POLICY NO: 406
EFFECTIVE DATE: 11/01/2008
TUITION ASSISTANCE FOR FACULTY AND STAFF
The University offers full-time faculty, regular full-time staff and limited service
staff the opportunity to pursue knowledge and to advance their personal and
professional development by providing tuition assistance for credit courses at the
University of Pennsylvania.
The faculty/staff member is responsible for managing his/her tuition benefit in accordance with the policies and procedures below.
Click here to begin using
the online tuition management system. With this easy-to-use online system
you can apply for tuition benefits, as well as track the status and view the
history of requested tuition benefits.
406.1 ELIGIBILITY
406.2 HIRE/TERMINATION DATES
406.3 JOB RESPONSIBILITY
406.4 TUITION AMOUNT
406.5 APPLYING FOR BENEFITS
406.6 TAX LIABILITY
406.7 PROGRAM PARTICIPATION
406.8 HEALTH INSURANCE
All full-time faculty in a benefits-eligible title, regular full-time staff and limited service staff are
eligible for tuition assistance benefits in any school of the University of Pennsylvania
to which they have been admitted.
All staff members affected by position discontinuation and eligible for benefits in
accordance with Policy 628, who were participating in the tuition assistance for faculty
and staff benefit at the time of notice of position discontinuation, will receive tuition
benefits through the end of the semester in which notice of separation was given.
Retired University faculty and staff who meet University eligibility requirements and
retirement criteria, as verified by a retirement specialist within the Division of Human Resources Benefits Office, are eligible for the same faculty and staff tuition benefits for
which they were eligible immediately prior to retirement.
A visiting member of the instructional staff is eligible for tuition assistance only if
specified in the minutes of the Provost's Staff Conference.
In the case of faculty/staff eligible for the tuition benefit, the following special situations may affect a faculty or staff member’s continued eligibility:
- Leave of Absence without Pay: Faculty and staff on a leave of absence without pay are not eligible to receive tuition benefits during the leave.
- Workers’ Compensation: Faculty and staff on workers’ compensation will continue to be eligible for the tuition benefit for one year from the date workers’ compensation began.
- Long-Term Disability (LTD): Faculty and staff on long-term disability are eligible to receive the tuition benefit for as long as the faculty/staff member continues to qualify for long-term disability per the University of Pennsylvania’s LTD policy.
- Faculty/staff who are active, but not being paid, may be considered ineligible.
- Family and Medical Leave (FML) or Short-Term Disability (STD): Faculty and staff on approved family medical leave or short-term disability are eligible to receive the tuition benefits they are normally eligible for as follows:
- If a faculty/staff member is on approved family medical leave (FML) or short-term disability (STD) and the end date of his/her leave is before the eligibility cutoff date for the semester, the faculty/staff member must return to work on his/her approved FML or STD end date and work past the eligibility cut-off date for the term, or continue to be out on official FML or STD. If the faculty/staff member is put on an unpaid leave of absence after family medical leave or short-term disability has been exhausted, but before the eligibility cut-off date for the term, s/he will not be eligible for tuition benefits.
- If a faculty/staff member is on approved family medical leave or short-term disability and the end date of his/her leave is after the eligibility cut off date for the term, the faculty/staff member is eligible for the tuition benefit.
The benefits and policies for University of Pennsylvania faculty/staff who work in locations outside of Penn’s main campus may be different from the benefits and policies set forth in this policy. Faculty/staff working outside of Penn’s main campus should contact their Human Resources representatives for more information.
Tuition assistance benefits are administered by the Tuition Office in the
Division of Human Resources. The Tuition Office makes final administrative determinations if any questions arise concerning
an individual's employment relationship with the University and eligibility for
tuition assistance under the program.
