Tuition Assistance Program at Valdosta State

  • TAP is a USG employee supplemental educational assistance program that fosters the professional growth and development of eligible employees.
  • TAP participants must be admitted to a degree-seeking program at a USG institution before receiving TAP benefits. Applicants awaiting academic program admission decisions should still submit TAP paperwork by the applicable deadline.
  • An employee may seek approval to enroll in up to nine (9) academic semester credit hours for each of the three designated semester periods: Fall Semester, Spring Semester, and Summer Semester
  • Eligible academic programs include professional certificates, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees offered in online, hybrid, or in-person formats.

  • Must be employed as a full time benefits-eligible employee of the USG for at least (6) months prior to the TAP application deadline.
  • If your employment status changes from active full-time benefits eligible, 1.0 FTE, during the semester that you are utilizing TAP, then you must notify the TAP Coordinator so that they can determine if you are still eligible. Please note that being out on certain leave categories may make you ineligible for the TAP program.

  • Apply for admission to the teaching institution through the normal student admission. If you have not been accepted as a student at the teaching institution or into your desired program prior to the TAP application deadline, you will still need to submit your TAP application by the application deadline date. Notify the TAP Coordinator upon submitting your application that you are awaiting word on your admission acceptance.
  • ALWAYS wait to register for courses until the designated TAP registration period provided by the teaching institution. (Remember, TAP is a USG benefit; therefore, registration is based upon space availability. Those who register prior to the designated time period will have to drop and re-register during the appropriate registration period to have the TAP waiver applied.)
  • While registration does remain open, be sure to finalize your registration for all terms prior to the deadlines below for their respective semesters in order to have the TAP waiver applied. Failure to do so could result in a balance due to Valdosta State.
Deadlines

Semester

Registration Deadline
Fall Semester September 1
Spring Semester February 1
Summer Semester June 1

  • TAP is a supplemental educational assistance program. An employee who is eligible for Pell Grants must apply his/her Pell Grant monies toward tuition and fees before receiving a TAP waiver.
  • The federal government currently allows up to $5,250 annually, in employer-provided educational assistance benefits, to be “tax free” to TAP participants. This only applies to graduate-level courses (students taking UG classes do not have an annual taxability limit). If applying for the graduate tax waiver, the TAP participant will submit this form to the TAP coordinator of the home institution each semester (tap@valdosta.edu).
  • If you are a VSU employee and taking classes at VSU, as a TAP participant, you are eligible to apply for the COSA Blazer Book Award Scholarship! Click here  to submit an application for the Blazer Book Award Scholarship. If you have questions, please contact the Blazer Book Award Committee at cosa@valdosta.edu.

  • Receive a grade of "C" or better in each class where a TAP waiver has been applied. Grades below "C" or "withdrawals" will result in TAP ineligibility for the following term. Those receiving an "incomplete" grade will be given one additional term to meet this.
  • To the extent possible, no employee should take a course that would require absence during regularly scheduled work hours. Alternate work arrangements will only be granted at the discretion of the immediate supervisor.

  • The following University System of Georgia TAP application deadlines will apply to all University System of Georgia institutions: (If any of these dates fall on a holiday or on a weekend, the application deadline will be the last business day prior to the dates).
  • Applicants are encouraged to submit TAP applications as early as possible within the acceptance window. Applications containing errors or missing information must be corrected and resubmitted prior to the applicable deadline.
Deadlines

Semester

Applications Accepted Starting

Application Deadlines
Fall Semester June 15 July 15
Spring Semester October 15 November 15
Summer Semester March 15 April 15

Destini Brooks
Human Resources/Employee and Organizational Development
Entrance 5, University Center
Phone: 229-259-5105
Fax: 229-259-5030
Email: tap@valdosta.edu