President announces 50 percent tuition waiver December 14, 2007 Dear UND Campus Community: I am pleased to announce that beginning in the fall of 2008, spouses and dependents of University of North Dakota benefitted faculty and staff will be eligible for a 50 percent tuition waiver. This initiative will benefit many of our dedicated faculty and staff. Over the past several years, campus leadership has discussed the possibility of such a program, which is not uncommon in higher education around the country. When I first arrived on campus, we decided to focus on bringing salaries more in line with our peer institutions as a top priority, and indeed it still is. Although we still have a way to go in improving salaries, and because salary increases have been set at 5 percent for each of the years of the current biennium, the Cabinet, with the consensus of the University Planning and Budget Committee, feels that the time is right for extending this additional benefit. We want UND to be an institution of choice. We want our students to view UND as a destination and we also want our first-rate faculty and staff to think of this campus as an "employer of choice" and a great place to work. We believe this program will help recruit -- and retain -- the best possible staff and faculty. I encourage you to go to http://www.und.edu/tuitionwaiver/ to get the details of this program. The Office of Enrollment Services has also established a Web site to gather the names of prospective students who can benefit from this new initiative. Please go to http://www.go.und.edu/referral/ and complete the form they have made available to the campus. If you have questions about the program, please contact Human Resources at humanresources@mail.und.nodak.edu. I hope you and your families enjoy this holiday season and you have a great 2008. Sincerely, Charles E. Kupchella President