 Category:
Financial HR / Labor Relations Responsible Office:
|
Policy Title:
Tuition and Fee Assistance for Employees Document Number:
8205 Effective Date:
November 29, 1972
This policy item applies to:
Community Colleges
State-Operated Campuses Statutory Colleges |
The State University of New York (University) Board of Trustees has established a policy of tuition assistance for eligible employees of the University, the Community Colleges and the Research Foundation of State University of New York. This policy provides that up to 100 percent of the cost of tuition and fees charged for eligible courses of instruction may be waived where such employees enroll in courses at a campus of the University.
I. The State University of New York (University) Board of Trustees has established a policy of tuition assistance for eligible employees of the University, the Community Colleges and the Research Foundation of State University of New York. This policy provides that up to 100 percent of the cost of tuition and fees charged for eligible courses of instruction may be waived where such employees enroll in courses at a University campus. The policy also provides that employees may be reimbursed for eligible courses of instruction if taken at other than a campus of the University. In the latter case, the funds must be made available by the employing campus.
II. Classified service employees in the operational, administration, and institutional and the professional, scientific and technical bargaining units are eligible for financial assistance toward the cost of further education under a program separately financed as a consequence of negotiated agreements. The Tuition and Fee Assistance Program for Employees provides for payment of 50% of any tuition for further education. Such education need not be job-related or in a University program; however, the employee must bear the cost, which cannot then be waived under the procedures described herein.
III. Application for such financial assistance is made through submission of Form A: PS-304, Tuition Support Application - Employee Benefits Program. The completed form should be forwarded directly to the Office of the Assistant Vice Chancellor for University-wide Human Resources, State University of New York, State University Plaza, Albany, New York 12246.
IV. This procedure item applies to Community Colleges only insofar that eligible Community College employees, as defined below, may have the cost of tuition and certain fees waived for courses of instruction taken at campus of the University with the University being repaid. Except for these waivers of tuition campuses of the University, waiver or reimbursement of the cost of employee training at their own college or at other campuses is at the discretion of the individual Community College.
V. Levels of Support
A. Professional Service Employees -
1. 100% Support - A professional service employee who is enrolled in a course or courses of instruction approved by the appointing officer as part of a training program for improved performance in his/her current position shall be eligible for 100 percent support.
2. 50% Support - In isolated cases where a course has not been approved as part of a training program, but where there is some connection between the professional service employee's current position and the course in which registration is desired, the employee may be eligible for 50 percent support.
B. Classified Service Employees -
1. 100% Support - A classified service employee registered in a course(s), which the president or his/her duly designated representative of an employing campus deems necessary for the employee to properly fulfill his/her present job duties is eligible for 100 percent support.
2. 75% Support - A classified service employee enrolled in a course which relates directly to job duties and from which improved performance can reasonably be expected is eligible for 75 percent support.
3. 50% Support - A classified service employee enrolled in a course(s), which improves his/her general competence for performing his/her present job or leads toward qualification for a job he can reasonably be expected to assume in the future is eligible for 50 percent support. Employees eligible for benefits under the Employee Benefits Program (see Section II. above) must apply for assistance under that program in advance of application for assistance within the University. The latter should be made only in the event of denial of Employee Benefit Program assistance.
C. Former State Employee Trainees and Public Administration Interns -
1. A former state employee trainee or public administration intern is eligible for 100 percent support for courses not directly related to his/her present position under the following conditions:
a. The courses must be taken within three years after completion of the internship or trainee year.
b. Such support is limited to a maximum of 12 credit hours.
c. If coursework is taken at institutions external to the University, such support is limited to a maximum of $25 per credit hours.
2. A statement including the following information must be attached to Form B: B-140, "Application for Tuition and Fee Assistance."
a. Year of internship or traineeship.
b. Listing of courses previously approved.
D. Further limitation of Amount of Support -
The support percentages detailed above may be scaled down if necessary in order to meet campus budgetary constraints.
E. Courses not Eligible for any Support -
Except as noted above in Section V. C, employees enrolled in courses which bear NO relationship to either the employee's current job or a job the employee can reasonably be expected to assume in the future are not eligible for support at any level unless those courses are part of a job related training program.
