Graduate School Fee Match Guidelines

The Graduate School’s Matching Tuition and Fee Award Program provides fee authorizations for graduate students who receive a competitive stipend from a funding agency that does not provide funds to cover tuition and fees. 

The Graduate School can provide Fee Matches for specific initiatives that serve to leverage investments in initiatives in Graduate Education; specifically, the Matching Tuition and Fee Award Program and the Foreign Fulbright Student Recruitment Fee Match Program.

 

Fee Match Program Overview

  1. The Graduate School’s Matching Tuition and Fee Award Program (also referred to as the Fee Match Program) is a competitive program that provides fee authorizations for graduate students who receive a research associate or fellowship stipend from an external funding agency that does not provide funds to cover tuition and fees and/or requires an institutional match.
  2. The Fee Match Program is a pre-approval program designed to strategically leverage Ohio State University resources to enhance the likelihood for the successful funding of competitive external research grants, training grants, and fellowships that support graduate students along with other aspects of graduate education. 
    1. The pre-approval of these competitive applications to external funding agencies represents Graduate School investment in the form of Matching Tuition and Fee Awards.
    2. Funds are limited. Not all requests can be approved. Priority is given to proposals whose external funding agency prohibits tuition expenses in the grant budget and/or requires an institutional match. 
    3. If the pre-approval request is for a required match by the external funding agency, then the requester must submit documentation of other sources of in-kind matches from the academic unit, college, or university. The Graduate School will not approve requests if the Graduate School is the sole provider of a required match.
    4. If a pre-approval request is approved by the Graduate School in the online Graduate School Fee Match System and the grant/fellowship is successfully awarded, verification of funding must be submitted into the Fee Match system by the person who requested the fee match. Once verified, the requestor must then enter the specific student into the Fee Match system for the student to receive the fee match. Subsequently, the student-specific requests for Fee Match awards will be applied to the specific student account(s) by the Graduate School.

Eligibility Criteria

Funding Agency Inclusion Criteria

  1. The Fee Match program can support tuition and fee match awards for:
    1. Competitive external research grants that prohibit tuition expenses and/or require an institutional match. See Fee Match Request Process below for required documentation of prohibited expenses and/or required match.
    2. Doctoral training grants that prohibit tuition expenses and/or require an institutional match. See Fee Match Request Process below for required documentation of prohibited expenses and/or required match.
    3. Non-service external fellowships that support dissertation research of graduate students. The fellowship must be significant, i.e. an amount equivalent to a stipend and intended to support the living expenses, but not tuition and fees, of the graduate student while conducting dissertation research. Students receiving an external dissertation fellowship fee match may not work permanently from international locations unless the funding agency is specifically supporting dissertation research abroad. All requests to work domestically but outside of the state of Ohio must be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Dean of the Graduate School.
    4. The United States Department of State Fulbright U.S. Student Program is supported by a Fee Match from the Graduate School for U.S. graduate students to complete their Fulbright experience abroad. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program stipend varies by appropriated funds and the U.S. Department of State reserves the right to alter, without notice, participating countries, numbers of awards, terms of agreement, and allowances. This highly competitive Fulbright award provides additional support to students, such as travel and are one of the most prestigious awards granted to students and faculty at a university. These awards are eligible for a fee match.
    5. The funding agency must pay fellowship stipends above a minimum posted by the Graduate School ($1,750.00 per month as of 02/01/22) to be considered for a Fee Match from the Graduate School. 
      1. The stipend minimum is based on the cost-of-living estimate for an individual living in the city of Columbus using their student benefits based on data from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI; http://epi.org). This minimum may be adjusted as the EPI updates their cost-of-living reports. Fellowship stipends are intended to fund 100% effort for a graduate student toward the progress of their degree. Students receiving a Fee Match Award from the Graduate School may not hold other employment or paid appointments for the semester they are receiving the Fee Match from the Graduate School. 

