Tuition Fee Waiver

Eligible employees at CSUB can participate in the Tuition Fee Waiver Program which greatly reduces tuition fees to attend classes at CSU campuses. Eligible employees who do not wish to take advantage of the Fee Waiver Program may transfer this benefit to a spouse, domestic partner, or eligible dependent child, in accordance with the appropriate bargaining unit contract.

Some waived fees may qualify as taxable income. Please see the FAQ item "IS THE FEE WAIVER BENEFIT TAXABLE?" below for more information.

As of October 2026, the Tuition Fee Waiver application process has moved to Optimize, our new systemwide workflow designed to make submitting and managing tuition fee waiver requests easier for you and your eligible dependents.

Tuition Fee Waiver applications will only be accepted through the Optimize system, and must be submitted no later than three weeks before the first day of classes. For Spring 2027, that deadline is January 4th.

You can refer to the academic calendars to find out when classes begin.

Resources:

Step-by-step guides and FAQs about the Optimize system are available here:

Have Tuition Fee Waiver questions? Our custom GPT Tuition Fee Waiver Help Bot might be able to answer!

Employee Fee Waiver

Eligible employees are encouraged to take advantage of this valuable opportunity to increase their skills in their current work assignment, or better prepare themselves to achieve a career objective consistent with the needs of the University.

Courses are taken for credit and must be state-funded. The program does not apply to Extended University, Special Session, January Intersession, or most Summer courses).

Career Development Plan

Apply for Fee Waiver Course

Dependent Fee Waiver

Eligible employees may transfer their fee waiver benefit to their spouse, domestic partner or eligible dependent child. Student Financial Aid may be affected by the use of fee waiver. Contact the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office at the campus that your dependent is attending to see how financial aid will be affected by participation in the Fee Waiver Program.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

California State University offers eligible employees the opportunity to enroll in the Tuition Fee Waiver and Reduction Program. This program provides for the waiver or reduction of certain fees for employees who enroll in work-related courses offered by the CSU for the purpose of improving skills for existing jobs, or advancement in accordance with a career development plan. This program also provides eligible employees with the option of transferring their fee waiver benefit to an eligible dependent.

The Fee Waiver Benefit is taxable for

domestic partners

spouses and dependent children taking post‐baccalaureate classes
employees taking graduate/doctoral level courses (see details below)

Beginning with the 2019 tax year (January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2019), all graduate/doctoral level courses taken by employees (job-related or Career Development Plan) that exceed the threshold of $5,250 will be considered taxable income. The taxes will be withheld in a lump sum from the employee’s pay warrant the following census each semester. Census is generally mid-September for the Fall term, and mid-February for the Spring term on our campus. The withholding amount would likely be deducted on the following pay warrant, but it can take up to 2 months to process.

Full-Time Example: *

Total value of Fee Waiver (total tuition waived in a calendar year) = $9,098

$9,098 - $5,250 (threshold) = $3,848 in tuition waived beyond the threshold

Flat Tax Rate = 36.25%

Total taxes withheld from employee’s pay warrant = $1,394.90

Part Time Example:

Total value of Fee Waiver (total tuition waived in a calendar year) = $5,644

$5,644 - $5,250 (threshold) = $394 in tuition waived beyond the threshold

Flat Tax Rate = 36.25%

Total taxes withheld from employee’s pay warrant = $142.83

The tax withheld for fee waiver is in addition to any other taxes the employee is subject to have withheld form their pay warrant. The Flat Tax Rate of 36.25% represents 22% federal withholding, 6.6% state withholding, and 7.65% Social Security and Medicare.

Please Note:

Employees, in consultation with a personal income tax advisor, can evaluate whether their fee waiver qualifies for the “job related” fringe benefit exception to taxation in Internal Revenue Code § 132(d), and if applicable, claim the deduction on an individual income tax return.

Undergraduate fees for employees will remain nontaxable pursuant to IRC § 117(d).

Graduate/ Doctorate fees for employees will also remain nontaxable if expenses do not exceed $5,250 (in a calendar year) pursuant to IRC § 127.

*Tax Rate Information is current as of posting, August 13, 2026

If you have any further questions regarding the fee waiver program, please contact:

Daniel Jimenez
Director of Organizational Excellence, Training and Development

Phone: (661) 654-2266

Email: runnerstaffdevelopment@csub.edu

Eligibility for the Fee Waiver Program differs by employee bargaining unit/class (see below). Please note that employees who are on an approved full or partial leave of absence with or without pay remain eligible.

