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International Student and Scholar Services
University of Mississippi

Taking Classes as a Faculty/Scholar

For international scholars and faculty who wish to take academic classes or Intensive English classes at the University of Mississippi as part of their faculty/staff benefits, there are a few basic steps they must take.

Admission to the University of Mississippi

      • All faculty and staff who wish to attend classes at the University of Mississippi must be admitted to the University prior to enrolling in classes.
      • To enter a degree program as either an undergraduate student or graduate student (for those who want to complete a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree), faculty and staff must follow the same basic steps for admissions as any other student. More about admissions to a degree program for internationals can be found here: Apply.
      • To be able to take academic courses for personal interest as a non-degree seeking student, faculty and staff members must submit an application for admission as either a non-degree undergraduate student or a non-degree graduate student as well as provide proof of completion of at least a bachelor’s degree and proof that they meet the University’s minimum English language requirements. Applications for admission as a non-degree seeking student as a faculty/staff member and details about English language requirements are available in International Student and Scholar Services.
    • To be able to take Intensive English Program (IEP) courses, faculty and staff must submit an application to both the IEP Program and as a non-degree seeking undergraduate student. There is no minimum English language requirement for the IEP Program. Applications for admission to the IEP Program as a faculty/staff member are available in the IEP office.
    • Application fees: There is an application fee for undergraduate admission as either a degree seeking or non-degree seeking student and for the IEP. The application fee for graduate admissions is waived for faculty and staff members.
    • Application deadlines: The general application deadline for the Summer and Fall Semester (for courses starting in June, July, and August) is April 1, while the deadline for the Spring Semester (for courses starting in January) is October 1.

Enrolling in a Course

    • Any coursework to be taken must be approved by both the department head and Human Resources.
    • Full-time employees may enroll in and receive a tuition waiver for two courses in a semester, not to exceed six credit hours. Enrollment in for-credit courses; to included but not limited to, lecture, labs, web-based, online, and iStudy, are available for the award. A waiver for courses taken during the employee’s standard workday, as referenced on the Form 19, is limited to three credit hours. The total time away from work may not exceed three clock hours. Additional courses may be taken outside the standard workday at the employee’s expense if they do not adversely affect the employee’s work performance.
    • Part-time employees, employed one-half time or more, may receive a waiver of tuition for one course not to exceed 3 hours during a semester or summer session; however, part-time employees may not enroll for courses that meet during their scheduled work time.
    • To register for a class, the faculty/staff member must enroll online at: my.olemiss.edu.
    • The Faculty and Staff Tuition Waiver Policy can be accessed here.

Faculty/Staff Tuition Scholarships and Financial Aid

    • To receive the Faculty/Staff Tuition Scholarship, faculty and staff members must complete the Form 19, have their department sign the form, and then submit the Form 19 to Human Resources.
    • Once the Form 19 is submitted to Human Resources, they will award the Faculty/Staff Tuition Scholarship.
    • The Form 19 is available in the Paper Forms section of the Human Resources website.
    • After the Form 19 has been submitted, faculty and staff members must accept the scholarship through the Financial Aid website – Financial Aid Services.
    • Until the Form 19 has been approved and the faculty or staff member has accepted the scholarship through the Financial Aid website, the faculty/staff member will be charged for any courses taken.

Staff Member Textbook Scholarships

    • For staff members who are permanent full-time, non-faculty employees of the University of Mississippi, there is a Textbook Scholarship available to pay for course-assigned textbooks.
    • Priority for textbook scholarships are given to staff members with an annual salary of $35,000 or less. Those with salaries of $35,001 to $50,000 are also eligible for the scholarship, but the scholarships are awarded on a first-come first-served basis depending on available funds.
    • Application for the Textbook Scholarship and more information are available here on the Staff Council’s website: Staff Council

IMPORTANT: Waivers for International Student Health Insurance and International Study Fees

  • Most international faculty or staff members who enroll in classes will be billed for both international health insurance and the international study fee. These charges are billed automatically.
  • International faculty and staff members must contact International Student and Scholar Services no later than the second week of the semester in which they are taking classes to have these charges removed. Otherwise, the faculty/staff member will be responsible for paying for these charges.
  • Faculty/staff waivers for international student health insurance and international study fees must be processed every semester. Since billing is automatic, the waivers must be processed manually and on an individual basis. International Programs is not able to access enrollment records for faculty and staff and will not know who must receive a waiver unless the faculty or staff member contacts them.