Student almost lost her tuition assistance after her mother died

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) - After the first nurse in West Virginia died of coronavirus just weeks ago, her daughter had faced more shocking news. Haley Parker told 5 news that due to her mother’s death, she was alerted that she no longer qualifies for the WVU Medicine Dependent Tuition Assistance Program.

However, after 5 News contacted WVU Medicine, the situation for Haley changed.

Haley said on Friday afternoon she was told that officials sent her the wrong letter and that they are working for her to keep her tuition assistance.

This is what Haley was sent Friday morning:

Dear Haley,
Please accept our deepest condolences for your loss of your mother. We wanted to provide you with some information regarding the benefit awarded for the Dependent Tuition Assistance program at WVU for the Fall 2020 semester. Below is information regarding the taxability of the benefit....
The above amount is not the amount of tax that will need to be paid, it is the benefit amount which will be taxed. Tax will be applied to the late employee’s estate. As the student, you may receive IRS tax form 1098-T, tuition statement, from WVU showing payments received by WVU.
The Dependent Tuition Assistance program is considered compensation to the employee, therefore, is considered taxable income and the employee is responsible for all taxes owed as required under Federal Tax guidelines. We encourage you to speak with a tax advisor for any tax questions, if needed.
Due the untimely passing of your mother, our WVU Medicine employee, there will be no repayment obligations for tuition benefits received under the program. This will be the final payable benefit under the Dependent Tuition Assistance Program policy.
We wish you all best in your future endeavors.
Sincerely,
WVU Medicine, Human Resources

The program is meant to support employees and their dependent children with college funding, but now that her mother is no longer an employee, she faced losing eligibility.

For the fall semester, the WVU Medicine program provided Haley with just over $3,000. That’s close to 90 percent of her semester tuition.

Haley said her only other scholarship was a WVU merit scholarship of $750, which is why she says this assistance plays a huge role in her education.

“When I was a senior in high school I had planned my undergrad around this tuition assistance,” Haley said before being notified of the changes.

Originally, Haley said she didn’t understand why she wouldn’t be eligible anymore when the circumstance of her mother isn’t in anyone’s control. Now, she hopes this plays out as a lesson for future students that may be in her situation.

“There’s a possibility that this may happen again, and I think they should create a supplemental scholarship for people in case this happens,” she said.

Based off of what officials told her, Haley said she will be receiving a new letter sometime next week, allowing her to keep her tuition assistance.

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