Tuition exchange programs enable all full-time AUS faculty and staff to apply for the opportunity to send their dependents to study in the USA, and sometimes other countries as well, for a significant tuition discount and/or a total tuition waiver. Tuition exchange is a university member-based scholarship opportunity meant for AUS university faculty and staff – it is NOT an employee benefit.  American University of Sharjah (AUS) nominates eligible faculty/staff dependents to be considered for a scholarship at one of the participating member universities in two different tuition exchange networks, including:  The Tuition Exchange Inc. (TE) or the CIC-Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP). Each network member institution has its own import and export guidelines. 

You can look up participating members of each tuition exchange network here:

1. The Tuition Exchange Inc. (TE)
2. CIC-Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP)

The Director of the International Exchange Office (IXO) currently serves as AUS’s Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer. You can email [email protected] to request additional information or make an appointment to discuss your situation and eligibility.

AUS Faculty/Staff apply for a nomination on behalf of their dependents wanting to study at one of the participating member universities. The term ‘dependents’ includes a spouse or any child born to an employee, legally adopted by an employee, or for whom legal guardianship can be documented. Eligibility requirements vary by program, as follows:

1. The Tuition Exchange Inc. (TE):  Any currently employed AUS full-time faculty or staff who has been employed at AUS for at least three continuous years is welcome to apply.  Limited nominations are available, and there is a vetting process based mainly on seniority to determine which eligible students will be nominated for a TE scholarship.
2. CIC-Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP):  All full-time AUS faculty and staff are eligible to apply, and nominations are not limited. 

This is due to peculiarities of the two different programs. The CIC-TEP does not require AUS to maintain a balanced number of incoming vs. outgoing tuition exchange students, while the TE program does. Given that AUS is one of only a small handful of universities located outside the US in both networks, we do not receive a lot of incoming student applications through the tuition exchange program networks. When we do receive incoming student applications, they are often for a 1- or 2-semester study abroad experience, rather than for a four-year degree program. Specifically for the TE program, we are trying to balance the total number of semesters awarded scholarships for both incoming and outgoing students. These kinds of features mean that we need to restrict the number of outgoing students that we send, and that all of us are well-served when we promote AUS as a study destination to our colleagues in US institutions.

AUS’s Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer will send a program announcement containing guidelines around to all AUS faculty and staff in late Spring (i.e. April/May) and early Fall (i.e. September) each year. Interested families should review the guidelines and various network member universities and decide which universities they wish to apply to for admission. The application deadlines vary by program, as follows:

1. TE:  Submit online application form, by Saturday, November 16, 2019.  You are encouraged to listen to the quick pod-cast found online with this application form to insure your EZ application is completed correctly the first time.
2. CIC-TEP:  Submit hardcopy application form, to be found on the last two pages of the Tuition Exchange Guidelines by Saturday, January 18, 2020.  Submit the form to the AUS Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer.

AUS will nominate each eligible and successfully vetted family to up to 10 participating network member universities.

Yes, it is up to each family/student to apply directly to each university for admission and to comply with all admissions requirements at each university. The AUS Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer does NOT get involved with university admissions applications.

The application process varies by program, as follows:

1. TE: Submit online application form, by the third Saturday in November each year. You are encouraged to listen to the quick pod-cast found online with this application form to insure your EZ application is completed correctly the first time.
2. CIC-TEP:  Submit hardcopy application form, to be found on the last two pages of the Tuition Exchange Guidelines by the third Saturday in January each year.  Submit the form to the AUS Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer.

In the case of the TE program, the AUS Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer will review the vetting criteria and let you know if your application is successful and if you will receive a scholarship nomination from AUS. Once you been accepted for a nomination, the Officer will submit nominations to all of the 10 universities that you have identified. It will then be up to you and your dependent to ensure that you have submitted an application for admission to each of those universities. You will need to keep in close contact with the AUS Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer throughout the admissions process and let the officer know of any admissions or scholarship decisions for which you receive any notification. The officer will do the same for you and will notify you whenever any scholarship decisions are announced. Ideally, by mid-May, nominated students will have heard back about both the admissions and scholarship applications, and both will be successful!

AUS views this program as an opportunity to recognize and reward AUS faculty and staff who have demonstrated long-term commitment to the institution. Therefore, the primary criterion for awarding the scholarship is based on employment seniority, i.e., years of continuous full-time service. In the case of a tie between candidates along this measure, AUS will employ the additional criteria (i.e., financial need, academic performance and statement of intent). By the end of the first week in December of each academic year, AUS will be in a position to announce successful nominees for a TE Scholarship, and to authorize or reject all online applications submitted through the TE online application website.

