Breaking Educational Barriers

Have you been wanting to pursue furthering your education, but haven’t had the opportunity to for one reason or another? We are proud to announce a new program to help eliminate one of the major barriers people face in these efforts: funding.

DOCTORAL EDUCATION PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Full-time budgeted employees at all A&M System universities, agencies, and Texas A&M University System offices are qualified for payment/reimbursement of tuition and mandatory fees. The initiative began in the Spring 2022 semester for eligible employees who are pursuing approved doctoral programs at A&M System universities. By encouraging the professional and personal development of A&M System employees, this doctoral program is designed to invest in and assist employees further their knowledge, skills, and job effectiveness.

ELIGIBILITY

The following information outlines guidelines for the A&M System’s payment of tuition and mandatory fees for eligible employees pursuing approved doctoral programs at A&M System universities. This initiative began with the Spring 2022 semester. Under the direction of the chancellor, A&M System offices conducted a sunset review of this initiative for continuation, adjustment, or termination of the program. Information about the decision is listed below. This program does not cover second doctorate and is also not available to fund professional degrees such as doctor of medicine/pharmacy/veterinary medicine, juris doctorate, or the doctor of business administration (offered by Prairie View). If an individual drops a course, this may lead to discontinuation of the reimbursement program.

Eligibility: Full-time, budgeted employees at A&M System universities, agencies, and offices, as qualified below. Texas A&M University employees including those at Galveston, Qatar, and TAMU Health who are approved to participate in the Doctoral Education Program cannot also receive (are ineligible for) the following: Employee Tuition Assistance, the TAMU Staff and Faculty Fee Exemption, funding from my department/office or academic department, nor waivers/exemptions.

2024 SUNSET REVIEW DETERMINATION: The Doctoral Education Program will not accept new participants after May 15, 2025. All participants accepted into the program as of May 15, 2025 will continue to receive funding until May 31, 2028. System members participating in the program will continue to invoice the System Office as detailed in these guidelines. *Please note that all Texas A&M applications will be due on May 15 per the application process outlined below.

FACULTY

1. Must be employed in a full-time, budgeted faculty position at an A&M System university or agency for no less than two long semesters before starting the program.
2. Must be employed in a full-time, budgeted faculty position at an A&M System university or agency each semester while in the program. Note: Summer eligibility for university faculty is contingent on meeting this standard the previous semester and presumed full-time employment the following semester. Summer eligibility for agency faculty is contingent on employment during the summer months.
3. Must be admitted to a doctoral program at an A&M System university, have at least a satisfactory employee performance review on file, be in good academic standing, and making progress toward degree completion (no minimum number of hours per semester required). The employee may be enrolled in a doctoral program at any university in the A&M System, not limited to their own employer. The doctoral program must be consistent with the faculty appointment such that completion of the degree would be recognized by SACSCOC as appropriate credentials on the reaffirmation faculty roster.
4. Funding eligibility is limited to six consecutive years following the initial tuition and fees payment. Extenuating circumstances may be reviewed for consideration by VP of HROE or designee.
5. No payments/reimbursements will be provided for additional courses outside the degree plan or auxiliary activities.

ADMINISTRATION AND STAFF (NON-FACULTY)

1. Must be employed for a minimum of 12 months in a full-time, budgeted professional staff position at an A&M System university, agency, or office.
2. Must be employed in a full-time, budgeted professional staff position at an A&M System university, agency, or office each semester while in the program. Note: Summer eligibility is contingent on employment during the summer months.
3. Must be admitted to a doctoral program at an A&M System university, have at least a satisfactory employee performance review on file, be in good academic standing, and making progress toward degree completion (no minimum number of hours per semester required). The employee may be enrolled in a doctoral program at any university in the A&M System, not limited to their own employer. Doctoral program must be consistent with the mission of the office in which the administrator or staff member is employed.
4. Funding eligibility is limited to six consecutive years following the initial tuition and fees payment. Extenuating circumstances may be reviewed for consideration by the VP of HROE or designee.
5. No payments/reimbursements will be provided for additional courses outside the degree plan or auxiliary activities.

FUNDING

All tuition and mandatory fees for courses required to complete the degree will be reimbursed to the institution.

1. The employee’s vice president must approve eligibility for this program.
2. Texas A&M University will provide a roster of eligible and enrolled employees to the Office of Academic Affairs at the A&M System, noting the employee’s name, UIN, university in which the employee is enrolled, and academic program pursued.

