Common use of Reimbursement of Tuition Clause in Contracts

Reimbursement of Tuition. 19:1 Eligibility - Teachers within the district are eligible to receive reimbursement for the costs associated with the enrollment and attendance in approved courses for professional improvement according to the following regulations. 19:2 The total amount of annual reimbursements to employees represented by the Association pursuant to this provision shall be limited to $450,000. Reimbursement shall be paid in order of approval. The $450,000 will be allocated as follows: $400,000 will be available for courses taken in the summer and fall semesters; $50,000 will be set aside for courses taken in the spring semester. If any of the $400,000 for summer and fall semester courses is not utilized, the unspent funds will carry over and be available in the spring semester, in addition to the $50,000 that was set aside. Unspent funds at the end of the school year will not into carry over into subsequent years. Reimbursement shall cover 100% of the cost of tuition, registration, lab fees and all other mandatory charges at the college and/or university that the employee attends. If attendance or enrollment at a seminar, workshop, or course is specifically requested by the administration, then the Board shall reimburse the teacher for 100% of approved costs. Attendance or enrollment shall be considered “specifically requested” only if it is assigned and required by the administration. Courses, seminars, etc. taken in the context of State mandated continuing education shall not be considered “specifically requested”. However, courses, seminars, etc. taken in the context of State mandated continuing education shall be eligible for reimbursement under 14:11 and the remaining provisions of Article 19. 19:3 Criteria for Courses Eligible for Reimbursement - The following criteria will be applied to determine whether a course is eligible for tuition reimbursement: (a) A course necessary to renew existing substandard emergency or provisional certificates is not eligible for reimbursement. (b) A course may be taken at any institution of higher learning accredited by a regional accrediting organization recognized by the United States Department of Education. (c) A course may be taken at the graduate or undergraduate level. (d) A course may require class attendance or be taken online. (e) A course which is taught primarily through videotaped lessons is eligible for reimbursement only if the Superintendent gives advanced approval to the course based on its instructional methodology. (1) The course must be credited toward a degree program, which will broaden or strengthen the teacher’s professional background, or (2) the course itself must broaden or strengthen the teacher’s professional background. (A teacher may be requested to submit the course description). (g) A maximum of 12 credits per year at 100% of college tuition shall be covered by these regulations; however, approval will not be granted for more than six (6) credits during each semester between September and June. 19:4 Approval of Courses – Written course approval by the Superintendent of Schools/designee is required prior to enrolling in courses for which tuition reimbursement is desired. Subject to the tuition cap limitations set forth in Article 19:2 and criteria set forth in Article 19:3, approval for tuition reimbursement shall be granted in order of submission of course pre-approval requests for courses. All requests for course approval must be submitted via the district’s online course approval system in advance of enrollment in accordance with following schedule: 19:4.1 Summer session (covers all courses that begin May 1 or later that are completed after June 30 but prior to the beginning of the school year): Requests for course approval shall be accepted no earlier than April 1 and no later than July 1. 19:4.2 Fall semester (covers all courses that begin August 1 or later that are completed by January 31): Requests for course approval shall be accepted no earlier than July 15 and no later than September 15. 19:4.3 Spring semester (covers all courses that begin January 1 or later that are completed by June 30): Requests for course approval shall be accepted no earlier than November 15 and no later than January 15. 19:5 Notice of Pre-Approval – Teachers shall be informed in a timely manner (a) if the courses submitted for pre-approval are determined to be eligible for reimbursement based upon the course content and (b) whether funds are available for reimbursement. If funds are not available because the pre-approved tuition monies have reached the cap, the teacher shall be placed on a waiting list based upon receipt of the request. If the final reconciliation of tuition reimbursement costs reveals that the cap was not exceeded, teachers who have pending requests that were not pre-approved due to unavailability of funds shall be advised by email and a telephone call in their order on the waiting list that they may submit requests for reimbursement of eligible courses. Such requests must be submitted within fourteen (14) calendar days of notification of availability of funds. 19:6 Payment - Reimbursement shall be made to the teacher only after submission of proof of the satisfactory completion of the course(s), with a grade of “B minus” or better (or “pass” in a pass/fail course), and evidence of payment of tuition costs. Individual consideration for reimbursement will be given in those instances where it becomes necessary for the registrant to withdraw from a course before the course is completed. Teachers must be in the employment of the district on the date of filing their Application for Tuition Reimbursement in order to qualify for reimbursement.