Funding Agency Exclusion Criteria

  1. The Graduate School does not provide Fee Match support for countries seeking matching funds to enhance international opportunities, including for graduate student’s international study. Countries have opportunities through international graduate cooperative degree agreements and other arrangements through the The Ohio State Gateway for an arrangement with Ohio State that can include students. Scholarships/fellowships from foreign countries, including those to specific students, can be used by programs/colleges to provide partial support for international students, but are not eligible for a Fee Match.
  2. The grant/agency does not provide sufficient funds to meet the minimum monthly stipend.
  3. The grant/award has already been funded.
    1.  The Graduate School Fee Match Program is a pre-approval program and must be processed and approved prior to the submission of the grant.
  4. External employment or internships are not eligible for Graduate School Fee Match support, even if the external employment or internship opportunity does not provide tuition support. 
  5. Internal grants/awards/development funds are ineligible for Graduate School Fee Match Support.
  6. Scholarships are not eligible for a Graduate School Fee Match award.

Student Inclusion Criteria

  1. Good academic standing in the Graduate School.
  2. Enrolled full-time in a graduate program based on minimum credit hour requirements for the student’s appointment type (e.g. Fellow, GRA-GS Match, External).
  3. Successful satisfactory progress toward the graduate degree.
  4. Be appointed appropriately in Workday to match submitted appointment type in Fee Match system.
  5. Be engaged in a project and on appointment that is directly connected to the grant/award for which the fee match has been approved.
  6. Cannot hold any other employment or paid appointment while receiving the tuition and fee match. 

Student Exclusion Criteria

  1. Enrollment in a professional degree program (e.g. MD, JD, DVM, DDS). 
  2. Excessive credit hours (over 175 semester hours).
  3. Holding any other employment or paid appointment while receiving a Graduate School Fee Match award. 
    1. Graduate Students that receive a pre-approved fellowship and Fee Match that funds a stipend only for the academic year (Au and Sp semesters) may hold other employment or paid appointment in summer semester if approved by their program.

Student Does Not Meet Inclusion Criteria

  1. A Graduate School Fee Match award may be terminated if a student does not continue to meet the above criteria or any other conditions specified by the Graduate School or by the funding agency.

