Union County Benefits Microsite

Tuition Reimbursement Program

Program Summary

The Tuition Reimbursement Program was established to financially support Union County employees in their professional development.

The Tuition Reimbursement Program has specific criteria that must be met to participate in the program. Please carefully review the points listed on the following page and refer to the Union County Personnel Resolution, Article XI, Section 9, Tuition Reimbursement Program, for more details. As with all County benefits, the Board of County Commissioners may choose to modify the Tuition Reimbursement Program. Therefore, acceptance into the program does not guarantee payment.

Degrees in which the County normally recruits are listed in Appendix A. If the degree in which you are interested in is not listed please contact Human Resources at 704.283.3841, so we can review it for inclusion.

If you are seeking a certificate, contact Human Resources to see if it is approved for the Tuition Reimbursement Program. To qualify for Tuition Reimbursement, coursework must be pursued on your own time.

Training and courses required by an employee’s Division are not covered under the Tuition Reimbursement Program.

Eligibility Requirements

PARTICIPANT

Must be either a full-time or a benefited part-time employee;
meet the performance expectations of his/her current position by not having less than 2.0 overall rating on their most recent annual review.
have sufficient accrued leave to cover any anticipated time away from work needed to complete the desired education or training, which must be approved by the employee’s Division Director in accordance with Article XI, Section 9.7 of the Union County Personnel Resolution.

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

Must be enrolled in an educational institution accredited by one of the National or Regional Accreditation Councils for the U.S. Dept. of Education. To determine whether the educational institution you wish to attend is accredited by one of these institutions go to:
ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.aspx

COURSEWORK

Participants must pursue a degree or course in a field relevant to County employment.

Take for-credit course work must be related to a field in which the County recruits (relation to a field shall be determined by Human Resources, in conjunction with the appropriate Division if necessary). Tuition Reimbursements for doctoral degrees must have the approval of the County Manager.

EXCLUSIONS

Full-time and benefited part-time employees are not eligible to apply for tuition reimbursement if they are on leave-without-pay status.

Skills Training paid for by a Division is not covered under the Tuition Reimbursement Program.

Courses involving sports, games or hobbies are not covered under the Tuition Reimbursement Program, unless the course is approved as meeting the requirements for Higher Education.

All program documents and applications are available on County Connect.

Applications will be processed and approvals will be awarded in the order in which they are received by the Human Resources Office.

You are encouraged to view the full Tuition Reimbursement Policy available on County Connect and at:
unioncountync.gov

Application

To apply, submit a completed Tuition Reimbursement Application, to the Human Resources office. The application can be found on County Connect under the Tuition Reimbursement link.

Applications must be received by Human Resources no sooner than thirty (30) calendar days before the quarter/ semester/course begins or no later than thirty (30) calendar days after the beginning of the quarter/ semester/course for which reimbursement is requested.

Note: if the time period ends on a weekend or County Holiday, applications must be received by Human Resources on the day before the weekend or Holiday. Late applications will not be accepted.

Separate applications must be submitted for each quarter/ semester/ course for which tuition reimbursement is requested.

Payment

AMOUNT

Employees accepted into the program are eligible to receive up to the amount set as the limit for exclusion from taxable wages for educational assistance set forth by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). This limit is set by the IRS and may change at any time. Please refer to the IRS Publication 15-B, or any successor publication, for the current limit amount.

Reimbursement is for tuition paid and mandatory fees. Other educational costs, including tests other than CLEP, activity fees, books and supplies, transportation, and room and board are the responsibility of the employee.

The amount of the tuition and mandatory fees eligible for reimbursement is:

Full-time employees (40 hours): 100% reimbursement up to the tuition limit.
Benefited Part-time employees: Pro-rated reimbursement up to the tuition limit based upon the percentages at which the employee earns other employment benefits. (e.g. 55%, 65%, 75% of the full limit amount)

VERIFICATION DEADLINE

To receive a reimbursement a participant is responsible for submitting the following to Human Resources within thirty (30) days of course completion:

Verification of satisfactory completion of the course (at least a “C” grade); and
Verification tuition and fees were paid (proof of payment).

If the time period ends on a weekend or County Holiday, grades and proof of payment must be received by Human Resources on the day before the weekend or Holiday. Late documents will not be accepted.

PAYMENT DATE

If your application has been approved, grades and proof of payment have been submitted on time and funds are available, you will be reimbursed within 10 business days. Payments for the same application will not be split into multiple payments. If an employee has reached the maximum reimbursement amount documents will not be held for payment in future years.

REPAYMENT

Employees who have received Tuition Reimbursement funds and who terminate from Union County, either voluntarily or involuntarily (except in cases of reduction - in-force), must refund to the County monies received during the two (2) year period preceding the date of termination.