AUS cannot guarantee that the intended host universities will offer a scholarship. All we can do is nominate a student, but ultimately the decision to award the scholarship is up to the host university. Obviously, a student will not be offered a scholarship if they do not apply for admission. Some universities award these scholarships based on academic merit, some based on first-come-first-served, etc.  The AUS Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer will nominate the student and stay in touch with the family about decisions, but that is all that AUS will be able to do.

Yes. Students who are currently enrolled at AUS and who seek to transfer to another institution after receiving a Tuition Exchange scholarship must ensure that they are able to fully complete the last semester at AUS (including completion of all final exams as per the schedule published by the Office of the Registrar). Please note that the AUS Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer cannot advocate for accommodations such as departure from AUS prior to the end of the semester prior to transfer.

Potentially, yes. However, as a full-time AUS faculty/staff, any dependent you have that is studying for their degree at AUS will always also have the opportunity to study abroad tuition-free with one of our bilateral- or ISEP-partner universities. 

There are only very limited opportunities available within the participating network members for graduate student awards. Most awards will go to undergraduate students. You can search the participating network universities online to learn which offer scholarships for graduate programs.

Once a dependent has received a tuition exchange program scholarship, the expectation is that this scholarship will automatically renew every year (depending on the host program, this could be for the duration of their undergraduate degree, and usually is a maximum of four years or eight semesters) so long as:

1. the qualifying parent/guardian of the student continues employment at AUS;
2. the dependent remains enrolled in good standing at the host university; and
3. the dependent meets all of the requirements to maintain the scholarship as set by the host university.

Tuition exchange scholarship awards are based on class levels with an eight-semester maximum for entering freshmen. Sophomores would typically receive six semesters and juniors would receive four semesters to complete their degrees. No additional funding is available upon graduation, even when a student graduates early. Schools offering graduate scholarship opportunities generally offer the student a total of four semesters of funding. Typically, students may not apply a tuition exchange scholarship to summer study, but you are always encouraged to discuss this with the Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer at your host university once you have received and accepted a tuition exchange scholarship. These kinds of things can vary considerably between different host universities and so definitely worth looking into!

It is important to understand that no monetary funds are exchanged between AUS and participating network member universities.  The value of the CIC-TEP scholarship is always full tuition at the host university. For the TE program, the scholarship is either the full tuition OR a published set rate, whichever is less. For the AY 2019–2020, for example, TE specified a “set rate” of $37,000 for the tuition scholarship. If a member university’s tuition is lower than that, then they are obliged to provide full tuition; however, if a university’s tuition is higher than the set rate, they are only obliged to offer a scholarship worth that set rate. However, to date we have seen scholarships awarded for amounts up to $39,600 at some universities (i.e., University of Southern California), so it is possible that any given university may offer more than the set rate—but there are no guarantees! You will need to be prepared for additional costs that you would pay directly to the university. Please be sure to communicate with the university to get a comprehensive sense of the total costs you will be expected to pay in addition to normal travel expenses. FYI, sometimes, university members of the TE program will also provide free housing as part of their scholarship. 

This may be possible in some cases. Please contact the AUS Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer for more details.

Yes, but a new application will be required for the next academic year.

No. There is an annual recertification process to verify that the AUS faculty/staff still meets eligibility requirements for the tuition exchange program. You will also need to confirm that your dependent is continuing their studies at the host university, and their intended graduation date.

Your scholarship will expire at the end of the current enrollment period. For example, if you resign on July 1, your dependent’s eligibility will expire on July 1. If you resign effective October 15, you dependent’s eligibility will expire on December 31. Any future tuition exchange scholarship expected for future semesters would also be cancelled. However, if the employee transfers to work at another participating network member university, there is a chance that the student may be eligible to apply for a scholarship through that new employer university. The student and/or employee should contact the new Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer ASAP to determine eligibility and other details about the tuition exchange program at the new employer university.

Each participating member university determines its own schedule for awarding tuition exchange scholarships, and you can look online for more information about their expected notification dates here:

1. TE
2. CIC-TEP

Please be aware that the early admission process does not necessarily mean that the tuition exchange decision will be made sooner than the announced dates. The AUS Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer will remain in touch with you throughout the admissions process and will keep you informed as scholarship decisions are made and announced.

