Classified Employee Educational and Training Assistance Programs
Tuition Assistance
The College provides tuition assistance to qualified employees who apply for it. Tuition assistance is neither a benefit nor an entitlement of employment at NOVA and is limited by the availability of funds. Priority will be given to education or training directly related to job performance.
Eligibility
Salaried full-time and part-time (P-3) employees and hourly (P-14) employees hired to work 20 hours or more each week are eligible to apply for tuition assistance. Tuition assistance funds will cover tuition and associated laboratory fees and are subject to approval according to established priorities. Charges for admission fees, student activity fees, course books and materials and similar fees are the responsibility of the individual.
For full-time and part-time (P-3) employees within the first six months of employment, tuition assistance is limited to job-related course work. "Job related" refers to course work contributing to the improvement of skills, abilities, or knowledge used in the performance of an employee's current job. This category of course work also includes education or training taken by employees with below minimum qualifications who were appointed to positions because fully qualified applicants were not available. After six months of employment, full-time and part-time (P-3) employees may apply for tuition assistance for non-job related courses based on college-established priorities and funding. The employee’s supervisor is responsible for indicating whether a course is job related or non-job related and does so by completing the appropriate section of the tuition assistance request.
Hourly (P-14) employees hired to work 20 hours or more each week are eligible to apply for tuition for job-related courses only. The availability of funds is subject to approval according to established priorities and funding limitations.
Types of Courses and Funding Amounts
NOVA Courses
Tuition assistance is available for both credit and non-credit (CEU) NOVA courses. Financial assistance is limited to $1,000 per fiscal year for full-time (P-3) employees and $500 per fiscal year for part-time (P-3) and hourly (P-14) employees hired to work 20 hours or more each week. This fiscal year dollar limit includes the combination of all courses (NOVA credit and non-credit courses and non-NOVA credit and non-credit courses). The college fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30.
The maximum credit hour load is six (6) credit hours per semester for salaried full-time, part-time and P-14 employees. An exception can be made to the stated credit limit via written waiver submitted by the employee’s supervisor to the Human Resources office.
Non-NOVA Courses
Salaried full-time (P-3) employees are eligible for tuition assistance for non-NOVA courses. The employee must submit documentation from the academic institution showing tuition rates with the application for tuition assistance. Tuition assistance, not to exceed $1,000 per fiscal year, may be available for courses taken at accredited colleges and universities provided comparable course work is unavailable at NOVA. This fiscal year dollar limit includes the combination of all courses (NOVA credit and non-credit courses and non-NOVA credit and non-credit courses).
IRS Tax Rules on Tuition Assistance
Educational assistance provided for courses at the graduate level or undergraduate level that have been determined to be job related is excluded from gross taxable income under Internal Revenue Code Section 132 as a Working Fringe Benefit. Educational assistance provided for courses at the undergraduate level that are not job related is also excluded from gross taxable income under Internal Revenue Code Section 117.
Educational assistance provided for graduate or higher level courses that are not job-related are taxable as gross income. When a graduate or higher level course has been determined to be non-job related, the Human Resources Department will report the tuition assistance as taxable income in the payroll system.
The supervisor and supervising Administrative Council Member must use the following IRS guidelines when determining if post-graduate courses are job related. This determination must be accurately reflected on the Classified Personnel Tuition Assistance Agreement Form, NOVA 105-43 (rev. 06/01). When the Classified Personnel Tuition Assistance Agreement Form indicates that the course taken is Graduate Level Non-Job Related, the Human Resources Department will report the financial assistance as taxable income in the payroll system. The employee will be subject to income tax on the amount of financial assistance provided.
The Internal Revenue Service has issued a definition of “graduate courses” as “any course taken by an employee who has a bachelor’s degree or is receiving credit toward a more advanced degree, if that course can be taken for credit by an individual in a program leading to a law, business, medical, or other advanced academic or professional degree.”
According to the IRS, financial assistance for graduate or higher level courses may be excludable from taxable income if they meet the following requirements for qualifying education:
·
Required by your
employer or the law to keep your present salary, status, or job and serves a
business purpose of your employer, or
·
Maintain or improve
skills needed in your present job
Exceptions: If your education meets one of the requirements above, it is not qualifying education if it:
· Is needed to meet the minimum educational requirements of your present trade or business
· Is part of a program of study that can qualify you for a new trade or business, even if you have no plans to enter that trade or business
Procedures
For Allocating Tuition Assistance
Tuition
assistance funds may be divided into categories based on a priority system of:
1) job related, 2) job-related degree, 3) technology training, and 4)
individual development.
