Boys Hope Girls Hope Staff Tuition Waiver Program

History of the Program

In 1977, Father Paul Sheridan, SJ, an educator in St. Louis, decided that he’d seen the promise of too many young lives extinguished by negative factors like overcrowded and underfunded schools; families distressed by poverty, illness, divorce, and death; and neighborhoods shattered by drugs and violence.

He founded a program with a unique new approach to helping children reach their potential. A holistic, whole-person, “arms-around" approach. And he called it Boys Hope.

Since full potential can only be realized through education, he placed children in the top-rated schools best suited to their needs. He set high expectations—and gave his scholars everything they needed to meet them. Because children need a stable home and family, he created family-style, non-institutional homes that recreated the family dynamic. In Boys Hope Girls Hope homes, committed houseparents provide crucial parenting; older scholars become older siblings and role models to younger ones; and all perform household chores together, cementing the family bonds.

To instill in his scholars the universal moral value of altruism, all scholars attended weekly services consistent with their religious backgrounds and participated in community service projects. And he provided academic, financial, and spiritual support through college. The program’s success led to its rapid replication across the country.  By 1999, Boys Hope Girls Hope had Affiliates in 16 major American metropolitan areas (including New Orleans) , operating 31 homes in the continental U.S.

Graduate Tuition Waiver Program

The tuition waiver program for staff members of Boys Hope Girls Hope of New Orleans (BHGH) to enroll in graduate programs at Loyola University New Orleans will be effective with the 2004 fall semester. The specific implementation procedures for the general process was outlined in the June 16, 2004 Memorandum of Understanding written by Fr. William Byron, Interim President Loyola University New Orleans.

Basic Process:

Loyola University New Orleans will offer each semester a maximum of 18 graduate credit hours for use of BHGH staffers who:

1. Have been employed for a minimum of three months by BHGH of New Orleans,

2. Meet Loyola's admissions standards,

3. Have the approval of BHGH administration, and

4. Maintain a 3.0 or higher grade point average.

The Executive Director of BHGH will need to provide to the Director of the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid a list of employees requesting the tuition waiver at least two weeks before the start of each semester. Since the purpose of this program is support the mission of BHGH, the Executive Director shall determine how the 18 graduate credits will be utilized by staff members qualified to participate in the program.

Financial Aid staff will verify that the BHGH staffers have been admitted to a graduate program at Loyola or that currently enrolled staffers have maintained the requisite grade point average to receive the award.

BHGH staff must follow all deadlines to apply to Loyola's graduate programs. Questions about graduate admissions standards and deadlines should be handled by the appropriate graduate department:

(A.) BHGH staff members who receive this benefit as a condition of their employment will be responsible for appropriately reporting it under current guidelines of the Internal Revenue Service when they complete their annual federal tax returns (c.f. Publication 520: Scholarships and Fellowships at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p520.pdf ).

(B.) The benefit will be awarded as of the first day of the semester. Staff members who resign from BHGH in good standing during the semester will be allowed to keep the tuition waiver for the rest of that semester. The benefit will be immediately withdrawn for any BHGH staff member whose employment is terminated with cause. The Executive Director of BHGH will be responsible for notifying the Director of the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid within 7 working days of the staff member's termination .

(C.) Currently enrolled staff members must maintain “satisfactory academic progress” towards completing their degree program. Staff members who establish a pattern of withdrawing from courses covered by this waiver may forfeit their eligibility to continue in the program even though they may have achieved a minimum Grade Point Average of 3.0 or higher.

(D.) There will be no probationary period for this benefit for BHGH staff who fail to achieve and maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. Under current FERPA guidelines, BHGH staff will need to sign a waiver to permit Loyola University New Orleans personnel to release their academic information to the Executive Director of BHGH.

(E.) BHGH staff enrolled for a minimum of 5 credit hours per semester can also apply for federal student loans to supplement their tuition waiver. These loans must be certified by staff members in the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (“FAO”). If the staff member subsequently withdraws from a course AND receives a refund of tuition charges, FAO staff will first apply the refund to the outstanding federal student loan balance. Any remaining credit will then be applied against the BHGH tuition waiver account.

(F.)BHGH staff enrolled for less than 5 credit hours per semester can apply for credit –based private loans. Most of these loans will not require certification from the FAO staff. If the staff member withdraws from a course AND receives a refund of tuition charges, FAO staff will apply that refund to the BHGH tuition waiver account.

The current Executive Director of BHGH in New Orleans is Chuck Roth. 

Updated July 15, 2010