Sponsored Programs

1. Ask your sponsor to prepare a sponsor authorization letter and submit it to the Sponsored Programs office. We cannot process your registration without the letter from your sponsor.
   1. Sponsor authorization letters may be submitted by email or fax. Please allow two business days processing time.
   2. Your sponsor may also be required to submit additional materials to our office; refer to the sponsor requirements section for details.
   3. It is your responsibility to make sure the Sponsored Programs office receives the letter (and any other required materials) from your sponsor before the payment due date. Plan accordingly and allow two business days processing time.
   4. If you are an international student and your employer is sponsoring you through our sponsored programs, you must provide the Sponsored Programs office with a copy of your work permit and a recent original pay stub. Central Piedmont must have these in order to invoice your sponsoring employer.
2. Register for classes. We cannot process registrations if we have not received the authorization letter from your sponsor.
3. Pay any amounts not covered by your sponsor by the payment due date.
   1. If you are responsible for paying a portion of your tuition and fees (for example, if your sponsor only authorized a certain amount, or if you are taking a class that is not being paid by your sponsor), you may pay the remaining balance online or at any Central Piedmont Business Office by the payment due date.
   2. Books, if authorized, can be charged to your sponsor or scholarship beginning two weeks before the semester starts.
   3. Please note that if your sponsoring agency does not remit payment in full, you will be responsible for all amounts owed. To verify if any balance is owed, please visit MyCollege.
   4. All registrations must be paid or secured by the payment due date.
   5. Any registrations not secured by the due date will be automatically dropped from the system.

The following applies to current Career and College Promise (dual enrollment, Middle College, and Early College) students. If you have already graduated from CMS, you are not longer a Career and College Promise student.

• Your classes will automatically be secured by the college. Tuition will be waived for all Career and College Promise students. Career and College Promise students can verify their fee charges in MyCollege and pay by the applicable payment deadline.
• CMS will pay fees for all CMS Career and College Promise students during the spring and fall terms only. CMS Career and College Promise students are required to pay fees during the summer term.
• If you are a Middle College or Early College student and need to change your class schedule, you must request a schedule change through your Middle College or Early College counselor.
• If you are a dual enrollment student, you must request a schedule change through your high school counselor or through the Office of Outreach and Recruitment.
• All students will receive digital and/or print materials through the college's Included Course Materials program. Additional required materials, such as kits, can be purchased or charged at the bookstore. 

Authorization on company letterhead must include the following information:

• students' names
• students' Central Piedmont student ID number
• sponsor’s billing address
• sponsor’s contact name
• sponsor’s phone number
• list of charges sponsor will cover
• semester sponsor is paying for
• any limits on amounts allowed

The sponsor must then submit this information to the Sponsored Programs office by email or fax.

The Sponsored Programs office must receive documentation no later than two days before the student registers for classes. If complete documentation is not received and the student registers for classes, these classes can be dropped for non-payment. If you are sponsoring students for more than one semester, please submit a new letter of authorization every semester.

Sponsors are invoiced approximately four weeks after the semester begins. Sponsor invoices must be paid with company checks (personal checks are not acceptable) or business credit card (if you are using a business credit card, you must come to the Levine Campus Cashiering office to verify that a business credit card is being used). Invoices must be paid by the date indicated. Please note that student sponsorship is a guarantee of payment for all authorized tuition and fees. Central Piedmont will reduce the sponsor invoice by the applicable refund amount if a student drops within the refund period (75% of tuition only), but no amounts are credited for classes dropped after the refund period is over. If student(s) drop or terminate employment during the semester, the sponsor will remain liable for any charges previously authorized.

NC employers and state agencies may qualify to be invoiced at the in-state rate:

• to receive the in-state rate, the sponsor must be the student's employer and a North Carolina company
• employment must be verifiable with an original paystub showing North Carolina state taxes paid
• volunteers and contract workers are not considered employees for invoicing purposes

The General Assembly amended G.S.115D-39 and thus added a new provision affecting tuition classification of persons lawfully admitted to the United States and living in North Carolina. 

