excellent academic progress include poor academic performance (e.g., as indicated by the grade of F or L in any course) and/or the inability to maintain full time student status (except in certain circumstance such as a major illness or personal hardship).

If additional funding becomes available for Tuition Remissions beyond those already allocated, the additional awards will be made to other eligible students on a semester basis using the following criteria: