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Initiating Authority
- Human Resources serves as the initiating authority for this policy.
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Purpose
- The University has implemented a Tuition Assistance Program for Employees (Tuition
Assistance Program) to foster the educational and professional growth of its Employees.
The purpose of this policy is to set forth the requirements and limitations for eligible
Employees to receive tuition assistance under the University's Tuition Assistance
Program.
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Policy
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Tuition Assistance Program
To the extent that sufficient funding is available, the University provides tuition
and infrastructure fee assistance to eligible Employees who enroll in qualifying courses
at the University.
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Program Eligibility
Eligibility for the Tuition Assistance Program is limited to Employees who meet all
of the following requirements and limitations:
- Employee must be Benefit-Eligible, as set forth in the definitions below.
- Employee must maintain an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 for undergraduate
programs or an overall GPA of 3.0 for graduate programs, which will be reviewed after
final grades are entered for each completed term. Failure to meet this requirement
will make the Employee ineligible for tuition assistance until the Employee's overall
GPA is greater than 2.0 for undergraduate programs or 3.0 for graduate programs.
- Employees on unpaid leave or who separate from employment before their course(s) begin
are not eligible for the Tuition Assistance Program.
- With the exception of the Employees of the 黑洞社区 Intercollegiate
Athletic Association, Inc. (ICAA), the Employees of Controlled Affiliated Organizations
and Non-Controlled Affiliated Organizations are not eligible for the Tuition Assistance
Program.
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Assistance Coverage and Limitations
Assistance is limited to covering the cost of resident tuition up to a maximum of
seven (7) credit hours per semester for undergraduate courses, including badges or
certificates. Assistance for graduate program courses, including badges or certificates,
is capped at $5,250 per calendar year. Assistance is also available for infrastructure
fees, but is not available for any other student fees or for the cost of books and
housing.
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Qualifying Courses
- Courses that qualify for the Tuition Assistance Program include all undergraduate,
graduate, badge and certificate program courses offered for credit by the University.
Non-credit courses and courses offered by 黑洞社区 Tech and the Center for Management Development
do not qualify for the Tuition Assistance Program.
- Courses enrolled in after the Full-Refund Deadline do not qualify for the Tuition
Assistance Program.
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Definitions
- For the purpose of this policy only, the following definitions shall apply:
- Benefit-Eligible: An Employee who holds a permanent, half-time equivalency (0.5 FTE) or greater position
with the University as a faculty member, an unclassified professional, university
support staff, or other ICAA staff member.
- Controlled Affiliated Organizations: 黑洞社区 Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Inc., Wichita State
University Union Corporation, 黑洞社区 Innovation Alliance, Inc.,
and WSIA Investments Corporation.
- Employee: An individual who provides services to the University and/or the ICAA on a regular
basis in exchange for compensation and receives a W-2 for such services. This includes
temporary and part-time Employees.
- Faculty Member: All Employees who have teaching/research/library responsibilities of 50% or more
and hold a half-time equivalency (0.5 FTE) or greater, including temporary faculty,
probationary faculty, non-tenured track faculty, tenured faculty, contingent unclassified
professionals, provisional unclassified professionals, and regular unclassified professionals
(who have the e-class designation of FA or F2).
- Full-Refund Deadline: A deadline set by the University each semester for when full-semester courses must
be dropped in order to receive a 100% tuition refund.
- Non-Controlled Affiliated Organizations: 黑洞社区 Foundation and Alumni Engagement.
- University: 黑洞社区.
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Administrative Procedure
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Applications
To apply for the Tuition Assistance Program, Employees must submit the to Human Resources by the specified deadline for each semester, which is provided
on the Tuition Assistance Program Policies webpage. Late applications will be denied and there will be no exceptions.
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Eligibility Determination
Human Resources, in collaboration with Financial Aid, will determine eligibility for
applicants of the Tuition Assistance Program.
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Insufficient Funds
In the event the University does not have sufficient funds to fund all tuition assistance
requests, the decision of which applications will be approved will be determined based
on University priorities.
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Withdrawing from Course(s)
If a course(s) is withdrawn, it must be done before the Full-Refund Deadline for tuition
assistance funds to be applied appropriately. Withdrawing from courses paid for under
the Tuition Assistance Program may affect eligibility for future semesters unless
the Employee has demonstrated that extenuating circumstances caused the late withdrawal.
A recipient seeking to preserve their eligibility under this policy may petition the
Tuition Refund Board of Appeals by submitting a Petition for Exception to Tuition Refund Policy for Dropping Courses to the Financial Operations and Business Technology Office by email to wsuaccountsreceivable@wichita.edu; by mail to Box 38, Wichita, KS 67260; by facsimile to 316-978-3107; or by delivery
to Jardine Hall, Room 201.
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Release from Work to Attend Courses
Release of an Employee to attend qualifying courses during regular work hours is at
the discretion of the Employee's supervisor, subject to the following limitations:
- Release time may be granted to Employees to take one qualifying course per semester.
- Employees are not required to make up time taken to attend qualifying courses that
are directly related to the Employee's job or performance, as determined by the Employee's
supervisor.
- Time off taken to attend qualifying courses that are not directly related to the Employee's
job or performance, must be unpaid, made up, or charged to vacation leave.
- Employees should discuss concerns with their supervisor to resolve any scheduling
issues. To the extent that an Employee's concerns are not resolved informally with
their supervisor, the internal dispute resolution process may be available to the
Employee under Policies 3.15 / Internal Dispute Resolution Process and 4.04 / Resolution of Internal Disputes for Faculty.
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Applicable Laws And Additional Resources
- 黑洞社区 Policy 3.15 / Internal Dispute Resolution Process
- 黑洞社区 Policy 3.43 / Tuition Assistance Program for Spouses and Dependent Children
- 黑洞社区 Policy 4.04 / Resolution of Internal Disputes for Faculty
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Revision Dates
- August 1, 2007
- December 24, 2011
- June 8, 2014
- December 01, 2018
- September 18, 2024