Union-Funded/Managerial
Tuition Procedures

I. Prior to Taking a Course

1. Employee decides to take a course and obtains information on costs from an educational institution.

2. Employee obtains an Application for Tuition Reimbursement (CO-101 Form) from their Agency Personnel or Training Office. See Exhibit A.

3. Employee completes the following information on the CO-101 Form.

 

a.	Name
	Home Address
	Employee Number
	Collective Bargaining Unit Code
	Title
	Agency Name
	Work Telephone Number
	Work Address
	Work E-Mail Address
	Education Institution (Name)
	Address
	Start/Finish Dates (Month, Day, Year)
b.	Course Information
	Title and Number of Course(s)
	Number of Credits
	Total Credits
	Course is Graduate or Undergraduate (check appropriate box)
	Is course Job-Related or Non-Job-Related? (check appropriate box)
	Objective in Taking this Course or Curriculum
c.	Cost
	Charge Per Credit
	Total Number of Credits
	Total Credit Cost (Multiply the charge per credit by the total number of credits)
	Service Fee (Community Colleges Only)
	Laboratory Fee
	Other Fees (Specify)
	Sub Total
	Less - Financial Aid Received from Other Sources
	Net Cost
d.	Applicant's Certification
	Signed (Applicant)
	Date (Month, Day, Year)

4. Employee submits the application to the Agency Personnel or Training Office.

 

5. Agency Personnel or Training Office reviews the application:

 

a.	Be sure all information is complete and application is signed.
b.	Determine that the employee has not exceeded the credit or monetary limitations set in the applicable collective bargaining contract. See attached Tuition Reimbursement Guidelines, Union-Funded/Managerial (Exhibit C-1 and C-2).
c.	Determine the amount of reimbursement the employee is entitled to.
d.	If the course is being offered by a"non-traditional" or out-of-state institution, approval must be obtained from DAS-Personnel Development HR Business Rules and Central Audit Unit. This may be done by telephone, Fax(860-622-2885) or e-mail (shari.grzyb@ct.gov or heather.tweeddale@ct.gov), or by mailing a copy of the application to their office.
e.	If there is a priority listing for the collective bargaining union, the OSC Priority Log (CO-102) should be completed and submitted to the Office of the State Comptroller, - Tuition Unit. The preferred method is to fax the form to 860-702-3441. The form may also be mailed to:

Office of the State Comptroller

Attn: Tuition Unit - Priority Log
55 Elm Street - Room 219
Hartford, CT 06106

The form is located at http://osc.ct.gov/agencies/forms

 

The collective bargaining units that have priority listings are as follows:

 

NP-2	P-2	P-4	Managerial
NP-3	P-3B	P-5

6. The Agency Personnel or Training Office completes the following sections as necessary:

a. Agency assigns a Tuition Reimbursement (TR) number to each application. The TR number should be the fiscal year followed by a unique number (Example: 2007-01).

 

b. Agency fills in the Departmental Payroll Code (Example: DVA21000).

c. Agency Recommendation

- I have reviewed the tuition guidelines and this application. I do or do not recommend this person's participation. (Put an "X" in the applicable box).
- If application is denied, state reason and forward to review committee.
- Agency Approval Officer (Signature)
- Date
- E-Mail
- Telephone Number

 

If application is approved, return a copy to the employee for their records.

 

d. For Use If Application is Not Approved

State Personnel Tuition Reimbursement Coordinator's Decision
Signature
Date

If application is not approved, return application to employee.

7. A copy of the employee's application should be kept on file.

II. Upon Completion of Course

1. Employee submits transcript of grades or letter from professor on educational institution letterhead and proof of payment to the Agency Personnel or Training Office.

 

2. Vo-Tech Teachers (SID 117) requires a passing grade of "C" or better. All other bargaining units require a passing grade of "D" or better.

 

3. Agency approval officer follows the procedures outlined below:

 

a. Reviews transcript and receipt of payment.
b. Determines the actual payment to be made.
c. Complete the "For Agency Use Only" section of the application:

 

For Agency Use Only
Amount to be Reimbursed - Job-Related/Non-Job-Related
Date Receipt and Grades Submitted
Date Payment Requested

 

4. A copy of the application, transcript and receipt are sent to:

 

Office of the State Comptroller
- Tuition Unit
55 Elm Street, Room 219
Hartford, Connecticut 06106

 

5. Upon completion of the audit process by the State Comptroller's Tuition Unit, the tuition reimbursement will be received in the employee's bi-weekly paycheck and will be identified separately.

