Dependent Tuition Assistance Program (DTAP)

Macalester staff and faculty members who aren’t in a collective bargaining unit may be eligible for DTAP.

Staff and faculty members with an FTE of 0.75 or higher and who have worked at Macalester for at least one year are eligible for up to eight semesters of tuition benefits.

Staff and faculty members with an FTE of 0.50 – 0.74 and who have worked at Macalester for 10 or more continuous years are eligible for up to four semesters of tuition benefits.

Winter terms, summer sessions, and non-traditional/adult undergraduate programs are not covered through this program.

Application Deadline: The deadline to submit your DTAP application was January 15, 2025. Please email HR@macalester.edu with questions. 

We begin accepting DTAP Applications and TREP Eligibility Certifications beginning in October and are due by January 15th of each year in order to be eligible to participate the following academic year. This allows us to notify schools of your students eligibility before they send you financial aid information. Our goal is to help schools provide you with as much accurate information as possible before your student makes their final decision.

New Students

1. Complete the online DTAP Application to certify eligibility by January 15.
2. If you are applying to an ACM school, you must complete the online TREP Eligibility Certification and pay the $25 participation fee via PayPal or Credit Card to ACM by January 15. It will ask you for the payment at the end of the end of the Eligibility Certification. Once the Eligibility Certification has been processed, you will receive a confirmation email from ACM that will include an application code. Save the information in this email, specifically the code and link to the confirmation form as you will need it later to confirm participation.
3. As soon as your student has made a final decision:
   • If your student has only applied to ACM schools, you must complete the confirmation form that was sent to you from ACM when the Eligibility Certification was processed. This would have also included an application code that is needed at the time you complete the confirmation form.
   • If your student has only applied to ACTC schools, you must email the DTAP Coordinator with the decision your student made.
   • If your student has applied to both ACM and ACTC schools, you must:
     • Complete the confirmation form that was sent to you from ACM when the Eligibility Certification was processed. This would have also included an application code that is needed at the time you complete the confirmation form.
     • Email the DTAP Coordinator with the decision your student made.

Returning Students

1. If your student is returning to an ACTC or ACM school, you will only need to complete the online DTAP Application to certify eligibility by January 15.
2. If your student is switching schools; taking a gap semester; taking a gap year; or taking a leave of absence, please contact Human Resources.

• Augsburg University
• Hamline University
• Macalester College
• St. Catherine University
• University of St. Thomas

Learn more about ACM Peer Institutions

• Beloit College
• Carleton College
• Coe College
• Colorado College
• Cornell College
• Grinnell College
• Knox College
• Lake Forest College
• Lawrence University
• Luther College
• Macalester College
• Monmouth College
• Ripon College
• St. Olaf College

Applying the tuition benefit to your student’s study away program will depend on whether your student’s school participates in ACTC or ACM. 

If your student attends an ACM school or Macalester College, the tuition benefit can be used for all approved off-campus study away programs. You will need to work with your students’ Financial Aid and Study Away offices at the school they are attending to determine if the program is approved. 

If your student attends a ACTC school, it is dependent on the school:

• Hamline: It will depend on the type of study away program the student will be attending. However, in most cases, the ACTC waiver does not cover the study away term. The students should contact Hamline’s Financial Aid office with the details of their study away program so they can work with their Study Away office to determine if it is a program in which they will or will not allow the waiver to apply.
• Augsburg: Allows students to receive tuition benefits while studying away. Your student will want to reach out to Augsburg’s Financial Aid and Study Away Offices for any questions. 
• St. Thomas: Students are not eligible to receive the tuition benefit while participating in a study away program. Your student will be responsible for any incurred fees   
• St. Kate’s: Students are not eligible to receive the tuition benefit while participating in a study away program. Your student will be responsible for any incurred fees. 

Your student may be eligible for different scholarships while still receiving DTAP.

Each institution handles the scholarships and grants differently.  All questions should be directed to the Financial Aid Office at the school your student is attending/plans to attend.

Federal tax law requires that the child be a dependent for the tax year in which the tuition benefit is received. If the parents of the child are divorced or separated, and the Macalester employee is not the parent who claims the child as a dependent on the Federal income tax return, the child may still qualify for the tuition remission benefits as long as the Macalester employee meets the IRS “Support Test for Children of Divorced or Separated Parents”. This is spelled out in IRS Publication 504. We are not a tax experts and are unable to advise on whether or not you would meet the support test. We are only able to provide you with the information and would suggest reaching out to a tax expert to help determine if you would meet the requirements.

Human Resources
hr@macalester.edu