Harvard’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) makes it possible for University staff, faculty, part-time employees and retirees to take Extension School courses.
Before enrolling, it is important to review the TAP information available on the Harvard Benefits website. Your TAP eligibility depends on your employee classification and hours worked. If you have questions about TAP eligibility, contact the Benefits Office at (617) 496-4001 or Benefits@Harvard.edu.
How to Use TAP
Register for courses online. After choosing your courses, click into your Primary Cart and then choose “TAP Option”, click “Opt-In”, and then “OK”. This will apply both the non-refundable TAP Fee of $40 per course, as well as the TAP funding, to your account.
It is not necessary to apply TAP right away, and if you are unsure of your final course selection for the term, wait to Opt-In to TAP until your schedule is final. However, you must return to your Primary Cart to Opt-In to TAP by the full payment deadline for the term or you risk being dropped for non-payment.
Please note:
- If you have not previously registered for Extension or Summer School courses, there can be a delay of up to 48 hours from when you first register for a course until you will be able to Opt-In to TAP.
- When you create your MyDCE account, your name and date of birth must match exactly the information on record with the Benefits Office.
TAP Fees
TAP Fees are assessed per course and are not refundable unless a course is cancelled or if you are closed out of a waitlist by the Registrar’s office–any time you drop or withdraw yourself from a course, the fee is non-refundable.
If you are an employee with the Longer Service designation, you will receive a Longer Service TAP Fee Waiver for one $40 TAP Fee per semester. Please note, however, that if you sign up for a second course, you would be charged the $40 TAP fee for the second course.
TAP Restrictions at DCE
- Harvard Division of Continuing Education Professional & Executive Development programs are not covered by TAP.
- Courses in the January Session count towards your Spring Term TAP limit.
- ALM Thesis course 499 AB is an 8-credit course, which counts as two courses for the purposes of TAP and has an $80 TAP Fee.
- Active Learning Weekends, Labs, and similar courses, which are related to a standard course but are a separate, optional registration, count as a separate course for the purposes of TAP benefit. This means they count towards your TAP limit per term and, when TAP benefit is used for them, bear the same $40 TAP Fee.