III. Answers to Typical Problems/Questions

1. Permanent Employee Status: Whether an employee must have permanent status to be entitled to tuition reimbursement is outlined in the recognition clause of each contract. It is also outlined in the tuition reimbursement guidelines for each bargaining unit. Another question to ask yourself is:

"Do they receive other benefits?". If the answer is "yes", they most likely are eligible for tuition reimbursement.

 

2. Non-Credit Courses and Seminars: Non-credit courses are allowable under the existing tuition reimbursement guidelines. To equate non-credit courses with credit courses for the purpose of determining the amount of reimbursement, the following conversion should be used. A course in length from six (6) to fourteen (14) hours equals one (1) credit; fifteen (15) to twenty-nine (29) hours equals two (2) credits; and thirty (30) to forty-four (44) hours equals three (3) credits. Each additional twelve (12) hours equals one (1) credit.

 

Proof of successful completion of a non-credit course or seminar is required. A certificate from the institution or a letter from the instructor on school letterhead stating hours attended or CEUs will be acceptable.

 

3. What is"Payment on a First-Come - First-Serve Basis"?: Applications for tuition reimbursement should be submitted to the agency at least two (2) weeks prior to the start of classes, but may be submitted at any time prior to the two (2) week deadline. Follow-up material must be in by the deadlines stated. The Personnel Development Center will use information obtained from the Financial Logs submitted by each agency to prepare a priority list based on the original date of application. The Comptroller's Office will pay tuition reimbursement for those on the priority list as they are received. If monies are close to being depleted and applications reach the Comptroller's Office at the same time, the application originally received for approval first will be paid first. On a specified date (usually in August), the Comptroller's Office will pay those applications received that appear on the"Alternate List" for payment.

 

4. Reimbursement for Part-Time Employees: An employee who works twenty (20) hours/week or more but less than thirty-five (35) hours/week IS eligible for tuition reimbursement. Unless stated in the individual contract, an employee who works under twenty (20) hours/week is NOT eligible for tuition reimbursement.

 

5. An Employee Changes Bargaining Units or Agencies: An employee who begins a course while in one bargaining unit but during the course is promoted or transferred to another job (and, thereby, another bargaining unit) is still eligible for tuition reimbursement if funds are available in the new bargaining unit. The original date of application will be used to determine priority. The new bargaining unit's account will be charged for the reimbursement of the course(s). If the employee becomes a confidential, the reimbursement is from the agency's budget. The exception is an employee entering the NP-5 (Protective Services) bargaining unit. For this bargaining unit, the employee must complete the Protective Services application for reimbursement and submit it to the Educational Review Committee (see Article 10 of the NP-5 contract). The employee's new agency should process the application when feasible.

 

6. Employee Leaves State Service: An applicant must be employed by the State on the last day of classes to be eligible to receive reimbursement.

 

7. Auditing a Course: It is acceptable to audit a course and receive tuition reimbursement. An audited course will be converted to a credit system on the same basis as a non-credit course. A certificate of successful completion from the institution or a letter from the instructor stating hours attended or CEUs is required.

 

8. Employee's Receiving Additional Financial Aid: Employees receiving financial aid from other sources, such as LEAA funds for State Police Officers, Basic Educational Opportunity Grants, Title XX or Veteran Benefits, must report this on their tuition reimbursement application. The amount of reimbursement paid will be calculated on the amount of money the applicant actually had to pay (the amount of aid will be deducted). Any loans or aid that must be reimbursed will be excluded from this rule.

 

9. Reimbursement While On Educational Leave of Absence: Under current practice, the tuition reimbursement program does not pay for courses taken while an employee is on educational leave of absence.

 

10. Courses Beginning And/Or Ending After May 31 When Employee Cannot Obtain Grade Report: Courses that begin and/or end after May 31 will be included as courses reimbursed in the following fiscal year. For example: A course beginning June 1, 2005 will be reimbursed from 2005-2006 funds.

 

11. Special Programs That Do Not Follow A Semester Schedule: Many proprietary schools, such as those offering computer or secretarial programs, are for one or two years duration, not for credit or a semester in length. In situations such as this, conversion similar to that used for non-credit courses should be used. An attempt should be made to"fit" the program into the semester framework and submit separate application forms every term. Before the February 1st and June 1st deadlines, the student should submit a letter from the institution or professor stating successful completion of that portion of the course. In addition, a receipt or letter showing payment for that same time period should be submitted.

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