1. Governing Regulations
This procedure is governed by System Regulation 31.99.01 Employees Registering as Students, System Regulation 33.05.01 Use of Public Funds for Employee Training or Education, System Regulation 21.01.03 Disbursement of Funds, and Administrative Procedure 10.17 Employees Registering as Students.
2. General
Employees who wish to pursue a degree from an accredited college or university for the purpose of advancement opportunities within the agency may be eligible for tuition and fee assistance from the agency. This assistance will be based on availability of funding.
3. Employee Eligibility
To qualify for assistance, the employee must meet the following eligibility criteria.
3.1 Be employed in a full-time, budgeted position in the agency.
3.2 Have completed 12 months of continuous service at the agency in a full-time budgeted position prior to course enrollment.
3.3 Be in good standing with the agency. This includes:
- no active disciplinary action.
- meeting supervisor’s performance expectations in the most recent evaluation.
3.4 Be accepted into a degree seeking program or a master’s level certificate program at a nationally or regionally accredited college or university.
3.5 The degree the employee is pursuing is relevant to their current agency position or an agency position they want to be considered for.
3.6 An employee is only eligible for tuition and fee assistance for one degree during employment with the agency.
4. Reimbursement Provisions
4.1 Employee Tuition and Fee Assistance will be on a reimbursement basis only. The employee is responsible for registering for the courses and paying all required costs in accordance with the rules, regulations and deadlines of the institution. Payments cannot be made to the institution by the agency and the agency procurement card cannot be used.
4.2 Courses may be in-person or online. Any employee who registers as a student is subject to Administrative Procedure 10.17 Employees Registering as Students for eligibility to attend classes during normal work hours.
4.3 Review, auditing and continuing education courses are not eligible for reimbursement.
4.4 Any employee who resigns or is terminated (voluntarily or involuntarily) prior to completion of a course is not eligible to receive a reimbursement.
4.5 The employee must receive a final grade of “C” or better for undergraduate courses and “B” or better for graduate level courses. Pass/Fail courses must receive a passing grade. Employees enrolled in the East Texas A&M University (ETAMU) Competency-Based Education (CBE) Programs must receive a final grade of “B” or better for courses. Courses with grades below these thresholds and courses that are dropped are not eligible for reimbursement.
4.6 Maximum reimbursement of $1,000.00 per course as follows:
- fall and/or spring semesters (maximum of 2 classes per semester)
- 1-5 credit hours = $1,000
- 6 credit hours or more = $2,000
- summer semester (maximum of 1 class for all summer sessions):
- 1-6 credit hours = $1,000
- Mini-Mester (maximum of 1 class for any mini-mester)
- 1-6 credit hours = $1,000p
- ETAMU CBE 7-week term
- Unlimited number of CBE courses per term = $750
4.7 Reimbursement is limited to $5,000 per fiscal year and is only available for tuition, other required fees, and books. Items such as parking and sports passes are not eligible for reimbursement. For employees enrolled in the East Texas A&M University CBE program, reimbursement is only available for tuition.
5. Reimbursement Requests
5.1 Request for reimbursements may be submitted for tuition, other required fees, and books paid by the employee, up to the agency established maximum per academic semester/term and fiscal year. Eligible expenses paid by student financial assistance (excluding student loans) received from the institution and reflected on the paid student bill are not eligible for reimbursement.
5.2 Requests for reimbursement must be submitted after the semester/term is completed and must be submitted to Employee Services within 90 days of completion of the course.
5.3 The requesting employee must complete a Purchase Voucher requesting reimbursement and provide appropriate documentation of course completion to support the request. The employee must submit:
- A grade slip or other appropriate proof of grade received.
- A copy of the paid student bill or itemized receipt from the institution showing the tuition and fees, and proof of payment.
- A copy of paid receipts for books purchased.
- A copy of the degree plan that shows the course completed is required for the degree the employee is seeking.
5.4 Employee Services staff will review and approve reimbursement requests, and forward to Accounts Payable for processing of payment to the employee.