APPLICATION PROCESS

An employee seeking to apply for the Doctoral Education Program must submit the application form prior to the semester in which they are seeking funding no later than the following dates. A student does not need to be registered for classes to apply and be approved for funding. Once a student is registered for classes, the Doctoral Funding will be applied toward the tuition and fees statement. Applications cannot be submitted outside of these periods:

Application Form **

** Since eligibility for the Doctoral Education Program is contingent upon employment status and degree program, employees are required to submit an application for funding each semester. If employees have inadvertently submitted an application for multiple semesters, they will need to immediately submit separate applications for each semester for which they are requesting funding. Application periods will only be open for one semester at a time.

ADDITIONAL EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYEES NOT USING/ELIGIBLE FOR DOCTORAL FUNDING

• Staff/Faculty Fee Exemption
• Employee Tuition Assistance Program
• Dependent Children of Texas A&M Employee Scholarship

ADDITIONAL EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYEES

• Educational Release Time

FAQs

Should employees at all Texas A&M University System members submit the application form on the TAMU website?

No. Only Texas A&M employees including those at Qatar and TAMU Health should submit this application. All other System member employees should complete the application process for their respective institutions. Below are links to application processes for employees of other System members.

System Offices

Texas A&M University-Commerce

Texas A&M University at Galveston

Tarleton State University

West Texas A&M University

Help! Certain aspects of the form aren’t fillable, what do I do?

Fields are auto-populated with data from Workday upon your authentication to access the form. If fields are incorrect then please let us know so we can reach out to the Laserfiche team to look into the problem and let us know when it is fixed.

If an employee has received a confirmation that their application has been approved by the Department Head, when can the employee expect to see the conditional credit applied to their student account?

Doctoral funding will be credited to your student account 3-5 business days after the application deadline for the semester for TAMU employees. All other TAMUS system employees will have their funding applied when we have received the notification from your liaison. All students will need to ensure that their account is paid prior to the due date of each semester. Students will be responsible for paying any balance due before the conditional credit is applied to their bill. Options for paying a balance include other awarded financial aid including student loans, enrolling in a payment plan, or the Emergency Tuition and Fees Loan.

Where do I go for help with questions about my student account/bill?

Please contact Aggie One Stop for general billing questions. 

How does the process work?

At the start of each semester, all students taking courses will receive a tuition and fee statement. If you applied for the Doctoral funding and were approved, you will see this on your account/statement as a credit/payment. As a reminder, funding only covers the required tuition and fees for your program. Any optional or miscellaneous charges will need to be paid by the student.

What additional fees might I incur?

Doctoral funding does not cover the general deposit, new grad student fees, or diploma/graduation fees. More information on these fees and other fees can be found through Student Business Services.

I have a hold on my account and am unable to register.  What should I do?

Begin by checking your Howdy portal. There are various types of holds and they are administered by different offices. To learn more, visit Aggie One Stop.

By applying to this program it says that I am no longer eligible for the TAMU Staff and Faculty Fee Exemption and Tuition waivers, does that mean that I need to pay the tuition and fee in full and will then get a reimbursement for it?

Once you have applied, a report will be sent to Student Business Services and Scholarships & Financial Aid, so that they can apply a conditional credit for the eligible courses that will be paid for by Texas A&M University (and reimbursed to TAMU by the Texas A&M University System). No payments/reimbursements will be provided for additional courses outside the degree plan or auxiliary activities.

Is there a limit to the cost of reimbursement?

Qualified employees will receive payment/reimbursement of tuition and mandatory fees. Funding eligibility is limited to six consecutive years following the initial tuition and fees payment. Extenuating circumstances may be reviewed for consideration by the VP of HROE or designee.

Does this program reimburse for previous semesters completed or is it just for the semesters moving forward?

This initiative began in the Spring 2022 semester for eligible employees pursuing approved doctoral programs at A&M System universities. Employees were able to apply retroactively for Spring 2022 while also applying for the Summer 2022 session. This was the only time that eligible employees will be able to apply for two semesters at a time.

What if the department head is having difficulty submitting the form?

The Department Head will need to select Approved or Denied first (see Department Head Decision*). Once they select the appropriate decision, they will be able to proceed.

• If approving the application, the Department Head will need to check the box next to the Department Head Acknowledgement (the acknowledgment statement appears after they select Approved). Sign. Add comments (optional). And Submit.
• If denying, the Department Head will need to complete the Reason for Denial. Sign. Add comments (optional). Submit.

For questions regarding admissions or tuition process, contact the Aggie One Stop at https://aggie.tamu.edu/resources/contact-us or call (979) 847-1787.

For further questions or concerns not listed above, email the Living Well team at livingwell@tamu.edu.

We thank you for your patience as we work to get you answers from the appropriate offices and are eager to help you succeed.