Pre-Approval Request

  1. Required Materials for Competitive External Research and Training Grants
    1. Letter from the Dean or Associate Dean of Graduate Studies with a statement of support and level of priority.  This letter must also contain a clear and explicit statement summarizing the fee match request (e.g. 2 students x 3 semesters/year x 2 years = 12 semesters total fee match support requested). 
      1. Some college prioritize external grants that have indirect costs, release time, and other resources. 
    2. Official grant announcement (Request for Proposals-RFP), along with the exact page and quote stating that tuition and fees are prohibited expenses on the grant.
      1. Tuition and fees as a prohibited expense and/or required match must be confirmed in writing from official notice (on official letterhead) from the agency such as in the Request For Proposals (RFP) or public charter of a Foundation. Confirming materials must be entered into the nomination system at the time of the pre-approval request, with the page noted and the information highlighted.
      2. Additionally, the request should state if Fee Match support from the university is a characteristic evaluated by the funding agency and enhances likelihood of awarding. 
    3. Grant Budget.
      1. The grant budget must clearly show sponsor costs and all cost share requests from other University entities. 
    4. Fee Match Budget. 
      1. This is not the budget for the grant/award, though that is helpful.  The Fee Match budget must clearly display the number of years of support requested, the total number of students, and the total number of semesters requested. 
      2. The Fee Match budget should clearly state the stipend provided to supported students, as well as cost of program-specific tuition and fees for the student’s program of study. 
  2. A Note About External Grant Proposals with Letters of Support from the Graduate School
    1. Agreements that the Graduate School may make or initiate between units to provide support, including matching tuition and fee agreements, may be processed via the Graduate School Fee Match System, such as on large competitive externally funded research grants (to increase the quantity or quality of graduate students) or special circumstances. 
    2. PIs must contact the Dean of the Graduate School directly to initiate a letter of support for the grant proposal. If approved, the Dean of the Graduate School will specify the expected number of graduate students who will be supported with matching tuition and fees based on the size of the grant and the separate Fee Match request. 
    3. Funds for cost-share are limited, discretionary and may be denied for many reasons.
    4. Fee match requests must be entered in the Fee Match system as a “Fee Match Cost Share” in the pre-approval request. 
  3. Required Materials for Non-Service External Fellowships
    1. Letter from the Dean or Associate Dean of Graduate Studies with a statement of support and level of priority.  The letter must also contain an explicit statement regarding the length of the fellowship and the requested number of semesters of fee match support (e.g. 1 student x 2 semesters = 2 semesters total fee match support). 
    2. Official fellowship announcement/description of the fellowship program and the stipend level of the award. 
      1. If the official fellowship announcement does not include a specific statement regarding coverage of tuition and fees, a written statement from the funding agency confirming that tuition and fees are prohibited expenses on the fellowship is required.  An email from a representative of the funding agency of the fellowship is sufficient. 
      2. Additionally, the request should state if Fee Match support from the university is a characteristic evaluated by the funding agency and enhances likelihood of awarding. 
    3. Fee Match Budget. 
      1. This is not the budget for the grant/award, though that is helpful.  The Fee Match budget must clearly display the number of years of support requested, the total number of students, and the total number of semesters requested. 
      2. The Fee Match budget should clearly state the stipend provided to supported students, as well as cost of program-specific tuition and fees for the student’s program of study.
  4. Submitting the Pre-Approval Request
    1. The pre-approval process allows the Graduate School to determine if it will match a potential award, in general.
    2. Pre-approval requests are reviewed on a rolling basis but must be submitted to the Graduate School at least three weeks before the funding agency’s proposals are due.
    3. To submit a request, log into the Graduate School Fee Match system and follow the steps for "Entering a New Pre-Approval Request" in the MTFA System Guide for Submitters.
    4. After submission of a pre-approval request, an approval workflow will be initiated.  First, the Graduate Studies Chair for the department will review, followed by a College-level approver.  Ultimately, the Graduate School will review the request and programs will receive notification of approval or denial in the Fee Match system and via email. 
  5. Related Policies
    1. Late pre-approval requests that are received by the Graduate School after the 3- week deadline for nomination in the Fee Match online system, but before the grant/award submission deadline, are not guaranteed a review.
    2. It is recommended that graduate programs seeking a Fee Match Award should secure the Graduate School's approval as early as possible, ideally when the external funding proposals are first being developed, to ensure any delays due to additional information requested can be completed in advance of internal and external deadlines.
    3. Grants/awards that were not funded and are resubmitted will need to resubmit a pre-approval request as a new proposal through the Graduate School Fee Match system.
    4. Comparisons to past approvals should not be used as a guide for approval of the next pre-approval request due to the variability in availability of funding and the existing list of active requests and their priority.
    5. Communication that occurs outside of the Graduate School Fee Match system will not be official communication as it relates to the approval or denial of a request. If your program has questions about whether an agency is eligible, the process is to submit the request for a full review through the Fee Match system and to receive an official response.

       
    6. All communication regarding the Graduate School Fee Match program including questions and concerns should be directed to grad-schoolfellowships@osu.edu. 

Funding Verification

  1. Funding Verification
    1. If the competitive external research or training grant is awarded, programs must submit a Funding Verification in the Fee Match by providing the grant and award numbers from Workday. 
    2. For non-service external fellowships, programs must submit the student’s award documentation, including the award amount and conditions, to grad-schoolfellowships@osu.edu, and submit the external fellowship comment in the Fee Match system. 
  2. Submitting Funding Verification
    1. Funding verification requests are reviewed on a rolling basis but should be received at least two weeks in advance of the student-specific request deadline for the first requested fee match term.
    2. To submit a funding verification request, log into the Graduate School Fee Match system and follow the steps for "Submitting Funding Verification" in the MTFA System Guide for Submitters.
    3. After submission of a funding verification request, an approval workflow will be initiated.  This will come directly to the Graduate School for review.
    4. Programs will receive notification of approval or denial in the Fee Match system. 

