Education assistance programs

If an employee transfers to another department or State agency, and subsequently completes an approved course, the employee shall submit a request for reimbursement to the employing agency or department. The employing agency is responsible for processing the request per the provisions of this policy, and providing reimbursement if funds are available. Employees who separate from State service prior to the completion of the course are not eligible for reimbursement.

If an employee has been approved for educational assistance by reason of Reduction in Force i. If the course work has not yet started when the layoff notice is delivered, the approval will be cancelled. Under these circumstances, the following applies:. If a course can be taken only during working hours, eligible employees must request Educational Leave prior to the beginning of the course allowing sufficient time for the educational assistance request to be reviewed.

Educational Leave may be granted unless the supervisor identifies work conditions that will not permit the employee to be absent from the job. Supervisors are encouraged to develop alternate work arrangements to complete the work assignments and also grant Educational Leave. Reasonable travel time as determined by the supervisor may be permitted to attend approved courses.

Educational Leave during work hours shall not exceed one course up to five hours academic credit per academic term. Exceptions to the leave restriction may be addressed using the Educational Leave with Pay provisions of this policy. Courses taken at agency request that exceed the credit hour per fiscal year limitation must follow the Extended Educational Leave policy.

An agency wishing to initiate a program for a number of employees to participate in a degree or certificate program must also refer to the Extended Educational Leave policy. The department may provide leave with pay or leave without pay for certain types of academic courses.

The references to these specific policies are set out below. Extended Educational Leave without pay may be granted by department management in accordance with the normal Leave Without Pay Policy.

Management may consider any employee permanent, probationary, trainee or time-limited for extended Educational Leave to participate in job or career-related work-study, scholarship or fellowship programs based upon the following criteria:. Requests for extended Educational Leave initiated by the employee and which do not meet with the above criteria will be administered according to the Leave without Pay Policy.

Benefits Services in the Office of Human Resources is responsible for retaining records, on a fiscal year basis, of educational assistance activity. This information shall be reported annually to the Office of State Human Resources upon request and shall include the following:. The University allocates a calculated amount of money for this program based on usage in prior years in order to provide some benefit for all eligible University employees. Eligible employees who are from departments that may lack necessary funds for reimbursement under the Educational Assistance Program, or who are taking academic coursework that is not work-related, may request reimbursement through the Office of Human Resources.

Employees may also request textbook reimbursement through this program. Deadline: Educational Assistance Application must be approved prior to the start date of the course. Deadline: Educational Assistance Application and all supporting documents must be submitted within 30 calendar days of completion of the course.

Supervisor reviews documentation authorizes reimbursement, and completes the Educational Assistance Application. Helping low-level workers—some with no prior college—to become managers, accountants and lawyers.

Members may download one copy of our sample forms and templates for your personal use within your organization. Neither members nor non-members may reproduce such samples in any other way e. Employers are continuing to add or expand programs for tuition reimbursement, according to a new report, Educational Assistance Benefits: Survey Results. The results reveal that 83 percent of the polled organizations offered some sort of educational assistance or tuition reimbursement benefit to their employees.

Their top reasons they gave for offering educational benefits were to:. The survey found that respondents mostly offer educational assistance to their full-time salaried and hourly workers. More than one in three respondents also provide these benefits to their part-time salaried and hourly workers. Although the benefit may be offered to many, few employees use it: At many organizations, less than 5 percent of employees take advantage of educational offerings.

This benefit is especially of interest to Millennials, who are looking for opportunities to learn and advance in their careers. Despite the low utilization of the benefit, the future of educational assistance programs looks strong. Only 2 percent of organizations surveyed plan to decrease their emphasis on educational benefits over the next five years, while 29 percent of respondents are expecting to increase their emphasis. He also developed partnerships with area colleges and universities so employees, and in some cases, their family members, can attend at a reduced rate.

The agency has regular full-time employees; currently, 25 of them participate in the plan, or about 2. They may have families and be raising children as well. But there are so many different ways for an employee to go to school these days—including through online courses and the like—that we hope to encourage more people to take advantage of it. He noted several instances of how the program has benefited workers. They earn recognition, which is often followed by promotion.

Hotel-giant Hilton Worldwide in October announced a new GED Assistance benefit that will give thousands of eligible employees the opportunity to earn their high school equivalency diploma by passing the standarized General Education Developoment GED exam. Who We Are. Resources for Employers. Resources for Families. Search Bright Horizons. Find a Center Locate our child care centers, preschools, and schools near you. Log in to Schedule Backup Care.

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Bright Horizons EdAssist A majority of employers are struggling to find qualified workers today. Speak to Our Client Team. What is an Educational Assistance Program? What is an educational assistance program?

An educational assistance program is an employer-sponsored program that provides employees with the guidance, resources, and financial support they need to learn new skills and pursue additional degrees and certifications. What are the business benefits of educational assistance programs? For employers, educational assistance programs help to create a dependable talent pipeline within their company by investing in skill-building for existing employees.

Tuition assistance programs can increase retention and improve recruitment, as the opportunity to learn new skills is a priority for many workers.

How does educational assistance help employees? For employers, education benefits are a critical offering to retain top talent. For employees, educational assistance programs relieve financial barriers to education and simplify the path to earning additional degrees and certifications.