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Education Benefits
What are education benefits?
To support employees and their families pursuing higher education, Carolina offers several education benefits and scholarship opportunities for eligible staff and faculty. Be sure to explore the details for each program for specifics, including eligibility, application process, coverage and timeline:
The different education benefits programs have different funding models, and those funding models vary regarding what’s covered and what’s not. Program funding may come from the UNC System Office, an employee’s home department and/or other units across the University.
Who’s eligible for which benefits?
Eligibility for an education benefits program depends on which family member is taking class and which institution is offering class.
Most education benefits require the University employee to have and maintain permanent employment status as an SHRA, EHRA-NF or Faculty employee to remain eligible for the duration of the benefit program.
University employees, their spouses and children may be eligible for different education benefits. Similarly, some programs only cover courses taken at UNC-Chapel Hill while other programs also cover courses taken at another institution.
See below to compare education benefits to learn what the programs cover and who is eligible for them.
Education Programs Comparison Charts
About the application process
Each education benefits program has its own application procedure, forms and deadlines.
Be sure to review the submission details for each program; this information is found on the webpage for each program.
Please note that for employees, the order in which you apply to the benefits programs is important and makes a difference for total amount awarded. Employees should apply to programs in the order outlined in the Education Benefits Eligibility by Institution Chart below. Spouses and/or children can apply to education benefits programs in any order.
Be sure to view the details for each Education Benefits program for specifics on the application process.
Which education benefits work for you?
Use the charts below to find the eligible education benefits that are a fit for you and your family.
Education Program Comparison
The University values learning and education for staff and faculty and their families and offers waivers, scholarships and other programs to help with the cost of classes. These comparison charts outline what’s covered and who’s eligible for our current programs. For more information about the specific programs, see the program links on the Education Benefits webpage.
Education Benefits Comparison by Program
This table shows what our University education programs cover and who is eligible for them.
| Program | What is Covered? | Employee Eligible? | Spouse Eligible? | Child/ren Eligible? |
| Tuition Waivers | Up to 3 classes per academic year at any UNC system school. Not all classes accept tuition waivers, so employee must verify their use | Yes | No
| No |
| Student Fees Waivers | Allows waiving of student fees when taking a class at UNC-Chapel Hill. This includes gym fees, student health fees, etc. | Yes | Yes | No |
| Educational Assistance Program | Allows a department to offset the cost of an employee taking in-person or online classes for a grade at other schools or at UNC-Chapel Hill | Yes | No | No |
| Carolina Family Scholarship | Need-based scholarship used for study at any accredited North Carolina post-secondary public institution, including any of the 16 institutions in the UNC system as well as local community and technical colleges. Only for children of UNC-Chapel Hill employees | No | No | Yes |
| Employee, Spouse and Dependent Undergraduate Scholarship | Provides needs-based financial assistance to eligible employees and their dependents pursuing an undergraduate degree at UNC-Chapel Hill. Employees must first use Tuition Waiver, if available | Yes, but employees must use tuition waivers first | Yes, but only for undergraduate courses at UNC-Chapel Hill | Yes, but only for undergraduate courses at UNC-Chapel Hill |
| Part-time Classroom Studies | For UNC employees and their families who have not yet earned a Bachelor’s degree and are seeking to complete a degree | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Education Benefits Eligibility by Institution
This table lists the eligibility information for University education benefits as determined by who is taking class and the type of institution offering class.
For University employees:
- University employees should apply to programs in the order listed in the table below.
- The order in which an employee applies to education benefits makes a difference for total amount awarded.
| Institution Offering Class | Education Benefits for Employee | Education Benefits for Spouse | Education Benefits for Child/ren |
| UNC-Chapel Hill | apply in the following order
- Tuition Waiver
- Student Fees Waiver
- Educational Assistance Program
- Employee, Spouse and Dependent Undergraduate Scholarship
| apply in any order
- Student Fees Waiver
- Employee, Spouse and Dependent Undergraduate Scholarship
| apply in any order
- Employee, Spouse and Dependent Undergraduate Scholarship
- Carolina Family Scholarship
|
UNC System school
(other than UNC-Chapel Hill) | apply in the following order
- Tuition Waiver
- Educational Assistance Program
| No eligible education benefits | Carolina Family Scholarship |
| NC community college | Educational Assistance Program | No eligible education benefits | Carolina Family Scholarship |
| Private, for-profit, out-of-state public or other institution | Educational Assistance Program | No eligible education benefits | No eligible education benefits |
Who is my Benefits Consultant?
If you have questions about the benefits available to you as a Carolina staff or faculty member, the UNC Benefits Team is here to help! View the directory to the find the Benefits Consultant for your school/division.
Benefits Consultant Directory by School/Division