VI. Costs to be Waived or Reimbursed
A. Costs which may be waived by campuses of the University -
1. Professional Service Employees:
a. 100% Support - The following costs may be waived completely when incurred by an eligible professional service employee taking courses approved at the 100 percent level.
i. Tuition
ii. Laboratory or Instructional Fee
b. 50% Support - The cost of tuition ONLY may be waived up to the level of support which has been approved.
2. Classified Service Employees:
The cost of tuition ONLY may be waived up to the level of support which has been approved.
B. Costs which may be reimbursed for courses taken at institutions other than campuses of the University -
1. The policy of reimbursement for programs of study at institutions external to the University is to be carefully controlled both as to purpose and number. Persons employed by a campus and taking courses at a University Community College are included in this reimbursement procedure.
The following guidelines should be generally observed:
a. Reimbursement is not intended to operate as a general financing of faculty graduate study, even though the attainment of advanced degrees by faculty members is desirable.
b. Approval for reimbursement generally should not be given for courses that can be completed at campuses of the University itself, even though geography and time may make it convenient for personnel to attend another nearby institution external to the University.
c. Courses for which approval is given should have a clear and direct relationship to the present or projected function of the individual as related to the needs of the campus.
d. There should be definite assurance that the results of such expenditures will be of direct value to the campus concerned.
e. All persons who undertake courses with the expectation of reimbursement should clearly understand that they are liable for all expenditures incurred unless final approval has been received.
2. Professional Service Employees:
a. 100% Support - The cost of tuition up to a limit of $25 per credit hour and the cost of instructional fees may be reimbursed to a professional service employee registered for courses approved for 100 percent support at institutions that are not campuses of the University.
b. 50% Support - Fifty percent support of the cost of tuition up to a limit of $12.50 per credit hour may be reimbursed to professional service employees taking courses, which have been approved at a 50 percent level.
3. Reimbursement for Classified Service Employees:
The cost of tuition may be reimbursed up to the level of support, which has been approved, but not exceeding the dollar amounts indicated below:
C. Costs Which May Be Waived or Reimbursed at Cornell University
Employees (including Community Colleges professional staff) of the University are eligible for some financial assistance for certain courses taken at Cornell University, under the following conditions:
a. Statutory campuses of the Graduate School of Cornell University (College of Agriculture, College of Human Ecology, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, College of Veterinary Medicine.)
b. University employees who enroll as full-time students in the statutory campuses of the Graduate School of Cornell University will be granted a waiver of tuition but will be responsible for paying the general Graduate School Fee.
c. Endowed campuses of the Cornell Graduate School - Employees enrolled as full-time students in the endowed campuses of the Cornell Graduate School will pay the full tuition and the general Graduate School Fee.
2. Part-time students:
University employees who attend Cornell as part-time students will register through the Extramural Division.
a. Statutory colleges - If enrolled in regularly offered courses in the statutory colleges, University employees will be charged a fee of $5 per semester credit hour to cover general administrative costs. This fee is NOT reimbursable.
b. Endowed Campuses - For courses offered during the academic year by the endowed campuses of Cornell University, University employees will pay the full Extramural Fee.
c. Off-campus courses - University employees will be expected to pay the full fee for any off-campus course offered through the Extramural Division.
3. Summer Session:
University employees attending the summer session may enroll through the Graduate School if they are a candidate for a degree or they may enroll as summer session students.
a. Graduate school - If enrolled in the statutory campuses of the Graduate School, tuition will be waived but the Graduate School Fee must be paid.
b. Summer Session -
i. If enrolled as summer session students for courses offered by departments in the endowed campuses, the student will be expected to pay the full summer session tuition and fee.
ii. If the student enrolls in courses offered by departments in the statutory campuses, the charge will be $25 per semester credit hour. This tuition charge may be reimbursed to employees at campuses in accordance with Section VI B above.
4. Eligibility for reimbursement:
Employees of the University who pay the tuition charge for courses taken in an endowed campus of Cornell or off-campus courses administered by Cornell are eligible for a reimbursement of $12.50 to $25.00 per credit hour as provided in Section VIII.B.
5. Application procedure:
a. Cornell tuition waiver requests should be made by using the standard Form B: B-140 - "Application for Tuition and Fee Assistance."
b. For courses where tuition is waived in a statutory campus, Form B: B-140 should be processed in the same way as for courses taken at a University campus.
c. For all courses where reimbursement is being sought, Form B: B-140 should be processed in the same way as for courses given "at a campus external to the University."
