Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Employee Tuition Assistance Program (ETAP)

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley provides Tuition Assistance to encourage and support full-time benefits-eligible employees to continue their education and improve the skills needed to develop their careers and acquire new knowledge by providing partial or full payment tuition and mandatory fees.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Employee Tuition Assistance Program, you must:

Be a full-time benefits-eligible employee for the last twelve (12) consecutive months by the first day of the course start date for the semester you are applying for, or
Be a full-time benefits-eligible faculty employee who has completed one year of academic service by the first day of the course start date and be reappointed.
Receive credit hours for taking the course.
Have a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 2.0 for undergraduates or 3.0 for graduates.
Be in compliance with all mandated training.
Have a current staff performance appraisal on file with the Office of Human Resources indicating you are meeting the job expectations, or
Have a current faculty performance appraisal on file with the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs indicating you are meeting the job expectations.
Be eligible to apply for the scholarship assistance based on the Nepotism Question for Scholarship applicants.
Have successfully completed all courses in the last semester without withdrawing.

Application Process

Employees must complete an electronic application each semester by navigating to the myUTRGV website, clicking on the HR Portal icon, and selecting “Employee Tuition Assistance Program” tile on the homepage. You must log in using your UTRGV credentials in order to access the portal and submit an application for tuition assistance.

Applications are only available during the designated dates for each application period.

The application period for academic fiscal year 2026-2027 for the UTRGV Faculty and Staff Tuition Assistance Program is:

Application periods for ETAP 2026-2027
Fall & Fall Module I	Monday, July 20th, 2026 - Friday, July 31st, 2026
Fall Module II	Monday, September 21st, 2026- Friday, October 2nd, 2026
Spring & Spring Module I	Monday, November 30th, 2026 - Friday, December 11th, 2026
Spring Module II	Monday, February 8th, 2027- Friday, February 19th, 2027
Summer Mini & Summer Module I	Monday, April 5th, 2027- Friday, April 16th, 2027
Summer I & Summer III	Monday, May 3rd, 2027- Friday, May 14th, 2027
Summer Module II	Tuesday, June 1st, 2027- Friday, June 11th, 2027
Summer II	Monday, June 14th, 2027- Friday, June 25th, 2027

Next Step

After approval, the Office of Human Resources will notify the Financial Aid Office, which will process the payment.

Approval for courses at institutions other than UTRGV will be limited to those not listed in the University’s course catalog but which are critical for the completion of the employee’s pre-approved professional goals. Employees approved for tuition assistance for credit courses offered at an institution other than UTRGV will be reimbursed upon completion of the course with the submission of an unofficial transcript and statement of charges. The supporting documentation must be submitted to: employee.tuition@utrgv.edu as soon as the semester has been completed.

It is the employee’s responsibility to notify the Office of Human Resources of any changes to the course listed on the application form. The change must be submitted for approval by using the electronic Request for Course Substitution form within five business days from the course change.