A hallmark benefit of CIC membership—the Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP)—is often not fully understood by campus officials, according to Ed Clark, its director. College and university membership in the program is now at an all-time high.

Clark says he is “amazed that every single CIC member is not also a member of TEP, given its tremendous value.” Of CIC’s 552 members, 348 are also members of CIC-TEP, making it one of the largest national tuition exchange programs of private, four-year colleges and universities.

The CIC-TEP is a network of colleges and universities willing to accept, tuition-free, students from families of full-time employees of other CIC participating institutions. For more than two decades, this college access program for faculty and staff members and their dependents has provided significant advantages for the participants:

• CIC-TEP avoids costly fees and cumbersome credit-debit limitations—students are responsible for all non-tuition charges (room, board, and fees) at the institution in which they enroll.
• There are no limitations on the number of students that each institution may export.
• Participation in CIC-TEP enhances each institution’s benefits package.
• It encourages attendance at CIC institutions.
• There is no waiting period for receipt of the benefit.
• Institutions are allowed to limit their import to three students per year, protecting them from inundation with Exchange students.
• The CIC-TEP benefit applies to international exchanges when they are available.

“Why would a college or university join CIC but not TEP, when it is offered at minimal cost and provides such tangible benefits?” Clark asks. The annual fee for an institution to join CIC-TEP is $350.

Fred Moore, president of Buena Vista University (IA), calls the CIC-TEP “an important value-added benefit for our faculty and staff. It helps us attract and retain able members of our academic community and it has brought talented young women and men to our campus.”

More information about CIC-TEP is available here or by contacting Ed Clark at eclark@cic.nche.edu or (202) 466-7230.