What is Third Party Funding?
Third-party funding (3PF) refers to financial support or management provided by outside organizations rather than the student or the institution. This includes outside scholarships, private student loans, employer tuition assistance, or external contractors managing federal aid.
For Continuing Education, third-party funding falls into three distinct categories:
- Employer Pay
- Texas Workforce
- Military
Third Party Funding for CE Courses
Employer Pay
An employer will cover funding for an employee or potential employee to take a course, or courses, to upskill their current position, or to prepare them for a new position.
Workforce
A state agency, such as Texas Workforce Commission, Workforce Solutions, Vocational Rehabilitation and/or WIOA, will use state or federal funds to pay for learners to take courses and become a stable part of the workforce in Texas.
Military
Federal funds pay for veterans or active duty men and women serving in the military, as well as their spouses, to take certificate and microcredential courses.
NOTE: TXST Continuing Education does not take any military funding at this time.
Funding Not Accepted for CE Courses
The following forms of funding are not currently accepted for CE courses:
FAFSA, GI Bill, Hazelwood Act, DFPS and VA Loans.
What Is the 3PF process like?
Paying for CE Courses with 3PF
Third-Party Funding at Texas State University Continuing Education follows a distinct process which contains several steps, with each step triggering the next until the process is complete and the learner is enrolled.
Below are the steps each 3PF enrollment involves:
- Funder contacts TXST to request funding for learner
- TXST accepts/denies request
- Funder requests cost sheet/education plan
- TXST sends sheet
- Funder sends SA/ITA (service authorization)
- TXST sends invoice
- Funding source acknowledges invoice
- TXST enrolls student
- Third party funds student enrollment via ACH/Check
Note that these steps must occur in order, cannot be expedited and are essential to enrolling learners who receive third-party funding.
3PF Information
Courses available for 3PF include:
- TXST CE Courses
- Registered Dental Assistant Training
- CCMA
- Hospitality Foundations
- Customer Service
- Medical Coding
- ed2go Courses
- MedCerts Courses
Cost Sheet/Education Plan: Required document requested by Workforce case managers which contain learner, course, payment and organization information.
Service Authorization: A document created by the Workforce which approves of funding for the learner/course
Continuing Education
Texas State University
continuinged@txstate.edu | 512.245.2507