All requests
for funds must be submitted through the supervisor to the supervising
Administrative Council Member for approval and then forwarded to the Human
Resources Department by the established deadline for each semester. The deadline for submitting tuition
assistance is contained in the College Working Calendar and Professional
Development Plan.
Time
Allowance
Full-time/part-time
(P-3) employees may attend courses during scheduled work hours provided the
courses taken directly relate to skill enhancement for the current job and that
participation does not create a conflict with job responsibilities. Study time must be done on the employee’s
own time.
Eligible hourly (P-14) employees may attend courses that are directly related to current job performance during scheduled work hours with the supervisor’s recommendation provided that it does not create a conflict with job responsibilities. The employee must make up work hours, or the employee is paid for actual hours worked. A revised work schedule must be submitted with the application for tuition assistance to the employee’s supervisor. The supervisor should maintain the employee’s revised work schedule and is responsible to insure that the Human Resources office is notified in the event an hourly (P-14) employee in receipt of tuition assistance had a change in employment status (termination, resignation).
Tuition assistance will not be available unless approved prior to registration. No reimbursement will be made for enrollment in courses prior to approval or eligibility for funding support.
A Classified Personnel Tuition Assistance Agreement Form, NOVA 105-43, (Rev. 6/01) must be completed and approved for each course. The form is available through normal college distribution channels and can also be printed from the NOVA web site under “Forms”. All requests must be completed using the new form revised in June 2001. Use of an outdated form and incomplete information on a submitted agreement may delay processing the request. The employee must insure that all requested information and signatures of authority are on the agreement before submitting it to the Human Resources office.
The top section of the Classified Personnel Tuition Assistance Agreement Form must be completed by the employee and then sent to the supervisor. The supervisor must complete the section on the form listed as “To be completed by the Supervisor”. The form must then be sent to the supervising Administrative Council Member for final approval.
The Administrative Council Member will forward the request to the Training and Development Coordinator in the Human Resources office. All requests for tuition assistance must be submitted to the Human Resources Department by the established deadline for each semester. Established deadlines are contained in the Professional Development Plan. This Plan can be found on the Human Resources website. Copies of the approved tuition assistance form will be sent from the Human Resources Department to the employee, the Business Office (for NOVA credit courses) or the Continuing Education Office (for NOVA non-credit courses), and the supervising Administrative Council Member office will receive acknowledgement as well.
Tuition
Payment for NOVA Courses
The approved copy of the Tuition Assistance Agreement furnished to the employee must be presented to the cashier at the time of registration as evidence of approval and commitment to pay the cost of tuition through the Classified Employee Tuition Assistance Budget. The Business Manager must submit an invoice for payment of employee tuition to the Training and Development Coordinator. The Office of the Controller will pay invoices.
Tuition Payment for Non-NOVA Courses
After the employee receives notification of approval for the tuition assistance request from the Human Resources office the employee may register, paying the cost of tuition to the institution where the course is taken. Upon successful completion of the course, the employee is reimbursed by submitting to the Human Resources Department the following requisite documentation: 1) Proof of satisfactory grade in the course (grade report or transcript), and 2) Proof of tuition payment by copy of receipt, canceled check, or credit card bill, and 3) Copy of the approved Tuition Assistance Agreement, and 4) Completed Internal Purchase Requisition/Request for Check Form, NOVA 105-25 with employee’s name as the suggested vendor. The Human Resources Department will submit all requisite documentation to the Controller who will reimburse the employee in accordance with the prior approval.
Non-Enrollment and Non-Completion of Approved Coursework
When a course is dropped prior to the refund drop date, or if the employee does not enroll, the employee must notify the Human Resources Department and the supervising Administrative Council Member’s office in writing. This will alert all parties concerned that the employee no longer desires use of designated tuition assistance funds, thus making additional funds available for other employees to utilize.
Tuition assistance will be paid only for satisfactory completion of courses. For undergraduate credit courses a final grade of A, B, C, or D is considered satisfactory; for graduate credit courses a final grade of A, B, or C is considered satisfactory. For continuing education courses a pass is satisfactory. Appropriate indication of course completion is also required for non-credit education and training courses. If an employee receives an “I” grade, the tuition assistance authorization will be extended through the following fall (for spring and summer courses) or spring (for fall courses).