Student-Specific Request

  1. Submitting a Student-Specific Request
    1. If a proposal has been pre-approved and funded, programs are responsible for submitting a student-specific request for each student to receive a fee authorization each term.
    2. Student-specific requests are reviewed on a rolling basis but should be submitted no later than each term deadline.
    3. To submit a student-specific request, log into the Graduate School Fee Match system and follow the steps for "Submitting Student-Specific Requests" in the MTFA System Guide for Submitters.
    4. After submission of a student-specific request, an approval workflow will be initiated. This will come directly to the Graduate School for review.
    5. Programs will receive notification of approval or denial in the Fee Match system. 
    6. Deadlines
      1. Student-specific requests must be submitted online by the third Monday in July (autumn), the third Monday in November (spring), and the third Monday of April (summer).  The MTFA system moves to the following term after these deadlines and late requests will not be able to be reviewed.  Student-specific requests must be submitted for each academic term, regardless of the number of support years approved.
    7. Choosing an Appointment Type
      1. Depending on the award’s requirement, students may be appointed as a Fellow, Trainee, GRA-GS Match, or N/A—External Fellow. Many federal awards do not allow students to be appointed as fellows or trainees. It is the graduate program’s responsibility to determine the appropriate appointment type with the Office of Sponsored Programs, include this on the student-specific request, and ensure the student is appointed correctly.  The student’s appointment is connected to the minimum credit hours in which they must enroll, as well as how their fee authorization is applied.  The student must be appointed in Workday in the same appointment type selected in the student-specific request. 
      2. External Fellows
        1. Students who receive their stipends directly from a funding agency are considered External Fellows. The process for requesting a Fee Match Award for these students is the same, but there are some administrative differences:
          1. Fee authorizations are applied manually by the Office of the University Bursar each term; and
          2. External fellows do not receive the student health insurance premium subsidy; and
          3. External fellows are not appointed in Workday, unless permission is obtained by the Graduate School. Programs wishing to provide a supplement to an external award should contact the Graduate School to obtain permission and instructions for how to do so.
    8. Minimum Credit Hour Requirements
      1. Students receiving Graduate School Fee Match Awards must meet minimum enrollment requirements for their appointment type. 
        1. External pre-candidacy fellows must be enrolled in at least 12 graduate credit hours in autumn and spring terms and at least 6 graduate credit hours in summer term.
      2. The Graduate School Fee Match Award will not be applied if the student is under enrolled. 
    9. Other Appointments
      1. Students receiving a Graduate School Fee Match Award are not permitted to hold appointments outside of the appointment associated with the pre-approval request. 
        1. For competitive external research or training grants, the student must be appointed on the grant associated with the funding verification on the pre-approved award. 
    10. Relevant Policies
      1. Funding for specific students is to be requested only after the grant/external funding proposal has been pre-approved by the Graduate School and the proposal has been approved by the funding source and the funding verification has been approved by the Graduate School in the Fee Match system.
      2. Students should not be notified or promised a Fee Match from the Graduate School without an approved pre-approval request through the Graduate School Fee Match online system. 
        1. Please also note that fee matches for individual students will not be processed without submitted student-specific requests for a given term, even if the pre-approval was for a single-student award. 
      3. All communication regarding the Graduate School Fee Match program including questions and concerns should be directed to grad-schoolfellowships@osu.edu. 

Tuition and Fees

  1. Students with approved student-specific requests on file and whose appointments in Workday match the student-specific request, will receive a tuition and fee authorization for the requested term. 
  2. The Graduate School Fee Match award covers instructional, general, non-resident, and learning technology fees. 
  3. Students appointed as Graduate Fellows or GRA-GS Matches in Workday are eligible for the health insurance subsidy. 
    1. Students receiving external fellowship support who are not appointed in Workday or are appointed in Workday as a Graduate External Fellow are not eligible for the health insurance subsidy. 

Expenses and Fees Not Covered by the Fee Match

  1. Ancillary fees (including Student Activity, Recreational, Student Union, COTA, Student Legal Services) are not covered by the fee match. 
  2. Fellows are responsible for all late fees if they are the result of being under-enrolled (e.g., enrolled for less than the required number of hours as specified in the Minimum credit hour requirements [Section 11.3]) or a failure to make payment by the deadline.  Tuition and fee authorization benefits may not be refunded to the student.

