As the fall semester gets underway with the energetic return of our students, faculty, and staff, Lehigh University is looking toward the future. Thanks to strong institutional discipline, the university closed the last fiscal year with a balanced budget. However, maintaining this strength requires proactive planning in the face of rising operating expenses, growing healthcare costs, and national shifts in higher education.
To ensure Lehigh remains financially resilient and competitive, university leaders recently announced several targeted changes to employee educational and retirement benefits, effective January 1, 2027. These updates aim to reduce benefits costs and redirect resources to critical areas like salary increases, student scholarships, and healthcare, while minimizing the potential for program and staff cuts seen at other institutions. The changes have been designed with exemptions and transition periods that help current employees manage potential impacts to their families' educational planning. They are the final changes being made as a result of the non-medical benefits review undertaken in 2025.
"Sustaining our strength, especially in the face of rising operating and healthcare costs, requires us to make careful and deliberate choices about where and how we allocate our financial resources," said Chris Cook, Sr. Vice President of Finance and Administration.
Expanding Educational Options: Lehigh Joins the Tuition Exchange
The most exciting update is Lehigh’s entry into the Tuition Exchange (TE) network. This program opens a reciprocal scholarship opportunity at over 710 member colleges and universities across the U.S. and internationally. Crucially, the Tuition Exchange will be open to dependents of all benefits-eligible faculty, exempt staff, and nonexempt staff (with five years of continuous service), representing a significant new benefit for many employees.
This benefit is available immediately for eligible dependents. Please visit the Human Resources website for more information.
Educational Benefits Changes for Future and Current Employees
The university is adjusting existing educational benefits. Key changes effective January 1, 2027, include:
- Tuition Cash Grant Sunset: As Lehigh joins the Tuition Exchange, the Tuition Cash Grant will sunset over 16 months.
- Dependents of current employees who begin receiving the cash grant before January 1, 2029, will continue to receive it for their full four years of eligibility. Please note: Based on feedback received after initially announcing an end date of January 1, 2028, the end date for eligible dependents to begin accessing the Tuition Cash Grant has been moved to January 1, 2029.
- Dependents of employees with a hire date of January 1, 2027 or later will not be eligible.
- Initial Tuition Remission for New Hires: Dependents of employees with a hire date of January 1, 2027 or later will no longer receive 50% tuition remission during their first five years. They will remain eligible for 100% remission once the employee reaches their five-year anniversary.
- Term and Program Adjustments: Tuition remission will no longer cover summer and winter undergraduate terms, and the Flex MBA program will be excluded (current Flex MBA students are not affected). Additionally, the undergraduate dependent tuition remission benefit is clarified to cover a maximum of eight semesters.
- Age and Service Commitments: The maximum enrollment age for dependent tuition remission will be 24 for undergraduate programs and 30 for graduate programs. Employees who earn graduate degrees through tuition remission must remain employed at Lehigh for two years post-graduation or partially repay the benefit based on their years of service.
Retirement Contributions
Retirement plan changes will apply only to new employees with a hire date of January 1, 2027 or later. Their base contribution schedule will be structured as follows: 3% for under three years, 5% for three to five years, and 8% after five years. Matching contributions and vesting periods will remain unchanged for all.
"Our goal throughout has been the same: protect Lehigh's long-term financial health so we can keep offering a strong, meaningful benefits package for years to come," said Provost Nathan Urban.
For full details, FAQs, and a recording of a recent information session, please visit the Human Resources website.