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Unemployment Tuition Waiver

Kean University Unemployment Tuition Waiver Checklist Form for Winter 2025

This Checklist is a REQUIRED document that must be submitted by mail or in person at the Office of Financial Aid, along with all New Jersey One Stop Career Center forms.

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A: 64-13.1 et seq. or 18A: 64A-23.1, the State of New Jersey created a program to allow certain unemployed individuals to attend a public institution of higher education in the state of New Jersey tuition-free on a space-available basis. Additionally, individuals who qualify for this program may have certain fees waived or reduced. To apply for this benefit, individuals must obtain certification from the Department of Labor, Division of Workforce New Jersey that they qualify for this benefit. Additionally, individuals must verify their past presence in the labor market for at least two years and their unemployed status or receipt of a layoff notice as proof of eligibility or an Employability Development Plan from the Division of Employment Services.

SEE REGISTRAR’S WEBSITE FOR LAST DAY OF ADD/DROP

Students are only eligible to register for courses on the LAST day of add/drop on a space-available basis for each course. (Students cannot register before or after this date, and no overloads are allowed.)

Students who register for courses prior to or after that date will forfeit his or her right to have those courses covered by the NJ Unemployment Tuition Waiver Program. If you are a matriculated student, and are eligible for a grant, you will be required to use the grant(s) first to cover the program cost. Students are subject to Kean University’s Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Financial Aid. The student must be making academic progress toward a degree and cannot be in default of a student loan in order to participate in the program.

Students who qualify for the NJ Unemployment Tuition Waiver Program will receive a waiver administered by the Office of Financial Aid that will cover tuition and certain fees, minus any federal and state grants and scholarships that the student may be eligible to receive.  (Health Insurance, late fees, and Graduation application fees are examples of fees not covered under the unemployment tuition waiver program.)  The maximum amount of tuition and fees that Kean University will waive is based on the flat rate charge for undergraduate students. The maximum number of credits per term for undergraduate students is 19 and 12 for graduate students. When the student is eligible for federal, state, or institutional grants and scholarships that exceed the student’s cost for tuition and applicable fees, the student does not qualify for the NJ Tuition Benefit for Unemployed.

The cumulative amount of tuition and fees that Kean University will waive for non-matriculated undergraduate students is limited to 12 credits and 6 credits for non-matriculated graduate students.

Unemployment Tuition Waivers are applicable to courses taken at and billed by Kean University, not for courses taken at other locations. Waivers are not permitted for Consortium Agreements at other institutions. Unemployment Tuition Waivers cannot be used for Travelearn or Study Abroad classes.

Students should refer to the Registrar website for the last day of add/drop and check their Kean.edu google email regularly.

Individuals who gain employment during the semester the Unemployment Tuition Waiver is in effect shall be eligible to continue for that semester as a participant of the program. This does not apply to students who become employed prior to the certification of a waiver.

PROGRAM EXEMPTIONS

Customized courses that are underwritten by specific employers are exempt from eligibility under the Unemployment Tuition Waiver Program. Courses offered under the Continuing Education, Study Abroad, and Travelearn programs are exempt from eligibility under the Unemployment Tuition Waiver Program.

PROCEDURES FOR UNEMPLOYMENT TUITION WAIVER

All students (matriculated and non-matriculated) seeking to participate in the Unemployment Tuition Waiver Program must follow the steps listed below:

  1. File a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the current academic year. Kean must be listed as a recipient on the FAFSA and all discrepancies must be resolved prior to the start of the semester. Financial aid must be applied prior to any Unemployment Tuition Waiver adjustments.
  2. Students using an Unemployment Tuition Waiver cannot register until the last day of Add/Drop. Any student registering before or after this date will not be eligible for the Unemployment Tuition Waiver for those courses. If a student registers prior to the last day of Add/Drop, but drops the course(s) and re-registers for the same course(s), the Unemployment Tuition Waiver will not be honored for those courses(s). Students cannot re-register for the same course code number.
  3. Submit the Kean University Checklist and the Employability Development Plan (EDP), along with the Unemployed Person Job Training Form (UPJTF), with original signatures from the New Jersey One Stop Career Center for the semester in which the student is applying for the Unemployment Tuition Waiver, in person at the Office of Financial Aid or by mail to the Office of Financial Aid. The UPJTF must be signed and dated by the Department of Labor, Division of Workforce of New Jersey. The Checklist must be signed by the student and all appropriate boxes checked. The EDP and UPJTF are obtained at the New Jersey One Stop Career Center, not Kean University. 
  4. Unemployment Tuition Waiver students must submit the UPJTF within five business days after the last day of the Add/Drop period for each semester. As a reminder: STUDENTS USING THE UNEMPLOYMENT TUITION WAIVER CANNOT REGISTER UNTIL THE LAST DAY OF THE ADD/DROP PERIOD FOR EACH COURSE REGARDLESS OF WHEN THEY SUBMIT THEIR WAIVER. 
  5. All Unemployment Tuition Waivers will be processed within ten (10) business days after the last day of Add/Drop. Approved waivers will be submitted to the Office of Student Accounting for tuition and fee adjustments.
  6. Students will be notified via their Kean google email if the Unemployment Tuition Waiver is approved or denied. It takes approximately ten business days to process the waivers and waivers cannot be processed until after the last applicable day of Add/Drop.
  7. Students using the Unemployment Tuition Waiver are not entitled to any promotional benefit offered by the university (such as Kean Dollars).
  8. If selected for verification, all verification documents must be submitted within 5 (five) business days of the last day of Add/Drop.
  9. Registration course overrides are not permitted with the Unemployment Tuition Waiver Program.  However, cases are reviewed under certain circumstances.  If a student needs one additional semester to complete the degree program and the only remaining courses that s/he needs to complete require an override, the Department Chair or the Academic Advisor can submit to the Financial Aid Coordinator of the UTW program a letter stating that (i) the course is required for graduation and (ii)  the student will be graduating at the completion of that semester.  In such cases, the waiver can be processed as long as the student is meeting all the other requirements.  In addition, for students in certain cohort programs where the department contacts the Office of the Registrar to register the students, and only those students are permitted in the class, the student must submit a letter from the Office of the Registrar stating that the department requested him/her to be registered and that s/he is part of that cohort group.

APPEAL PROCESS

Students who are denied the Unemployment Tuition Waiver have the right to appeal. An appeal for the denial decision can be filed by sending an email to unemploymentwaiver@kean.edu within five business days of the date that Kean sent the email notifying the student of the denial. Please include in the email subject “APPEAL.” It may take two to three weeks for a decision to be made on an appeal. The appeal must be specific with reasons, time/date, and communications related to the denial reason.

FINANCIAL AID

To view the financial aid site, please click here.