Fulbright Foreign Student Program

  1. International graduate students may work through the Institute of International Education (IIE) Foreign Fulbright Academic Placement services, Amideast and Laspau, to apply to Ohio State University, and work with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, to receive an award from their home country. Each country’s awards differ and some countries provide supplies, stipend, and tuition and fee support; these graduate student awards are not eligible for a Graduate School Fee Match if they cover the full tuition and fees. 

Required Monthly Stipend for Fulbright Foreign Student Program Recruitment Fee Match

  1. In the Fulbright Foreign Student programs, stipend amounts can fluctuate significantly and may not meet the minimum stipend amount required for a Graduate School Fee Match. For Ohio State University programs to accept Fulbright Foreign Student program participants into their programs, the Graduate School recommends that the unit supplements the Fulbright stipend to meet the Graduate Associate minimum stipend.  To be eligible for a Fulbright Foreign Student Program Recruitment Fee Match award, the unit must supplement the Fulbright stipend to meet the Graduate School Fee Match minimum stipend per month. 

Nomination in GradAwards

  1. The Fulbright Foreign Student Program Recruitment Fee Match requires the program to nominate the student in the Graduate School Awards system.
  2. Required Nomination Materials
    1. Fulbright agency letter of offer to the student verifying length of the award (including renewable years) and a clearly stated monthly stipend rate paid to the student. 
    2. Written confirmation from the department’s Graduate Studies Chair confirming that the student will be supplemented by the department in order to meet the required monthly minimum stipend for Graduate Associates (recommended) or monthly minimum stipend for Fee Match Awards (required). 

Award Processing

  1. The Graduate School will review nominations and confirm all required elements are included in the packet and that the length of the nominated award aligns with the Fulbright letter.  
  2. Once confirmed and approved, the Graduate School will award the student and send the student an award letter summarizing the length and terms of the award.  
    1. The student must then accept or decline the award in the Graduate School Awards system, no later than the last Friday in July at 5:00PM.  
    2. Once the student accepts the Fee Match in the Graduate School Awards system, the Graduate School will apply the Fee Match award beginning during the student’s first semester enrolled at Ohio State.
      1. Late acceptance of the award will result in failure to receive the Fee Match for the semester requested and will be forfeited.  

Length of Fulbright Foreign Student Recruitment Fee Match Award

  1. The Graduate School typically provides Fee Matches for Fulbright Foreign Student awards for the number of years and semesters officially stated in the Fulbright Agency letter of offer. 
  2. Fulbright Foreign Student Program participants that arrange to stay at Ohio State University longer than identified in the Fulbright agency letter of offer will be expected to move on to college/department/program tuition and fee support.  

Relevant Policies

  1. It is recommended that each college appoints a designee to manage the Fulbright Foreign Student Fee Match with the Graduate School Fellowship office for student service and communications.
  2. The Graduate School Fulbright Foreign Student Program Recruitment Fee Match award covers instructional, general, non-resident, and learning technology fees. 
    1. Fulbright Foreign Student Program participants are considered External Fellows since their funding comes directly from an external source, therefore, the fee match does NOT include coverage for student health Insurance. 
    2. The Student Activities fee, Recreation fee, Student Legal Services fee, Student Union fee, and Student Health Insurance subsidy are NOT covered by the Graduate School Fulbright Foreign Student Program Recruitment Fee Match. These fees are the responsibility of the student and/or sponsoring agency.
  3. A student cannot hold any other paid appointment or employment while receiving a Fulbright Foreign Student Program Recruitment Fee Match.  If a program would like to employ the student as a GTA or GRA, that would remove eligibility for the Graduate School Fulbright Foreign Student Program Recruitment Fee Match.
  4. To provide a supplemental stipend to the student not in exchange for work, work with your HR representative to appoint the student as a “Graduate External Fellow” in Workday to process supplemental stipend support. If the department is supplementing the student to meet the required minimum stipend, this supplement cannot be in exchange for work on the part of the student.

Still Have Questions?

Fellowship Services
grad-schoolfellowships@osu.edu