August 19, 2015

Dear PhD/DPH student:

On behalf of the new Graduate College at Drexel, I extend my warmest welcome for the new academic year.

I want to inform you of changes in the way that the university treats tuition remission. In the past, the process by which Drexel bills tuition and awards tuition remission for research doctoral students (PhD and DPH) has been found to present a number of issues, including barriers to interdisciplinary collaborations in which many of you are involved, and which are expanding. Over the past several months the Office of the Provost, working closely with other administrative units, has created a new billing and remission process that is about to go live with the fall, 2015 term.

The most important thing to recognize is that, from your perspective, little if anything will change. Doctoral students who were scheduled to receive tuition remission will continue to do so. The key difference is that the pre- vs. post-candidacy distinction with respect to billing will end. Instead, all students will be billed the full tuition (at the current pre-candidacy tuition rate) throughout the active phase of their studies. For those receiving tuition remission, any incremental tuition charges as a result of this new process will be remitted via other sources. Students who were already self-paying some or all of their tuition will continue to do so as before, although they will not see an increase in the overall amount they will be asked to contribute.

You will see a difference in your bill that will show a higher total tuition charge during the post-candidacy years. However, as I said before, this is no reason for concern, as tuition remission will continue to be covered as before.

If you have questions about your specific situation, please reach out to your program director, departmental administrator, or department head, or to the Graduate College. Thank you for your patience as we work through this new process. We’re confident that it will represent a major step forward in simplifying the way research doctoral tuition is handled at Drexel, allowing us more flexibility to grow programs as warranted and to encourage cross-unit collaborations.

Sincerely,

James D. Herbert, PhD
Dean, Graduate College
Executive Vice Provost