VII. Colleges Where Courses May Be Taken
A. An eligible employee may take approved job-required and job-related courses at any college, university, or other educational institution that is certified by the New York Education Department (NYSED) or by the New York State Department of Civil Service.
B. An employing campus recommending approval for an employee to take a job-required or job-related course at an institution that is not a campus of the University must have funds available to support the reimbursable portion of the tuition and/or fees at the external institution.
A. Approval will be secured on Form B: B-140, "Application for Tuition and Fee Assistance."
B. An employee may take a course or courses of instructions with University support when the following approvals have been secured:
1. Employing Campus - Application for waiver and/or reimbursement must be submitted to the employing campus prior to registering for the course or courses for which waiver or reimbursement is being requested.
2. Instructing Campus:
a. The applicant must meet admission and application requirements of the instructing campus.
b. The applicant must submit a Form B-140, Application for Tuition and Fee Assistance, approved by the employing campus when registering for the course.
3. Office of University-wide Human Resources in System Administration-
Application for waiver of tuition for courses taken at campuses of the University must reach the Office of University-wide Human Resources in system administration no later than one month after the end of the term for which the waiver is requested.
A. 100 Percent or 75 Percent Support -
An employee entitled to reimbursement for costs incurred for a course or courses approved at either 100 percent or 75 percent support will submit a State of New York Standard Voucher to the employing campus including:
1. Proof of payment.
2. The employee's copy of the Application Form B: B-140 with the necessary approvals. (The employee's copy of the form will be returned to the employee by the Office of University-wide Human Resources when all approvals have been secured.) Reimbursable costs must fall within the limitations specified in Section VIII. B, 2 and 3.
B. 50 Percent Support -An employee entitled to reimbursement for costs incurred for a course or courses approved at 50 percent support will follow the same procedure as in Section IX. A above. In addition, the employee will submit proof of satisfactory completion of the course or courses for which reimbursement at this level of support is requested.
X. Leave for Employee Training or Education
All job-related courses of instruction must be undertaken after hours, while in a leave status, or on the basis of an adjusted work schedule.
XI. Standards
It is to be clearly understood that the instructing college will apply the same academic and admissions standards to persons benefiting from the waiver of tuition as to all other students, with no relaxation of standards for University employees. Failure to complete a course satisfactorily will be considered in evaluation of further applications of the applicant.
XII. Eligibility of Employees Holding Waiver for Fellowship and Assistantship
A person who receives a tuition waiver may also be considered by the instructing college for a fellowship, scholarship or graduate assistantship.
XIII. Clarification
Questions relating to employee tuition and fee assistance may be directed to the campus tuition contact and then to the Office of University-wide Human Resources. The Assistant Vice Chancellor for University-wide Human Resources will coordinate the interpretation and development of the policy and procedure, with consultation as appropriate.
XIV. Community College and Research Foundation Employees Taking Courses in Colleges Other Than the University
Community Colleges and Research Foundation employees taking courses at other than campuses of the University are not covered by this procedure. (Community College and Research Foundation employees are eligible for waiver or tuition at State operated campuses as outlined above.)
XV. Application Procedure
All persons covered by this procedure, as well as employee-interns and part-time faculty covered by Procedure for Waiver of Tuition for Specified Employees, should apply using Form B: B-140.
The following procedure applies to attending state-operated campuses
A. Employee/Applicant
1. Complete Part 1 of Form B: B-140, Application for Tuition and Fee Assistance. After obtaining supervisor’s signature approving the application, the employee should keep the goldenrod (last) copy of the B140W and forward the 4 (four) remaining copies of the B140W form to the appropriate approving officer (either the human resource office or business office, varies by campus) at the employing campus.
B. Officer of Employing Campus
1. Complete Part II. Question 14 of Form B: B-140, Application for Tuition and Fee Assistance. This must be completed in full by the chief administrative officer or designee. If the request is disapproved, an explanation is noted and all copies are returned to the applicant.
2. The employing campus should retain the pink (last) copy of the B140W and forward the remaining 3 copies to the “instructing” campus’s student accounts office.
