Information for Potential Exports

2009-2010 Academic Year

Two active tuition exchange programs are available to eligible dependents of University of Richmond faculty and staff. The two programs are:

• Tuition Exchange, Inc. (TE, Inc.) Approximately 600 member university and colleges. (Currently, UR has 48 exports and 41 imports participating in this program.)
• Associated Colleges of the South (ACS TEP) - 15 participating member colleges. (Currently, UR has 9 exports and 8 imports participating in this program.)

ACS Export information
ACS Import information

Our favorable import/export balances will allow the University of Richmond to sponsor unmarried dependent exports, ages 23 and under, for undergraduate study only. Please note that the University cannot guarantee that our eligible exports will receive tuition exchange awards from the school/s of their choosing. TE applicants may not find out until April or May 2010 if they have received tuition exchange. The guidelines and timelines vary for the TE programs so please read the information for each carefully. Please let Mary Dillon/TE Coordinator, x8150, know where your dependent will apply as early as possible in his/her senior year so that she can file the application for tuition exchange at the appropriate institution/s at the same time or no later than the date on which your dependent applies for admission. 

Please complete the Information Form for Export Applicants which is provided on this website and send it to Mary Dillon, Business Office, 201 Maryland Hall, or fax to (804) 287-6474. This form will provide dependent's full name,  address, telephone number, birth date, parent/guardian's name and date of employment, and the names of colleges and universities to which application will be made. Note:  Please list only the colleges to which dependent will definitely apply; additional schools may be added to one's original list on the form at a later date by emailing Mary Dillon.

General Information

Faculty and administrator/staff eligibility will be verified by the Department of Human Resource Services after a dependent's Information Form for Export Applicants is received by Mary Dillon, x8150, in the Business Office.

The import/export balance is maintained among all the participating colleges and universities. For example, the University of Richmond may import three freshmen from Ferrum, Bridgewater, and the University of Delaware through Tuition Exchange, Inc. and export three freshmen to Randolph-Macon, Villanova and Syracuse in a given year. This would create a perfect import/export balance--3 imports/3 exports for that year.

If, in any year the University has to limit the number of our employees who participate in the program, seniority is the basis on which that decision will be made. The University has not had to limit potential exports in more than 15 years.  This is attributed to the increased popularity of the University of Richmond as a tuition exchange selection.

In the majority of cases the exchange vacancies available at an institution are determined by the number of exports an institution expects to have. It is difficult for a college to predict its number of vacancies until all the admissions decisions are made on or about April 1; at that time it will be determined how many of their potential exports have received and accepted tuition exchange elsewhere.

A student must be accepted by a participating college or university through the normal admissions process before he/she will be considered for an exchange opportunity. Each member school may set its own criteria and criteria can vary greatly from school to school. For example, some institutions will rank the accepted exchange applicants on the basis of grades, strength of academic schedule, test scores, and extracurricular activities. Others will grant exchange to the majority who are accepted through the normal admission process, and still others will award exchange based on financial need. Some colleges will be able to take only one or two new imports because they have only one or two dependent exports.

You are encouraged to contact the tuition exchange liaison officer at the institutions in which you are interested to inquire about their established criteria for awarding TE scholarships, potential number of vacancies for the coming year, special requirements, the amount of tuition covered (which may not be the full tuition), deadlines, and dates of notification. Usually, they are receptive to email inquiries; a personal contact might be beneficial. Mary Dillon will be happy to provide you with the names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses of the tuition exchange liaison officers at the colleges in which you are interested.

You will note that there is some overlap among the institutions participating in the TE, Inc. and Associated Colleges of the South (ACS) TE programs. (If you are interested in applying for exchange at any of these institutions, it is recommended that you apply through both programs, but please specify that you are doing so and indicate your preference. The Tuition Exchange, Inc. program may be more appealing because there is no $1,500 annual participation fee payable by the student (required by ACS); however, while not automatic, exchange may be easier to secure through the ACS program; there are usually fewer applicants for ACS TE.

It is recommended that you apply to more than one institution on the list in case your first choice institution is unable to award you tuition exchange. It is recommended that you apply for financial aid at each institution in addition to applying for tuition exchange. ACS and some other institutions will require that you apply for financial aid if you apply for tuition exchange. Applying for financial aid may provide your dependent with other financial opportunities if he/she does not receive a TE scholarship.

If you have questions, please email mdillon@richmond.edu.