Administering the Program

Institutional Participation Guidelines

  • CIC–TEP institutions must be CIC members in good standing. CIC membership payments are due by August 1 of each year.
  • If your institution is a member of CIC, contact tep@cic.edu to enroll your institution in CIC-TEP. Institutions not members of CIC should contact memberservices@cic.edu or visit our Institutional Membership webpage to become a member of CIC.
  • CIC-TEP is a free CIC member benefit, with no additional participation or transaction fees.
  • Participating institutions must register annually for the CIC–TEP network.
  • Institutions must be registered for CIC-TEP by August 31, 2026 to be a participating institution during the 2026–2027 year.
  • Early registration provides maximum opportunity for student choice.
  • The CIC-TEP award will cease to exist for import/ export students if a CIC-TEP institution terminates their CIC or CIC-TEP membership. Active applications will be deactivated, and notifications must be sent to active import/ export students and their TELOs.
  • Benefits will terminate at the end of the current term if the qualifying employee or dependent/spouse of the qualifying employee is no longer employed, drops below full-time, or is no longer eligible to participate in CIC-TEP. 
  • Students are assigned a cohort year based on when they begin receiving CIC-TEP.
  • Students are responsible for all non-tuition expenses such as room, board, and fees.
  • Graduate awards are only available to full-time employees and their spouses. Dependents enrolled in CIC-TEP may only use the benefit for undergraduate programming. 
  • ​To update your institution’s primary CIC-TEP Liaison, email tep@cic.edu with the new contact’s full name, title, email, and phone. Please also include the name of the college president, indicating their approval.
  • Please contact tep@cic.edu with questions.

Portal Management and Application Process

  • The liaison officer (TELO) is responsible for maintaining student applications using the CIC–TEP Portal for 2026-2027 applications or the TE Portal for 2027-2028 applications. His/her contact information is posted in the online list of participating institutions
  • TELOs are required to create and maintain school profiles in the TE Portal, including adding and removing system users. Each user must view the training webinar for system access.
  • TELOs are required to add and maintain Annual Aid Year School Information for all years they have students participating in the program. If the information is not populated, the export deadline listed has passed, or the import deadline listed has passed, your institution will not be available on the TE EZ-Application.
  • TELOs receive a daily digest email with notification of new import/ export applications. TELOs should update the status of applications as soon as possible.
  • The online TE EZ-Application opens July 1 for the new award cycle (ex: the 2027-2028 application will open July 1, 2026). Encourage your applicants to apply as soon as possible. Early registration provides maximum opportunity for student choice.
  • The student should confirm the institution they want to attend participates in CIC–TEP. Students can apply for CIC-TEP consideration at up to 20 schools in a single application.
  • The student/ applicant should log in to their TE EZ-Application for an update on their application status or contact the import liaison directly. CIC will not provide specific details about applications.

Import Institution Responsibilities

  • CIC-TEP awards have no processing fee. Generally, CIC institutions award exchanges through the CIC-TEP program first, and then through other tuition exchanges.
  • Import institutions must offer admittance to a minimum of three new, admissions-qualified CIC–TEP applicants each year if the institution receives such requests.
  • Institutions may award the student with one type of award (either CIC-TEP or TE) if an applicant is eligible for both awards. Providing students with TE awards will not fulfill your annual CIC-TEP participation requirements.
  • The import institution must approve/ deny applications in the TE Portal according to institutional eligibility guidelines, and communicate that award decisions to students, according to your timeline.
  • Import institutions must establish financial award policies that outline the terms and conditions for enrolled students receiving a CIC-TEP award, including any academic requirements or standards. Financial aid designated for tuition (such as Pell grants and state scholarships) may be applied to offset a portion of the full tuition.
  • The import institution’s commitment to each student is limited to full tuition remission. Institutions may not grant a partial tuition waiver.
  • The import institution must ensure student applicants meet standard admission requirements, comply with all internal financial aid policies and procedures, and maintain good academic standing and satisfactory academic progress, if enrolled.
  • Students in good standing are automatically eligible for up to three years of annual renewal of tuition remission for undergraduate study (for a total benefit of four years or eight semesters). Import institutions are under no obligation to extend the benefit beyond eight semesters.
  • The student is required to notify the liaison if they will accept/ reject the tuition award.
  • The import institution must update the student’s application status through the TE Portal and, if approved, update the status to include the student’s decision to accept or reject the award.
  • The import institution may not import their own exports as CIC-TEP award recipients.
  • Institutions are not required to consider applications received after April 1 each year.
  • Institutions must confirm continued enrollment annually for the CIC–TEP network. Enrollment reviews are conducted September 30 and January 30 each year.

Export Institution Responsibilities

  • The export liaison must promptly certify/ approve CIC-TEP student applications—applicants must be full-time employees, dependents of full-time employees (as defined by IRS), or spouses of full-time employees. The export liaison must and communicate all decisions to applicants.
  • The export liaison must determine if the student meets CIC–TEP eligibility requirements for their institution.
  • The export liaison must verify continued eligibility (annually) of each CIC-TEP student by completing enrollment reviews on September 30 and January 30 of each year.   
  • If the qualifying employee drops below full-time employment at the export institution, or if a participating institution discontinues CIC–TEP membership, benefits will automatically terminate at the end of the current term.
  • There is no limit to the number of students each institution may export.

CIC-TEP Questions

Contact tep@cic.edu.