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WSU Policies and Procedures

3.42 / Tuition Assistance Program for Employees

Effective
May 10, 2001
Last revised
Sept. 18, 2024

  1. Initiating Authority

    1. Human Resources serves as the initiating authority for this policy.

  2. Purpose

    1. 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.

  3. Policy

    1. 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.

    2. Program Eligibility

      Eligibility for the Tuition Assistance Program is limited to Employees who meet all of the following requirements and limitations:
      1. Employee must be Benefit-Eligible, as set forth in the definitions below.
      2. 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.
      3. Employees on unpaid leave or who separate from employment before their course(s) begin are not eligible for the Tuition Assistance Program.
      4. With the exception of the Employees of the Wichita State University Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Inc. (ICAA), the Employees of Controlled Affiliated Organizations and Non-Controlled Affiliated Organizations are not eligible for the Tuition Assistance Program.

    3. 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.

    4. Qualifying Courses

      1. 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 WSU Tech and the Center for Management Development do not qualify for the Tuition Assistance Program.
      2. Courses enrolled in after the Full-Refund Deadline do not qualify for the Tuition Assistance Program.

  4. Definitions

    1. For the purpose of this policy only, the following definitions shall apply:
      1. 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.
      2. Controlled Affiliated Organizations: Wichita State University Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Inc., Wichita State University Union Corporation, Wichita State University Innovation Alliance, Inc., and WSIA Investments Corporation.
      3. 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.
      4. 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).
      5. 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.
      6. Non-Controlled Affiliated Organizations: Wichita State University Foundation and Alumni Engagement.
      7. University: Wichita State University.

  5. Administrative Procedure

    1. Applications

      To apply for the Tuition Assistance Program, Employees must submit the WSU Tuition Assistance Application 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.

    2. Eligibility Determination

      Human Resources, in collaboration with Financial Aid, will determine eligibility for applicants of the Tuition Assistance Program.

    3. 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.

    4. 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 Services 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.

    5. 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:
      1. Release time may be granted to Employees to take one qualifying course per semester.
      2. 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.
      3. 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.
      4. 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.

  6. Applicable Laws And Additional Resources

    1. K.S.A. 76-719c. Fellowships, scholarships, tuition and fee waivers; authority to grant; standards, conditions, requirements
    2. K.S.A 76-729. Residence of students for fee purposes; basic rule, certain exceptions authorized; definitions
    3. WSU Policy 3.15 / Internal Dispute Resolution Process
    4. WSU Policy 3.43 / Tuition Assistance Program for Spouses and Dependent Children
    5. WSU Policy 4.04 / Resolution of Internal Disputes for Faculty

  7. Revision Dates

    1. August 1, 2007
    2. December 24, 2011
    3. June 8, 2014
    4. December 01, 2018
    5. September 18, 2024
About this policy version

New or Existing Policy

This is a change to an existing policy.

Current Policy Title

3.42 / Tuition Assistance Program for Employee

Revised Policy Title

3.42 / Tuition Assistance Program for Employees

Last Revised Date of Policy

December 1, 2018

Initiating Authority

Human Resources

Summary of Policy or Policy Change

This policy is being revised to clarify the tuition assistance program for employees, including updating definitions, eligibility, requirements, and administrative procedures. In addition, the policy was reorganized and reformatted for purposes of clarification and to conform with the University's standard policy format.

Specific changes made were:

  • Updated requirements for eligibility, including requiring minimum GPA rather than course related academic standing, not being on unpaid leave, and separation of employment.
  • Updated the definition for benefit-eligible employee, to include teaching faculty as well as non-teaching faculty, and to clarify that ICAA employees are eligible for assistance.
  • Clarified eligibility requirements and what courses/programs qualify for tuition assistance.
  • Updated to require minimum GPA rather than course related academic standing.
  • Updated to remove requirements related to performance evaluations because not every employee has an evaluation.
  • Updated to include limitation on assistance for graduate courses.
  • Clarified policy on adding and withdrawing from courses, and updated administrative procedure related to withdrawal of courses.
  • Updated administrative procedure to address the prioritization process in the event of insufficient funding.
  • Updated administrative procedure to address requests for time off and how to address disputes under the Internal Dispute Resolution.

Reason or Need for Policy

This policy was revised to update and provide clarity on the tuition assistance program for employees.

Other Notes for Consideration

Following the discussion and approval at the PET meeting, but prior to the approval of the policy by KBOR, the definition "Benefit Eligible" was relocated in the definitions section to the first defined term to ensure the defined terms were listed in alphabetical order.

Date Policy Request to PET

August 12, 2024

KBOR Approval

September 18, 2024

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