I work at the University of Southern California and one of the perks is tuition assistance.  As an employee, you are eligible for 6 credits/semester of undergraduate level courses and 4 credits/semester of graduate level courses. Children or dependents get free tuition and a spouse/domestic partner gets 50% off tuition.  I have outlined the steps to take if you would like to start taking courses, but have not been accepted into a degree program. This is called Pre-Admit or Limited Status.  You can take up to 16 credits this way that will count toward your degree.  Most of the people reading this will be interested in graduate school. The curve ball here is you are taxed on any tuition assistance over $5250 per year.  This equates to roughly 3 credits at USC.  The only way to get around this is if the course is job related.

All you really need to do is fill out the appropriate forms and turn them in.  Below is a step by step breakdown of what forms you need to fill out and where to turn them in. I wish someone had laid it out like this for me, so I passing my knowledge along.

Here is what you do for limited status, pre-admit (once you are admitted all you need to do is fill out the Tax For Graduate form and the Staff-Admitted Student form and you can take whatever you want):

1. Fill out the Pre-Admit form and get the appropriate departments heads to sign it (details in form).
2. Fill out the Limited Status Form to register for classes.
3. If it’s graduate work, you need to fill out the Tax For Graduate form and see if you can get it to be Job Related or not. If the class can be signed off by a supervisor as job related, you do not have to pay taxes on the tuition. Turn that for into Payroll.
4. Take the Pre-Admit to USC Benefits (USC Credit Union Building 2nd floor)
5. Take the Limited Status Form to the Registrar Office, and they will enroll you in the class.

Forms:
Limited Status Registration: Form_4005a_Limited_Status_Form

Pre-Admit: TAB_PreAdmission.pdf
Job Related Audit: http://www.usc.edu/dept/Benefits/forms/tuition_assistance/TAB_Audit.pdf
Tax For Graduate: http://ais-ss.usc.edu/empldoc/forms/forms.html (all the way at the bottom)

Reference:
USC Tuition Assistance Benefit: http://www.usc.edu/dept/Benefits/edu_assistance.html
USC Tuition Assistance Forms: http://www.usc.edu/dept/Benefits/forms_tuition.html

Today is my last day in Ohio.  I move out west to live with family and get a Master Degeree in Game Development from USC.  Its been fun and painful to live in Ohio.  The Buckeyes will always be #1. I am thankful for my opportunities at Avetec.  But I am very excited to start my new chapter.  I will be posting here about what I learn.  It will most likely be more technical (like tutorials and work samples). But you can infer how I am doing and all the sappy stuff thru those.

I also wrote this post for people at Avetec, so after reading my “Peace!” email and clicking on the link they have something new to read.  Thanks again!

Fight On Buckeyes!

Do we love because we are in love, or are we in love because we love?

Here is the location on Google Maps as the beach house we are staying at in Hawaii. The island we are on is Oahu. Zoom out to get better context of the location (click the “-” on the map). Or View Larger Map. Also check out the pictures on Katana. Aloha!

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