Understanding the Fee Waiver Process
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Overview
A fee waiver is a form of application financial assistance funded by a CAS. This is an optional service; contact a member of your account team to learn if your CAS offers fee waivers.
Each application cycle, a CAS provides funds that are awarded to applicants on a first-come, first-served basis. CASs may or may not require applicants to meet certain eligibility criteria in order to be awarded a fee waiver.
There are three types of fee waivers:
- Income, where the applicant's eligibility is based upon their adjusted gross income for a specific tax year.
- Service, where the applicant's eligibility is determined by their participation in a CAS-approved service organization.
- Manual, where a CAS or programs within a CAS select the applicants.
Each CAS may offer a combination of these fee waiver types. Note that Manual fee waivers can't be combined with Income or Service fee waivers.
Fee Waiver Parameters
Before the start of the cycle, the CAS must determine:
- Fee waiver fund total: the total dollar amount of the fee waiver funds provided by the CAS.
- Reserve amount: the dollar amount set aside for when the fee waiver fund starts running low.
- Redemption time frame: the number of calendar days in which the applicant can redeem an awarded fee waiver.
- Location of fee waiver form:
- If the fee waiver form is located in the application, then Income and/or Service fee waivers are used.
- If the fee waiver form is not located in the application, then Manual fee waivers are used.
- How many programs (application fees) a fee waiver will cover (e.g., the initial application fee only, or the initial application fee plus 2 additional application fees).
If a CAS uses Income fee waivers, then they must decide which tax year the applicant needs to submit a 1040 form for. If a CAS uses Service fee waivers, then they must decide which service organizations they will accept fee waivers for. Examples include:
- Active AmeriCorps Volunteer or Alumni
- Active or Veteran Military Service Member
- Bonner Program
- City Year Volunteer or Alumni
- Gates Millennium Scholar
- Leadership Alliance
- McNair Scholar
- Peace Corps Volunteer or Alumni
- Teach for America Fellow or Alumni
- Vietnam Education Foundation
- International (the applicant is a citizen and currently resides in one of the countries on the United Nations Least Developed Countries list)
While the fee waiver parameters are determined by the CAS, the fee waivers are managed by members of the account team.
Redeeming a Fee Waiver
Once an applicant is awarded a fee waiver, they must submit their application within the redemption time frame to have the fee waiver amount automatically deducted from their application fees during the checkout process.
Applicant Fee Waiver Communications
If your CAS processes fee waivers, then applicants are sent several emails, including:
- A confirmation of their Fee Waiver Request.
- A confirmation of their Fee Waiver Granted.
- A notice that the fee waiver is reopened for them to submit additional documentation, if applicable.
- A notice that the fee waiver is denied or revoked, if applicable.
- A reminder that the fee waiver redemption day is approaching.
- A notice that the fee waiver expires, if applicable.
- A notice that the applicant was eligible for a fee waiver, but the fee waiver fund is depleted (for select CASs).