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Purdue Global Gift of Knowledge Policy for Purdue University Global Online Programs

Updated: September, 2023

This policy applies to all active Purdue University employees.

Purdue University provides financial assistance for the online education of eligible employees and their family members through a Gift of Knowledge (GOK) benefit. This benefit is not guaranteed and may be changed or discontinued upon notice from PG.

The GOK benefit is not available for single course offerings, micro-credentials, or the Professional Flight program.

Employees:

Active Purdue University employees who have been continuously employed in a full-time capacity for a minimum of 3 months or 6 months in a part-time capacity are eligible for the GOK benefit.

  • Actively working
    • Full-time employees cannot continue to participate in the GOK program if they are on a leave of absence for more than 12 weeks.
    • Part-time employees must be assigned courses and scheduled work hours throughout the program’s duration.
Any exceptions must be approved by senior leadership and Human Resources.
  • In good standing
    • Managers are responsible for advising GOK participants employees if they are not meeting performance expectations on a regular basis. Employees who receive documented disciplinary actions will no longer be eligible to participate in the GOK program.

Family Members:

Once an employee has met the eligibility requirements as described above, family members of employees are also eligible to participate in the GOK program. For the purposes of GOK, family members are defined as spouses, children, step-children, or children under legal guardianship of the employee.

Eligible GOK participants may receive the GOK benefit to complete one PG program in each of the following degree types:

  • Associate’s degree
  • Bachelor’s degree
  • Master’s degree
  • Doctoral degree

 GOK benefits may be used for an unlimited number of certificate programs.

There are no GOK benefits for single course offerings, micro-credentials, the Professional Flight program, or costs associated with the Global Competence Certification Program (GCC) Education Abroad opportunity.

 All eligible undergraduate and graduate programs, except doctoral (see below):

  1. Tuition discounts for eligible full-time and part-time employees as described above will be 100% of tuition (see “Fees” section for additional information), subject to eligibility requirements set forth in this policy.

  2. Tuition discounts for family members of employees who have met their eligibility period as described above are:
    • Immediate Family = 50% discount off current tuition

  3. If the GOK participant is an Indiana resident, the tuition discount for undergraduate degree and certificate programs will be applied to the Indiana resident tuition rate and/or fees for undergraduate programs other than ExcelTrack. 

    For graduate level degree programs and certificates, Indiana residents are eligible for a 10% discount. If approved for GOK, the greater of the Indiana resident discount or the GOK discount will apply. Participants cannot combine two discounts for graduate level programs.

     

Doctoral Programs

  1. Tuition discounts for eligible full-time and part time employees will be 50% or 100%* of current tuition rates (see “Fees” section for additional information), subject to eligibility requirements set forth in these guidelines.

    *The 100% discount benefit has limited availability and thus applicants must be pre-approved by the Dean of the appropriate school. The employee’s immediate supervisor must present to the Dean a letter of recommendation and receive approval for the benefit. If not approved for 100% discount, the 50% discount may be available.

  2. Tuition discounts for immediate family members of employees who have met their eligibility period will be 25% of current tuition rates.

  3. If the employee or dependent is an Indiana resident, the tuition discount will be applied to Indiana resident tuition rate. 

Employees and their family members who are participating in the GOK program are not eligible to receive other scholarships or discounts offered by Purdue Global or Purdue University.


Education discounts are considered a fringe benefit under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC).  A fringe benefit, when provided in connection with the performance of services to an institution, may be taxable to the employee even though the employee did not directly receive it.  Accordingly, some or all of the discount provided to employees or their family members, may be included in the employee’s gross income and employment tax withholding to the extent not otherwise excluded by the IRC.

The GOK benefit will cover textbook fees for GOK employees and their family members who are enrolled in Undergraduate programs. All textbooks for Graduate and Postgraduate programs will remain the sole responsibility of the GOK student.

GOK employees and their family members will be responsible for all technology fees. Technology fees are assessed at the beginning of each and every term.

Eligible GOK family members will be responsible for the one-time application fee where applicable (this fee is waived for employees).

Eligible GOK employees and family members will be responsible for all other fees including administrative fees, drop fees, program-specific fees, and lab and clinical fees.

  • GOK participants are subject to all standard Admissions Requirements, including the Purdue Global Commitment Trial Period for applicable students. Visit the individual school and program sections of the catalog for program-specific admissions requirements.
  • To continue to receive GOK benefits for Purdue Global degree and certificate programs, GOK participants must meet and maintain the minimum Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards as outlined in the Purdue Global Academic Catalog. To continue to receive GOK benefits and remain in good standing while attending the Law School, GOK participants must meet and maintain the minimum Law School Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards.  If the GOK participant fails to meet the satisfactory academic standards for his/her/their specific program as described in the catalog, he/she/they will become ineligible to receive future GOK benefits. GPA is evaluated at the end of each term.
  • As long as an employee remains in good standing, and the GOK Participant meets the school and GOK program requirements, he/she/they will continue to receive the benefit each term in which he/she/they is enrolled. However, a new GOK verification form is required if the GOK student changes his/her/their program at any time after the initial approval. See Process for Receiving GOK Benefits below for more information.
  • Cheating, plagiarism, and misrepresentation are serious offenses. A first offense may result in failure of the assignment in which the action occurred and may prohibit further participation in GOK benefits. A second occurrence of any such offense will prohibit further participation in GOK benefits for employees and/or family members. In the case of an employee, such violation may result in disciplinary action.
  • Evaluation of our programs is critical to our commitment to student success and our goal of continuous transformation. Both active and previous GOK participants may be asked to periodically provide feedback with respect to individual classes, terms, and/or their educational experience in the form of focus groups, surveys, etc. If requested, participation is mandatory to ensure optimal student success.
  •  GOK participants are required to complete a GOK FA Literacy Call and a Financial Literacy Webinar (or their equivalents) prior to enrollment.
  •  GOK participants are required to settle any prior unpaid balances due to Purdue Global, or be current on their Purdue Global payment plans, in order to continue to receive GOK benefits.
    • Unpaid balances may result in the student being blocked from attending classes
    • Employees who have unpaid balances may be required to complete a payroll deduction authorization form in order to continue to participate in the GOK program.
  • GOK participants are required to adhere to Purdue Global’s Statement of Ethical Principles and Pledge to Students and any applicable Purdue Global policies - when dealing with GOK support staff (i.e. Student Advisors, Business Office staff, Student Finance staff, etc.).
  •  No GOK enrollments will be allowed within the two-week window prior to term start