If a NOVA course is not completed satisfactorily the employee will be responsible for repayment of the course tuition and will contact the Training and Development Coordinator to make arrangements for repayment. The Tuition Assistance Agreement Form serves as a promissory note. An employee may, however, drop a course prior to the refund drop date established by the academic year calendar, which will not obligate them to tuition repayment.
Termination
of Employment
When an employee terminates employment prior to achieving satisfactory completion of tuition paid course work, the former employee is responsible for the repayment of course tuition to the college. The employee should contact the Training and Development Coordinator prior to the last day of employment to confirm repayment arrangements. In general, tuition repayment will be effected when the departing employee authorizes a payroll deduction from the final paycheck.
Employees who are terminated as a result of a reduction in force, or military reservists who are activated for duty after enrollment in course work for which tuition assistance has been approved, will be allowed to complete the approved course work without obligation for repayment of the tuition assistance.
Educational Leave
The 1974 Educational Aid Policy for State employees and the VCCS revised implementation of the State Educational Aid Policy (VCCS Policy Manual 3.9.1, rev. 11/89) make it possible for full-time (P-3) employees to make application for leave required to further their job-related education or training to complete a college level degree.
Eligibility
Educational leave requests must be for job-related degrees that can be utilized within NOVA. Educational leave may be available to full-time (P-3) employees, and is contingent upon the availability of funds. Educational leave typically will be restricted to employees who have completed three (3) years of satisfactory service with the VCCS. This service requirement can be waived at the discretion of the college President if considered to be in the best interest of the college. Once funds to support the compensation of a temporary replacement have been identified, the employee's supervising Administrative Council Member will recommend full-time or part-time replacement of the classified employee. When desired, the supervisor of an employee who requests educational leave should request funding the pay of a replacement through supervisory channels to the supervising Administrative Council Member. Typically, the college will employ an hourly (P-14) employee as a replacement, however other replacement options may be available and should be agreed upon prior to the employee taking the educational leave.
Application Procedure
The employee must complete and submit an Educational Aid Request Form (VCCS-16, Rev. 1/99) and documentation of acceptance into a degree program (including the course requirements for completion) through appropriate supervisory channels to the college President for final approval. The request will then be forwarded to the Human Resources office, which will notify the employee of the result of the leave request and will assist the employee to execute a promissory note if the request is approved. Requests for educational leave for up to one year with “full”, “partial”, or “no-pay” may be granted. When returning to work from an educational leave, an employee will provide documentation to support their pursuit of education in credit bearing courses.
Educational
Leave with Tuition Assistance
In addition to an Educational Aid Request (VCCS–16, Rev. 1/99), employees requesting tuition assistance must submit a Tuition Assistance Agreement (NOVA 105-43) and follow the Classified Employee tuition assistance application procedures.
Professional Development Education and Training
NOVA has established a Professional Development Plan that addresses work related training and professional development opportunities inside and outside the College for staff, faculty and administrators. The plan describes what may be available to employees as well as how to access funding and any relevant deadline information. The plan is available on the Human Resources web site (http://nvcc.edu/hr/). The Director of Human Resources and the Human Resources Training and Development Coordinator administer professional development activities with guidance and input from the Professional Development Committee.
Registration
Procedure for Internal Training Events
The Human Resources office plans, sponsors and frequently conducts various training events for NOVA employees. To attend Human Resources sponsored workshops, an employee should follow the registration procedures as outlined in the training announcement for that particular workshop. Training schedules and announcements are linked to the Human Resources Department Web page, placed in the Intercom -- the College’s employee newsletter, and are often disseminated via e-mail to employees.
Registration
Procedure for External Training Events
Training may be funded through the Professional Development Budget or through the operating funds of Administrative Council Members. For training outside NOVA, employees must complete a Purchase/Check Request Form, NOVA 105-25 or register using American Express, plus process travel reimbursement claims in accordance with procedures set forth in the Administrative Services Procedures Manual. When requesting funding support from the Professional Development Budget employees should inquire in advance and submit requests through the supervisor to the Training and Development Coordinator for approval at least three weeks prior to a training event.