C. Instructing College
1. Complete Part III itemizing tuition charges to be waived.
a. If approved, the instructing campus should keep the third (yellow) copy and return 2 copies (white and green) to the employing campus. The employing campus should file this according to local procedures.
b. If the request is disapproved, list reasons and return third (yellow) copy to the applicant as well as 2 copies (white and green) to the employing campus.
2. If there is a Community College Tuition Reimbursement Waiver, the original (white) copy with all original signatures along with a Special Charge Voucher for reimbursement shall be forwarded to the University-wide Human Resource Office (System Administration, SUNY Plaza, Albany, New York 12246).
D. University-wide Human Resource Office shall review the application to ensure the Community College has enough money allocation to cover the cost of the waiver and then forward the Special Charge Voucher to the business office for reimbursement of the approved B140w from Community College allocations to the state-operated campus where the course was taken.
If applying for reimbursement for other-than state-operated courses, programs, etc.
A. Employee/Applicant
1. Complete Part 1 of Form B: B-140, Application for Tuition and Fee Assistance. After obtaining supervisor’s signature (first signature in Part II) approving the application, the employee shall keep the goldenrod (last) copy of the B140W and forward the 4 (four) remaining copies of the B140W form to the appropriate approving officer (either the human resource office or business office, varies by campus) at the employing campus.
B. Chief Administrative Officer (Dean or Director) of Employing Campus
1. Complete Part II. Question 14 of Form B: B-140, Application for Tuition and Fee Assistance. This must be completed in full by the chief administrative officer or designee
a. If the request is disapproved, an explanation is noted and all copies returned to the applicant.
b. If approved, the application is attached to a Special Charge Voucher, Purchase Requisition (whatever local campus uses) and submitted for payment to the local business office.
Note: B140W Application Forms are available from the Office of University-wide Human Resources, State University of New York, State University Plaza, Albany, New York 12246.
Tuition support – a dollar repayment of part of the tuition paid by the employee to any college in accordance with the provisions of collective bargaining agreement. The support is 50% of the actual cost of tuition, with an annual maximum amount of $300, and it is available only to employees in the classified service. Approval is sought through submission of Form A: PS-304, Application for Tuition Support.
Tuition waiver – an official forgiveness of part or all of the tuition at a University campus and under certain conditions to the contract colleges at Cornell University. The percentage of the waiver is determined on the basis of the individual program as well as by the funds available. All University and Research Foundation full-time employees are eligible for waivers. Approval is sought through submission of Form B: B-140, Application for Tuition and Fee Assistance.
Tuition Reimbursement – a repayment of tuition paid by the employee to an institution other than a campus of the University. The full-rate reimbursement limit is $25/credit hour and the monies must be obtained from the employee's departmental budget as there is no campus or University-wide appropriation for the purpose. Only full-time state employees (both classified and unclassified service) are eligible. Application is made via Form B: B-140.
1. An employee holding, or on a leave of absence from, an appointment to a position which is paid on the University payroll is eligible for waiver or reimbursement. Since all aspects of the tuition waiver presume a benefit to the University through an improved level of education, there must be reasonable expectation that University service will be continued beyond the period of the instruction. For part-time faculty and interns, refer to Waiver of Tuition for Specified Appointees Procedures for other limitations.
2. Employees in the following categories are eligible under these policies only for tuition waiver at campuses of the University: (a) an employee holding a full-time appointment to a professional service position in a community college; (b) a full-time employee of the State University of New York Research Foundation; (c) an employee on leave of absence from a position defined in 2a or 2b above.
Fees, Rentals, and Other Charges
Tuition Waiver Program for Critic/Supervising Teachers
Tuition Waiver Program for Supervisor of Social Service Fieldwork
Waiver - Tuition for Course Auditors
Waiver of Tuition for Specified Appointees, Policy on
Tuition Waiver for Supervisors of Social Service Fieldwork, Procedure for
Waiver of Tuition for Specified Appointees, Procedure for
Critic Teacher Waiver Module
Form A - Tuition Support Application - Employee Benefits Program
Form B - B-140 � Application for Tuition and Fee Assistance
Tuition, Fees and Charges (8 NYCRR 302)
State University of New York Board of Trustees Resolution 72-305, adopted November 29, 1972.
There are no appendices relevant to this policy.