Graduate Tuition Return Incentive Program

Graduate Tuition Return Incentive Program (GTRIP)

Effective July 1, 2024, when allowed by the sponsor, all proposals that include GRA assistantships and training grant stipends will be required to include in-state tuition unless an exemption is granted by the Provost’s Office.

As of July 1^st, 2022, the Voluntary Tuition Incentive Program (VIP or RIAS/RIAT) has become the Graduate Tuition Return Incentive Program (GTRIP). The Graduate Tuition Return Incentive Program (GTRIP) is a $5 million per year commitment to growing graduate enrollment at UGA. GTRIP returns a multiplier of tuition dollars included on grants to the principal investigator’s (PI) unit to support additional graduate assistantships.

GTRIP Procedures

When allowed by the funding agency, PIs who include Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs) and Graduate Assistants (GAs) in their grant proposal budgets are expected to include full-time in-state tuition for these GRAs and GAs in their direct costs. Principal investigators of training grants are required to include full-time in-state tuition for graduate trainees whose assistantships will be paid from their grants.

View Tuition Return Status Frequently Asked Questions

KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GTRIP AND THE VOLUNTARY TUITION INCENTIVE PROGRAM (VIP or RIAS / RIAT):

Removal of limit on returns for training grants
Extension of GTRIP to include master’s students funded on sponsored projects
Increased flexibility in how GTRIP funds can be used
Increased flexibility in when GTRIP funds are allocated
PIs who do not include tuition in the budget will be asked to provide a reason in the Grants Portal for not doing so.

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT TO ME?

The University will return 150% of the in-state tuition paid from the grant to the PI’s unit to support additional graduate research assistantships. If the graduate program includes a tuition differential, the tuition return will be 150% of the standard graduate tuition rate.

HOW DOES THE TUITION RETURN PROCESS WORK?

Because the tuition is returned as state funding, all GTRIP funds must be used within the fiscal year in which they are returned. However, units will now be able to choose whether to receive the GTRIP funding in the fiscal year of the tuition expenditure or at the start of the following fiscal year. This will allow units to maximize the time in which the funding can be used. GTRIP funding may not be split over fiscal years.

HOW MAY THE TUITION RETURN FUNDS BE USED?

Units are expected to deploy at least 75% of the returned GTRIP funds to support graduate student assistantships. Students on assistantships funded by GTRIP dollars will receive the same benefits (i.e., tuition waiver and university contribution to health insurance) as students on other forms of university-supported assistantships. Colleges / Schools are strongly encouraged to work with their faculty PIs to ensure this program is beneficial to them.

Up to 25% of the GTRIP funds may be used to support graduate student training and professional development beyond assistantships (e.g., registration and travel for conferences and research-related trips; specialized training or software; access to core research facilities). GTRIP funds may not be used to pay mandatory student fees or health insurance premiums.

IS THERE A CAP ON TUITION RETURN FUNDING?

For PIs, there is no cap on the total number of assistantships eligible for GTRIP for either research or training grants.

At an institutional level, the rate of funding returned to units based on the GTRIP will be maintained at 150%* (1.5X the tuition budgeted on the grant) for up to 1,000 students at any given time. Returns initiated when there are already 1,000 students supported from grants will be at a rate of 100% (equal to the tuition budgeted on the grant).

*If the graduate program includes a tuition differential, the tuition return will be 150% of the standard graduate tuition rate.

Graduate Tuition Return Incentive Program (GTRIP) Procedures

NOTE: This process is followed for a single Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) or Graduate Assistant (GA) each term that their tuition is paid from a sponsored project award. If their tuition payment comes from more than one account, each account requires a separate Charge to Account Request form (step 4).

Tuition Waiver Request & Tuition Payment

1. Department is notified at time of award: When a sponsored project award is made for a project that has budgeted graduate assistant tuition, an email is sent to the department contact for that award. That email contains identifying information for the award.

2. Department submits form G104 in GradStatus: The hiring of a Graduate Research Assistant or Graduate Assistant paid from that award triggers the start of the GTRIP process workflow. The process mimics that of a tuition waiver request, which starts with submitting form G104 (Waiver Requests) in GradStatus. This form will require:

Student Name (Last, First Middle)
Student UGAID (81x)
Student Residency
Term (of tuition payment)
Department of GRA
Tuition Waiver Attribute (RIAS for Assistant; RIAT for Trainee)
Account Chartstring (account to pay department subsidy of Mandatory Student Health Insurance Plan)
Project ID (this is the Project ID of the award that is paying the GRA)

3. Workflow routes automatically: Submission of the G104 automatically routes workflow to various offices to streamline the process. This workflow triggers email notifications at each step.

4. Department submits Charge to Account Request: Once the Graduate School and Registrar verify account information and record attribute and exemption in Banner, the workflow will notify the department to submit a Charge to Account Request form to Student Accounts. This form has its own instructions. It will require:

Contact (Name, Email, Phone, Department)
Student Name (Last, First Middle)
Student UGAID (81x)
Attribute (RIAS or RIAT)
Term (of tuition payment)
Account Chartstring (account to pay tuition)

5. Tuition is charged: Student Account Services will then charge the tuition to the requested account.

Tuition Return Funding

6. Department requests tuition return: GTRIP tuition return funds can be requested in the same fiscal year as tuition payment or at the beginning of the next fiscal year. Departments will receive an email from the GTRIP Smartsheet workflow notifying them when tuition return can be requested. They will need to specify the fiscal year when they would like the tuition return and the desired chartstring on which to receive these funds.

7. Budget Office, Graduate School, and Student Accounts process the request: Each of these offices has steps in the process, which also route automatically through workflow.

8. Department receives tuition return funds: The department will be notified that the funds are available, including the chartstring on which the funds have been budgeted. Departments should verify that the GTRIP Return funds have been received. Remember that GTRIP Return funds must be spent in the FY they are received.