IP 2.19a Tuition Assistance Program- CCCS System Wide Employee and Dependents

This procedure applies to classified employees and benefit eligible faculty and administrators, professional and technical employees of the Community Colleges within the Colorado Community College System (System) and the System office.

All employees are encouraged to develop job skills and abilities which will benefit the employee as well as the System. The System President also recognizes the value of access to educational services for both employees and their dependents.

Classified and benefit eligible faculty and administrators, professional and technical employees and their spouses, domestic partners, and eligible dependent children may enroll in state-funded credit courses at any Community College within the System or CCCOnline, and be reimbursed by the employee’s home College or the System, subject to the limitations outlined below.

A domestic partner is an adult who shares a committed relationship with an eligible employee of the same or opposite gender, evidenced by an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership filed by the employee with her/his respective College Human Resources office.

Eligible dependents are those who are associated with an employee’s benefit plan, either health or dental. Any dependent not on the employee’s health or dental program will have to supply proof of dependency, via a third party official public record (e.g., birth certificate, income tax return, marriage license), and submit this proof to Human Resources to confirm status as an eligible dependent.

Eligible dependent children applying for reimbursement must have completed their high school diploma or GED prior to the first term for which they are applying. Students 18 years of age or younger and still attending high school classes, or who have not obtained their GED, may attend classes within the applicable concurrent enrollment guidelines and are not covered within these benefits.

Eligible dependent children may be no older than 26 years old in the month of September for the year the dependent applies for reimbursement.

Unless otherwise specifically identified, spouses, domestic partners, and eligible dependent children will be referred to as dependents through the remainder of this procedure.

Before registering for a course, eligible employees and their dependents are encouraged to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) financial aid form for the year in which they are attending courses, but are not required to do so. All employees and dependents must apply for the College Opportunity Fund (COF), in order to participate in this Program. Employees must submit a Tuition Assistance Program Application to her/his applicable College or System office Human Resources Department by the registrar’s census date of the term of attendance at the College providing the class. Approval of the College or System President, or her/his designee, is required for all tuition assistance program requests.

The College or the System office will reimburse the employee at the resident base tuition rate, as defined below, per credit hour not to exceed 12 credit hours per semester. In addition, total credit hours reimbursed in the aggregate beginning each fall-spring-summer will be limited to 24 credit hours at the resident credit hour rate for that year’s term, beginning fall fiscal year 2012. This will ensure the rate reimbursed per credit hour is the same for all terms within that year. The College or System office where the eligible employee is employed will reimburse the employee only if the course is successfully completed with a grade of C or better.

If the employee or dependent is eligible for and/or receives financial aid, scholarships, or grants, these monies shall first be applied toward the total resident regular tuition. Grants include, but are not limited to, local, private, or institutional grants or other third-party reimbursements. Any remaining tuition, less a reduction for COF credited in proportion to the hours being reimbursed (e.g., COF per credit hour times the credit hours reimbursed) and after the application of federal and state financial aid funds (excluding loans and work study awards) and scholarships or grants (excluding those restricted in writing for purposes other than tuition) may be reimbursed under the criteria specified in this Program. The reimbursable amount will be capped at the total remaining tuition, not to exceed 12 credit hours per semester and 24 credit hours per year beginning fall-spring-summer.

Any charge above the amount of the base resident tuition rate, such as differential rates or the additional incremental increased costs for CCCOnline courses, will not be reimbursed. In addition, fees or other charges will not be reimbursed. Documentation of all costs, tuition aid received, and final grades must be submitted along with the approved Tuition Assistance Program Application to the Fiscal Department of the appropriate College or System to process the reimbursement.

Approved Tuition Assistance Program Applications should not include classes that exceed the 12-hour term cap or 24-hour annual cap. All requests for reimbursements must be submitted ONLY for those classes which reimbursement is requested for processing as follows:

No later than June 30 for the completed spring semester, or within one week of the end of class for classes ending after June 30,

No later than September 30 for the completed summer semester, and

No later than January 31 for the completed fall semester.

Note: Qualified tuition reimbursed by the College or System office, for courses taken through this Program by spouses and eligible dependents, is not taxable under the Internal Revenue Code. As a result, these reimbursements will be processed through the applicable College or System office normal accounts payable process to the employee of the College or System, not to the student. Qualified tuition reimbursed by the College or System office, for courses taken through this Program by domestic partners, is taxable under the Internal Revenue Code. As a result, these reimbursements must be submitted to the payroll department of the employee, in order to report this payment as a taxable benefit to the employee.

Reference: SP 3-60e Tuition Assistance Program for Employees and Tuition Scholarship Program for Spouses, Domestic Partners and Eligible Children