Unit 1 (Physicians)

All members

Units 2, 5, 7, 9 (CSUEU), Unit 4 (Academic Professionals), Unit 6 (Skilled Trades), Unit 10 (IUOE)

All full-time employees (i.e., permanent, temporary, and probationary)

Part-time permanent employees

Unit 3 (Faculty)

Tenured and probationary faculty (Please note: Faculty participating in the Faculty Early Retirement Program (FERP) are eligible for the fee waiver benefit only during the semesters when they are actively employed.)
Temporary faculty with three-year appointments (pursuant to Article 12 of the CBA)
Coaches with at least six years of service in the department

Unit 8 (Public Safety), C99 (Confidential), E99 (Excluded), M98 (Executive)

Full-time or part-time permanent employees
Full-time probationary employees
Temporary employees are not eligible
Please note: class E99 is not eligible to transfer the benefit to a dependent spouse, child or domestic partner

M80 (MPP)

Full-time employees (includes temporary)

No, extended education courses are not covered through the Fee Waiver Program. However, many extended education courses are cross-listed as regular University courses.

The Dependent Fee Waiver Program allows eligible employees to transfer their benefit to a spouse, domestic partner or eligible dependent child, in lieu of participation by the employee, subject to the following conditions:

Spouse, domestic partner, or eligible dependent child must be a regularly admitted student pursuing (matriculated toward) a degree or credential.

The course(s) enrolled in on a fee‐waiver basis must be for credit toward the degree or credential requirements.
The administration determines that there is space available in such course offerings for the spouse, domestic partner or eligible dependent child.
Employees in class E99 are not eligible to transfer this benefit

Only one person is eligible per semester. You may, however, alternate the benefit between your dependents each semester.

An employee may be granted reasonable release time for one course per semester that is taken through the Tuition Fee Waiver Program, provided that the supervisor determines that the operational needs of the department will be met. It may be necessary to arrange an alternative work schedule to satisfy the operational needs of the department.

The Tuition Fee Waiver program allows participants to enroll in a maximum of two classes or six units per semester, whichever is greater. If the individual is taking more than the maximum number of courses or units allowed through the fee waiver program, they will be required to pay the difference between the part‐time State University Fee and the full‐time State University Fee along with any other associated fees.

The fees that are waived or reduced are specific to your bargaining unit or employee class. The part‐time State University Fee is waived for all fee waiver program participants. In addition, the application fee is waived if the fee waiver participant is applying for admission to the University as a regular (matriculated) student during that term. One application fee is waived at the CSU campus where you are accepted and enrolled.

For the fee waiver program, a Dependent Child must be one of the following:

Child or stepchild who has never been married and is under age 25 (age 23 for Units 1 and 10) through at least the mid-point of the semester.
A child living with the employee in a parent-child relationship who is economically dependent upon the employee, who has never been married, and who is under age 25 (age 23 for Units 1 and 10) through at least the mid-point of the semester
Child or stepchild age 25 (age 23 for Units 1 and 10) or above who is incapable of self-support due to a disability that existed prior to age 25 (age 23 for Units 1 and 10).

You must submit a fee waiver application for yourself or your dependent each semester.

If both parents are employees and are eligible to transfer their fee waiver benefit, it is possible for one child to receive both benefits and be eligible to enroll in up to 4 courses or 12 units, whichever is greater.

Yes, you or your dependent will still qualify for the Fee Waiver Program. Non-resident tuition fees may apply, unless you or your dependent is eligible through the Title 5, Section 41910 provision, to be determined at the time of admission to the fee waiver program.

No, the Fee Waiver program is available for courses at CSU campuses only.

Fee Waiver Forms must be submitted to People & Culture at least three weeks prior to the first day of instruction each term. CSUB and other CSU deadlines may affect you or your dependent's ability to register for classes. For this reason, we encourage you to view the calendar of activities and deadlines at the campus of attendance.

If your classes change after you submit the initial application, you will need to submit a new Tuition Fee Waiver application with your new courses via Optimize and notify runnerstaffdevelopment@csub.edu. Please provide the Optimize ticket number of both your original application submission and the new one with updated course information so your records can be updated accordingly.

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