This may be possible if your dependent transfers to another participating network university. However, the number of scholarships can be limited at each member school, and there are no guarantees that your dependent will receive a scholarship at the new host university. Start with the AUS Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer to confirm that your dependent is able to modify their tuition exchange application to include the new university. You may need to complete a new application listing only the new university. Please remember that tuition exchange scholarships are based on a variety of considerations including academic success at the former school and whether or not the new university has available scholarships. 

Each host university will set its own guidelines for students receiving tuition exchange scholarships. If there is a GPA requirement, the school should note it in the offer letter and/or the university catalog. If you have any doubts, ask the host university.

Typically the AUS Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer will check your ongoing eligibility with the AUS Human Resource Department over the summer and again during the mid-semester break each year. 

The AUS Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer works to ensure that faculty/staff dependents have access to these scholarship opportunities. Neither the officer nor AUS awards these scholarships to faculty/staff dependents — the host university awards the scholarship. The extent of IXO involvement is to help the faculty/staff dependent to get access to the scholarship opportunity, and to communicate between the various parties throughout the scholarship application cycle. Please note that the AUS Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer is not responsible for providing university counselling to your dependents.

The College Board website contains a lot of great information about US university entrance examinations (e.g., SATs, PSATs, AP exams, etc.), admissions processes, financial aid and more. AUS recommends opening a free account on The College Board website as soon as possible: http://student.collegeboard.org/.

1.  For free advising, contact  Education USA Office, US Consulate General, Dubai 
2. IDP Education offers free services, as well
3. Ms. Valentine Sergon, Lead Mentor, Within Reach (North American Admissions Consultancy), Fee-based services, [email protected]:  www.withinreach.live
4. Other information regarding studying in the US

As an example, AUS faculty/staff dependents have received tuition exchange scholarships from the following universities:

1. Al Akhawayn University, Morocco (CIC-TEP)
2. American University of Washington, DC (TE)
3. Boston University (TE)
4. Bard College, NY (TE)
5. Bradley University, IL (TE)
6. Catawba College, NC (CIC-TEP)
7. Chatham University, PA (CIC-TEP)
8. Davis & Elkins College, WV (CIC-TEP)
9. George Washington University (TE)
10. Lesley College, MA (CIC-TEP)
11. Lourdes College, OH (CIC-TEP)
12. Lynn University, FL (CIC-TEP)
13. Maryville University of Saint Louis, MO (CIC-TEP)
14. Pace University, NY (CIC-TEP)
15. Pepperdine University, CA (TE)
16. Rochester Institute of Technology, NY (TE)
17. Stetson University, FL (CIC-TEP)
18. Syracuse University, NY (TE)
19. University of Evansville, IN (CIC-TEP)
20. University of San Diego, CA (TE)
21. University of Southern California, CA (TE)
22. Upper Iowa University, IA (CIC-TEP)
23. Virginia Wesleyan University, VA (CIC-TEP)
24. Westminster University, UT (TE, CIC-TEP)
25. Wilmington University, DE (TE)
26. Woodbury University, CA (CIC-TEP)

AUS strongly recommends that candidates applying for tuition exchange scholarships also apply for regular financial aid from their intended universities. This way, in case the tuition exchange scholarship is not awarded, candidates may still receive some offers of financial assistance from the university (and sometimes this award can be quite substantial). Also, if a family is not awarded the full tuition cost as a scholarship, then they may also be eligible for some additional assistance through the financial aid program.

1. Families can apply for federal financial aid in the US regardless of their nationality status. If the student is a US citizen (regardless of their parents’ citizenship), then the family would just report their individual wages, tax paid on those wages and total income from all sources (i.e., adjusted gross income US line) in US dollars on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The destination university’s financial aid office would be able to assist them when filing this form. 
2. If the applicant is not a US citizen, then he or she will be considered an International Student. International students will have to complete and provide an Affidavit of Financial Support when submitting their application materials to US universities. This is a requirement in order for an international student to get a visa to study in the US. This affidavit does not require families to show that there are full resources to cover the cost—just what the family has to pay toward the costs. International students can apply for financial aid, too, but not on the FAFSA. They would normally use the College Scholarship Service Profile (CSS) financial aid profile, which allows for them to report all finances using their country’s currency rate, and thereby they would not have to convert everything to US dollars. 
3. Please note that US federal financial aid is generally very limited for international students and many institutions will be very selective about who they give the aid money to. The positive side is that an international student who is TE eligible will probably have a better chance of getting the TE when the US institution is so limited in giving their own institutional aid dollars.
4. US citizens who are able to claim state residence may also be eligible for in-state tuition assistance programs, etc. These state-level programs are definitely worth exploring for families in that position.

Please contact the AUS Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer with any other questions.