Personnel
HELEN M. PLUM MEMORIAL LIBRARY
P-18 Tuition Reimbursement [FORMERLY P-21]
Adopted by the Library Board of Trustees, February 10, 2015.
The Helen M. Plum Memorial Library recognizes that the skills and knowledge of its employees are critical to the success of the Library. The tuition reimbursement program encourages personal development through formal education so that employees can maintain and improve job-related skills or enhance their ability to compete for reasonably attainable jobs at the Library.
Student Eligibility:
Tuition reimbursement is available to full-time employees who have completed one year of continuous employment before the start of class, and also to eligible part-time employees scheduled to work 1000 hours a year or more who have been employed for at least one year before the start of class.
Appropriate courses:
Eligible courses must be credit courses, including online courses that are part of an accredited degree or certification program offered by an accredited college, university, vocational school or correspondence school. Non-credit and/or refresher courses will not qualify for educational assistance. The content of the courses must be graduate level library science courses, Library Technical Assistant courses, or credit courses in an academic program directly relevant to the employee’s current or potential future job at the Helen M. Plum Memorial Library.
The Library does not pay for general undergraduate courses leading to a non-library bachelor’s degree.
Payment:
The Helen M. Plum Memorial Library reimburses tuition costs, as funds allow. The Library does not pay for mileage, textbooks, lodging, meals, transportation, lab fees or other materials required for the coursework, or for time spent on coursework and study.
The Library will reimburse the employee for tuition costs for:
- Library Technical Assistant or credit courses in an academic program directly relevant to the employee’s current or potential future job at the library: a maximum of $100.00 per credit hour.
- Graduate level courses: a maximum of $200.00 per credit hour
Request for reimbursement must be on the Tuition Reimbursement Request Form. Reimbursement will be made only if recommended by the employee’s immediate supervisor.
Reimbursement to the student requires proof of payment of tuition, and proof of completion of the course with a grade of at least a "B". The library does reimburse for courses which earn a “pass” grade on a “Pass/fail” basis, if the school does not give letter grades.
When the appropriation budget is prepared in early July each student who is expecting to take classes between July 1 and June 30 of this same year must include his/her name and the number of courses, and a total amount requested.
The working budget for this year shall include the amounts approved, as listed above.
Reimbursement for each student will be limited to what was approved for that student in the working budget.
If students take other classes not planned or budgeted when the working budget is approved, they can request reimbursement for the following fiscal year or if funds are available within the Tuition Reimbursement Account, at the Library Director’s discretion.
Conditions:
The amount of tuition reimbursement an employee may receive in any fiscal year will be limited by budgetary constraints.
All coursework must be done on the employee’s own time and may not interfere with the performance of the employee’s duties, although the work schedule may be adjusted with the approval of the supervisor.
The Library will not pay the cost of tuition, which has been or will be paid for by sources such as grants, scholarships or other subsidies.
The employee must be actively employed by the Helen M. Plum Memorial Library at the time of reimbursement.
If an employee resigns or terminates for any reason prior to receiving a reimbursement, there shall be no obligation on the part of the Library to reimburse any part of this expense.
Repayment:
Employees receiving tuition reimbursement for courses taken while at the Helen M. Plum Memorial Library are expected to remain in the Library’s employ for twelve months after completing the coursework, or to repay the Library the entire reimbursement. The repayment must be made within a one-year period.
The employee will be required to sign an agreement stating that repayment for the course will be made as a payroll deduction from the employee's final paycheck should the employee voluntarily terminate or retire from the Library within twelve months after completing the course.