Tuition Insurance | Graphic by Diana Jaber | The Wright State Guardian
Wright State University (WSU) contracts with outside insurance company to provide students with optional tuition insurance. Here are some key details to know about the new program.
What is tuition insurance?
GradGuard is a national tuition insurance company that works with any accredited four-year institution.
Tuition insurance insures student’s tuition, housing fees and university fees. The program enables students to receive a 100% refund even after the university’s full refund date if they withdraw mid-semester due to covered reasons.
According to GradGuard representative Natalie Tarangioli, covered incidents include serious medical illness, injury, mental health situations and covid-19 illnesses. This insurance does not cover students who withdraw due to campus closures.
The program is optional for all students and will cost an additional $106 per semester. All payments are conducted through TouchNet, the universities billing site, with payments going directly to GradGuard.
The university does not benefit monetarily from the relationship nor are they responsible for marketing for the program.
GradGuard’s responsibility
According to the participation agreement between GradGuard and WSU, the insurance company facilitates the program, oversees student payments and creates personalized insurance plans.
The firm is also responsible for paying out student balances when a student with the insurance withdraws from the university.
“If the unexpected happens and you have a policy with GradGuard your investment is going to be covered. We’re going to be reimbursing you as a family or we’re going to be paying Wright State on your behalf to make sure those balances are covered,” Derrick Shy, GradGuard’s Vice President of Business Development, said.
WSU’s involvement
Also according to the contract, WSU is responsible for notifying students of the program along with appointing a liaison.
Becky Sparks, director of Bursar Services and current liaison for the program, expressed her prolonged desire to contract with the company to bring the tuition insurance program to WSU.
“I had been to multiple virtual conferences over the past year and their presentations had sparked my interest in the GradGuard product for our students,” Sparks wrote. “When a student has to leave school for a medical problem we do not want an account balance or registration hold to prevent the student from coming back to Wright State,”
It is unclear what exact advantage the university gains in their relationship with GradGuard.
Contract details
According to Shy, there are no restrictions on how many students have to participate in the program in order for the company to offer it. GradGuard estimates 6% of the WSU community will enroll in the program, the average number in enrollment for universities similar in size to WSU.
The company’s contract with WSU began in July 2021 and will continue until July 2022, with the contract automatically renewing each fiscal year unless either party chooses to terminate the relationship.
