Excelsior News - Title IV Financial Aid Approval

[barcotta]

The only thing that ever gave me a smidgen (an upstate NY word--it means "very tiny") of concern about Excelsior College was their lack of a Title IV financial aid program. As far as I could tell, most regionally accredited schools qualified under Title IV for federal financial aid. Why didn't Excelsior? The other two (Thomas Edison and Charter Oak) were Title IV schools. It's not like Excelsior (USNY Regents, Regents, etc.) hasn't been around just as long--since the days of orange kitchen counters!

It also bothered me a little that I could not find ANY information explaining the absence of a Title IV program ANYWHERE. The only thing I could find was that they had applied. Well, via snail mail, I received the attached letter in which President Ebersole announces that Excelsior has been notified that they have been approved to offer Title IV financial aid. I think that's a big deal in terms of bolstering credibility for their school. Many on this board attend Excelsior and there's a constant stream of newbies gathering information to choose a school. Hopefully, the attached letter which contains this news and more will be helpful to you all.

[dhlvrsn]

So does this mean that I can claim my school fees on my taxes?

[barcotta]

I don't know, but you can bet I'll be as aggressive as I can. I don't know if it'll matter that we paid before they were Title IV--and I don't know how far they will get in establishing the program by year end now that it's approved. I don't see anything on the web site yet.

[Librevore]

So does this mean that I can claim my school fees on my taxes?

I asked my accoutant this same question and she asked several other questions, like is the education work related, etc. so I don't know if the answer will be different depending on an individuals situation or not. She's pretty thorough and may have just been updating other aspects of my paperwork. I'm not an accountant. In any case, for me the answer is yes. I can claim it. Awesome news Barcotta. Thanks! hilarious

[Straydog]

I got the same letter, too. Students attending Excelsior College can now receive the GI Bill without having to be enrolled into another school. Also, Excelsior College can now accept federal grants and loans (Stafford, PLUS, etc.) for tuition payments. It's going to make the financial aid process a lot smoother.