November 5, 2025
New Partnership between the Tuition Exchange & the Council of Independent Colleges will streamline scholarship exchanges for member schools and their families.
The Tuition Exchange and the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) announce a new partnership that will simplify the scholarship application process for employees and their families at participating institutions.
Tuition exchange programs cover full or partial costs of tuition at institutions within the shared network, creating an opportunity to support employees and families at member schools. Under the new partnership, students will submit a single application for scholarship consideration in both exchange networks through the Tuition Exchange or CIC’s Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP). Administrators on member campuses will track scholarship candidates and recipients through one unified system.
“Our goal is to give higher education families easier access to tuition scholarships,” said Kristin Tichenor, president of the Tuition Exchange. “In the past, colleges and universities participating in TE and CIC-TEP had to use multiple application and tracking systems. It was a huge duplication of effort. Streamlining the process is a big win for the scholarship candidates and for the staff who administer the program on our member campuses.”
Starting with the 2027–28 application cycle, CIC-TEP participants will access scholarship information and apply using the Tuition Exchange platform. The collaboration unites the two major scholarship networks: CIC-TEP, which serves nearly 440 colleges and universities across 48 states and five countries, and the Tuition Exchange, which has roughly 8,000 students on scholarship each year at more than 700 institutions. Both programs provide tuition benefits to full-time employees and their families at member colleges and universities.
“We’re excited about this new partnership with the Tuition Exchange to streamline the application process for our members,” said CIC President Marjorie Hass. “I am so proud to offer this free benefit to member institutions. Over the years, the CIC-TEP network has helped 65,000 employees and their families attend college tuition-free.”
To learn more about CIC-TEP, view an interactive map of participating CIC institutions or see the searchable list of participating CIC institutions. For more information about the Tuition Exchange, visit tuitionexchange.org or search for member schools on the TE Express.
About CIC
The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association of more than 700 nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state-based councils of independent colleges, and other higher education affiliates, that works to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of independent higher education’s contributions to society. CIC is the major national organization that focuses on services to leaders of independent colleges and universities and state-based councils. Founded in 1956, CIC is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.
About Tuition Exchange
Founded in 1953, the Tuition Exchange is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing faculty, staff, and their dependents with affordable post-secondary educational options. The scholarship program gives faculty, staff and their dependents access to undergraduate and graduate degrees at reduced or no tuition cost. In 2025, nearly 7,800 students received Tuition Exchange scholarships, enabling them to pursue their degrees across 715 participating colleges and universities in the United States and abroad.