If an employee participating in the GOK program terminates within 15 days after the start of a term, the employee or family member may continue to complete the course, but full tuition and fees will be assessed for that term.  If the employee terminates after that date, the employee or family member can complete the course for THAT TERM ONLY at the GOK discount rate.  All terminated employees who continue in their program after this final term will no longer be eligible for GOK benefits and should contact the Financial Aid department for other options.  Any exceptions must be approved by Human Resources.

GOK employees and family members are not required to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) unless they wish to receive federal funding in addition to GOK funds. In cases where employees are eligible for 100% GOK, the GOK only applies to any remaining tuition balance after applying Title IV funds. GOK students may receive federal financial aid once they are fully admitted to the University and have a valid Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) on file.

If the GOK employee qualifies for any federal, state or local grants or loans, those will be applied first to the student’s institutional costs (funds will be applied to the tech fee first, then tuitions) prior to applying GOK benefits.  GOK will cover the remaining tuition balance after funds are applied.

GOK employees must elect the funding option that will be utilized for their entire Academic Year. Employees who decide not to utilize the GOK benefit will be packaged with any eligible federal Financial Aid (if there is a valid ISIR on file), eligible state or local grants, private funding or cash payments for the entire Academic Year. GOK employees and family members may choose to change their funding option at the start of the upcoming Academic Year.  Students who become ineligible for the GOK benefit and choose to apply for federal funds may do so throughout the year.  

GOK employees and family members who apply for Federal Student aid must ensure he/she/they remain current on loan payments once grace period/deferment period has concluded. If an employee defaults on his/her/their student loan, the employee may be subject to disciplinary action.

Access to financial aid and other education records

  • Education records include, but are not limited to, application, enrollment, grades, transcripts, credit, account, attendance, test scores, and any other records or data contained in CampusVue.

  • GOK employees must not access any Financial Aid or other Education Records for any reason other than the performance of their assigned duties as PG or Kaplan employees.

  • GOK employees must not access, alter, award, modify, change, revise or process transactions for their own Financial Aid or other education records or those of their family members s or relatives as outlined above.

  • GOK employees and family members cannot ask a friend or family member employed by PG or Kaplan to access, alter, award, modify, change, revise, or process any of their Financial Aid or other Education Records, or those of their family members or relatives as outlined above.

  • GOK employees and family members may access his/her/their financial aid and other education records in the same manner as any other student, by making a written request in the manner described in the institution’s current eCatalog, or by utilizing PGCampus.

Failure to comply with these provisions may result in disciplinary action, including possible termination of employment and/or termination of all GOK benefits for the employee and all family members.

To apply for initial GOK benefits, employees must submit a GOK Intake Form to the GOK email box at: edbenefits@support.purdueglobal.edu.

Once an Intake Form is submitted, a GOK admissions advisor will follow up with the employee to start the verification process. Verification is required prior to starting the enrollment process. Verification includes acknowledgement by the employee and manager, human resources, and for returning students, the business office.

The Business Office grants the final approval and application of initial and continuing GOK benefits based on the employee’s student status (i.e. in good standing), GPA, and satisfaction of any prior outstanding unpaid balances. Benefits will be applied to the student’s account, if eligible, by the end of the student’s active term. If an employee or their family members are not eligible to continue receiving this benefit, the employee and any applicable family members will receive an email notification. However, it is the student’s responsibility to maintain awareness of the minimum requirements for receiving, and continuing to receive, the GOK benefit.

If you have general questions regarding the PG Online GOK benefit email pghr@purdueglobal.edu.

A dedicated phone line is available for Gift of Knowledge (GOK)/Ed benefits. This line is available to any prospective, returning, or existing employees and eligible family members. Use this number to discuss your questions about the programs and courses, or if you are having issues with your online GOK application. 

The new interactive voice response number is 866-458-2005. There are three prompts to choose from:

Education Benefits - Admissions (ADM)

Education Benefits - Office of Returning Students (ORS)

Education Benefits - Support and Solutions (SS)

The hours of operations are Monday through Friday, 10 am-7 pm EST/9 am-6 pm CST. If you call after hours, you will be routed to the voice mailbox. Or, you can send an email to edbenefits@support.purdueglobal.edu.