Human Resources

Educational Assistance for Employees and Dependents

06:40:00 Educational Assistance for Employees and Dependents

1. The College is committed to the need for the continued professional development and education of employees and their dependents. Financial support for educational assistance helps address this need. Participation is subject to funds being budgeted and available and approval by the President or his designee. All employees who enroll in courses (on or off campus) during their regular work days must document by memorandum a plan for making up all lost time from work. The memorandum should include the name of the course, the time of the course, the term, college or university, and method for making up time (lunch hour, extended hours, annual leave, etc.). The memorandum should be addressed to the immediate supervisor for signature and forwarded to the Human Resources Office. If a fee waiver or fee reimbursement form is used, the only requirement is a memorandum stating how the time will be made up. The memorandum should be attached to the form and sent the traditional route.

2. Types of support:

   1. Six types of support are available. These are as follows:
      1. Faculty or Administrative/Professional Staff Grant-in-Aid Program - (PERTAINS ONLY TO CREDIT COURSES TAKEN AT ANY PUBLIC OR PRIVATE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING). This program provides tuition or maintenance fees and/or living allowance for any regular
      2. faculty member or administrative/professional staff member employed by the institution for two or more years who is on an approved leave of absence and who is enrolled as a full-time student in credit courses except where less than full-time enrollment is needed to complete the program.

   2. Faculty or Administrative/Professional Staff Tuition or Maintenance Fee Reimbursement Program

      1. (PERTAINS ONLY TO CREDIT COURSES TAKEN AT ANY PUBLIC OR PRIVATE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING). This program provides maintenance or tuition-related fees for regular part-time or full-time faculty/administrative/professional staff employees who have been employed by the College for at least six months and who enroll in credit courses on a part-time basis while continuing work responsibilities. These requests shall be submitted at least two weeks prior to enrollment. Reimbursement may not exceed actual maintenance or tuitionrelated fees for a maximum of six credit hours per semester.
      2. Employee Audit/Non-Credit Program - (PERTAINS ONLY TO NON-CREDIT COURSES TAKEN AT THE INSTITUTION EMPLOYING THE INDIVIDUAL OR ANOTHER TENNESSEE BOARD OF REGENTS OR PUBLIC INSTITUTION). This program provides maintenance or tuitionrelated fees for audit or job-related non-credit courses to a maximum of six credit hours or two non-credit courses per semester to regular full-time or part-time employees who have been employed by the College for at least six months.

   3. Clerical and Support Staff Maintenance Fee Reimbursement Program

      1. (PERTAINS ONLY TO CREDIT COURSES TAKEN AT ANY PUBLIC OR PRIVATE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING). This program provides maintenance or tuition-related fees for a maximum of six credit hours per term to regular part-time and full-time clerical and support staff employees who have been employed by the College for at least six months and who enroll in credit courses on a part-time basis while continuing work responsibilities. These requests shall be submitted at least two weeks prior to enrollment. Reimbursement may not exceed actual maintenance or tuitionrelated fees for a maximum of six credit hours per semester.

   4. Fee Waiver for Employees

      1. (PERTAINS ONLY TO CREDIT COURSES TAKEN AT TENNESSEE BOARD OF REGENTS AND UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE INSTITUTIONS). This program provides all full-time employees the opportunity to enroll in one course per term at any public  postsecondary institution with fees waived, on a space available basis. Courses under this program must be taken for credit

3. Student Fee Discount for Spouse and Dependent Children of Employees

   1. (PERTAINS ONLY TO UNDERGRADUATE COURSES TAKEN BY SPOUSES AND CHILDREN AT TENNESSEE BOARD OF REGENTS AND UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE INSTITUTIONS). This provides for fee discounts of up to 50 percent of the undergraduate fee and all mandatory student fees payable at the time of registration for spouses and dependent children of regular full-time and regular part-time employees. Spouses and dependent children of regular part-time employees who have one or more years of continuous service within either the TBR or UT system working a minimum of fifty percent (50%) time shall receive a pro rata discount based on the percent of time currently worked by the employee.
   2. Before applying for educational assistance, employees should read the details regarding eligibility, fees paid/type course paid/number of hours, payback provisions, when and where the participant may attend, and accounting and budget provisions. Forms for the various types of educational assistance outlined above are available from Human Resources.
   3. Detailed information regarding the types of educational assistance outlined above is available in Tennessee Board Regents Guideline Nos. P-130 and P-131.

Approved: Executive Staff, 05/20/09
Approved: President’s Cabinet, 05/20/09
Approved by President, 05/20/09
Reviewed and Revised: Human Resources, 11/2008