12 Mar
Employee Tuition Assistance
ATTENTION ADULT LEARNER !!! Did you know that one out of every two adult learners are supported by some type of tuition assistance plan? Here is a “snapshot” of how these tuition assistance or tuition reimbursement programs work:
Who Is Eligible?
- In most cases, the person must be an active, full time employee in good standing or on a paid leave of absence.
- Normally there is a Human Resource or manager approval process that one must go through prior to enrolling in a course.
What Are The Guidelines?
- The institution that the employee is interested in attending must be fully accredited through one of the regional accrediting bodies.
- Eligible expenses include tuition and “per unit credit” fees and may also include registration fees, textbooks, and lab or technology fees.
- Non-eligible expenses include such things as fees for non-credit courses, school supplies, meals, transportation costs, and computers/software.
- The student/employee must successfully pass the course(s) he or she is taking. In most cases, a “C” in an undergraduate course and a “B” in a graduate course would be considered satisfactory completion.
How To Apply?
- Contact your Human Resource office or company management to inquire is a Tuition Assistance/Reimburse Program exists.
- If it does exist, make sure you understand all of the steps you need to go through including what documentation you must submit upon course completion.
- Understand clearly your financial obligations as to whether tuition is paid upfront by your employer (Tuition Assistance) or if you have to pay tuition and then seek reimbursement (Tuition Reimbursement.)