II. North Carolina Nonprofit Entity Sponsorship

G.S.115D-39 “(c) In addition, a person sponsored under this subsection who is lawfully admitted to the United States is eligible for the State resident community college tuition rate. For purposes of this subsection, a North Carolina nonprofit entity is a charitable or religious corporation as defined in G.S. 55A-1-40 that is incorporated in North Carolina and that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or a civic league incorporated in North Carolina under Chapter 55A of the General Statutes that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. A nonresident of the United States is sponsored by a North Carolina nonprofit entity if the student resides in North Carolina while attending the community college and the North Carolina nonprofit entity provides a signed affidavit to the community college verifying that the entity accepts financial responsibility for the student's tuition and any other required educational fees. Any North Carolina nonprofit entity that sponsors a nonresident of the United States under this subsection may sponsor no more than five nonresident students annually under this subsection. This subsection does not make a person a resident of North Carolina for any other purpose." 

Pursuant to this provision, a nonprofit charitable or religious corporation or civil league may sponsor a person lawfully admitted to the United States and living in this state who attends a community college. In this case, the nonprofit charitable or religious corporation will pay the in-state tuition rate on behalf of the student that is a member for one year. The entity must meet the following conditions:

• be incorporated under the laws of North Carolina
• submit to the college a copy of the entity’s article of incorporation and the federal tax identification number or federal employer’s identification
• submit a letter on official company letterhead agreeing to pay the student’s tuition and required fees
• submit a copy of F-1 Visa or I-20 Form
• may not sponsor more than five students per year under this provision
• pay the in-state tuition and required educational fees using a check bearing the printed name of the nonprofit, charitable, or religious corporation
• submit the original notarized affidavit that will be included in the sponsor's invoice from Central Piedmont Sponsored Programs

Public School Graduate and Nonprofit Sponsorship Except RE: DACA

Since individuals with DACA classification are not eligible to receive the benefit of in-state tuition under federal law and there is not an exception for individuals with DACA classification in N.C.G.S. § 115D-39, individuals with DACA classification are not eligible to obtain the in-state tuition rate under the public school graduate exception or the nonprofit sponsorship exception.

It is highly recommended that the sponsor and the student contact the Sponsored Programs office before classes are registered to avoid classes dropping for non-payment. The student should register for classes and contact the Sponsored Programs office to notify the college of sponsorship.

If a Financial Award Analysis form or registration statement is required, the student may contact any Central Piedmont Cashiering Office for assistance. The cashiering office staff will forward the completed Financial Award Analysis and/or registration statement to the Sponsored Programs office for processing.

After receiving notification from the training coordinator that the student will be sponsored, the student’s account will be placed on “hold” to prevent the classes from dropping for non-payment while the college awaits the formal voucher from the sponsoring organization. Once the voucher is received, the sponsorship will be applied to the student’s account and, if applicable, you may purchase books from the Central Piedmont bookstore using your student ID card.

Following the drop/add period each semester, the college will send an invoice to the sponsoring organization.

The Internal Revenue Service requires Central Piedmont to report qualified tuition and expenses as well as scholarships and grants paid or posted to all degree-seeking students’ accounts on Form 1098-T. The 1098-T statement is an information return that assists students in computing certain education tax credits or deductions for which they may be eligible when they file annual income tax returns.

• AmeriCorp, Non-profit, and 529 Savings Plans (including Florida Prepaid) should not have an amount reflected in Box 5. This payment amount will reflected in Box 1 for qualified tuition and fees.
• PassThru Scholarships from outside sources, such as Scholarship America, Foundation for the Carolinas, etc. will reflect all expenses covered (tuition and fees, books, etc.) in Box 5. However, the qualified tuition and fees paid by the scholarship will reflect in Box 1.
• Career and College Promise students will receive a 1098-T. All expenses covered by the sponsorship will reflect in Box 5. Payment received for qualified fees for these students will reflect in Box 1.
• All other sponsorships, including those paying for continuing education courses, will reflect in Box 5. Payment for qualified tuition and fees from these sponsorships will reflect in Box 1.

These decisions are based on recommendations from the North Carolina Community College System and the NACUBO Advisory Report Advisory 18-06 for 1098-T reporting (PDF).