Eligible faculty/staff hired on or before the cut-off date of a
semester may obtain tuition benefits for the semester in which they were hired. Eligible
faculty/staff hired after the cut-off date of the semester cannot receive tuition benefits
until the start of the following term. Faculty/staff who terminate or become otherwise ineligible on or before the cut-off date
of the semester lose their benefit. Faculty/staff who terminate after the cut-off date of
the semester will receive the benefit through that semester.
The cut-off dates are:
| Spring semester: |
March 1 |
| Summer Session I and 12-week Summer Session: |
June 1 |
| Summer Session II: |
July 15 |
| Fall semester: |
October 15 |
Faculty and staff who elect to take courses and receive tuition benefits under this
program must continue to meet the full responsibilities of their University positions.
Faculty/staff may attend classes during their normal working hours provided they have received
prior approval from their immediate supervisor and have arranged to make up the work and
any time away from regular hours of business. A supervisor may deny a faculty/staff member’s request
to attend classes during normal working hours if the supervisor determines the faculty/staff member's
presence during those hours is essential to the job or the needs of the department.
Eligible faculty and staff may receive tuition assistance for six (6) course units of
the tuition, general fee and technology fee over the academic year for credit courses and Math 101. Tuition assistance will be provided for a
maximum of two (2) course units along with the above fees in both the Fall and Spring
semesters. Tuition assistance along with the above fees for up to a maximum of two (2)
course units will be provided during the University's two summer sessions. Course units
cannot be accrued. Some courses are more than one course unit. No fees are covered other than those stated above.
The benefit will not cover financial penalties associated with dropped courses. Financial penalties incurred for courses dropped after a faculty/staff member’s educational program's official "course selection" period (usually ending approximately two weeks into a semester) are not covered by the tuition benefit. Faculty/staff should take note of their program's deadline to drop a course with no financial obligation or consult with the educational program about their course selection period before enrolling in courses. Any benefit payments made for courses that are dropped will be retracted near the end of the term, leaving a balance on the student account.
If a faculty/staff member receives a refund of a full or partial tuition benefit payment, s/he must return the payment to Student Financial Services and notify the tuition benefit office immediately or else will be held liable. Under no circumstances can the Penn tuition benefit be refunded to a faculty/staff member. Failure to refund the University of Pennsylvania is in violation of the University’s tuition benefit policy and will result in the University taking appropriate actions to recapture the funds.
If a faculty/staff member enrolls in an executive or full-time program that does not calculate tuition on a per-course-unit basis, the faculty/staff member will still receive the coverage as outlined above. The tuition benefit office will calculate the benefit by using the per-course-unit tuition rate from the most closely related program that calculates tuition on a per-course unit basis. The program/rate used is determined at the sole discretion of the Tuition Benefit Office.
To apply for tuition benefits, use the online tuition system at
www.hr.upenn.edu/tuition. You
should apply as soon as you have been accepted into a school’s program or as soon as you have registered for courses. Application for benefits must be completed for every semester in which you wish to request the benefit.
You must use the online system to apply no later than the following dates:
| Spring semester: |
March 15 |
| Summer Session I and 12-week Summer Session: |
June 15 |
| Summer Session II: |
August 15 |
| Fall semester: |
November 15 |
Tuition benefits are contingent upon timely application using the online system. Failure to file for benefits in a timely manner may result in the application of late charges to the your bill, for which you are responsible. Benefits will not be approved for requests that are submitted after the deadline dates listed above for a specified term.
Faculty/staff are responsible for monitoring their student bills for balances and assume full responsibility for the entire bill until the benefit payment has been applied. Resulting balances due to fees not covered by the benefit such as late fees, program fees, lab fees or balances due to withholding are the responsibility of the faculty/staff member.
Faculty/staff are fully responsible for any tax liability incurred as a result of these
benefits being treated as taxable income to the faculty/staff at any time. The University may
report the benefit amount as income to any taxing authority and withhold taxes from such
benefit amounts or from the faculty/staff member’s other salary income. Under current law, graduate
tuition benefits for faculty and staff are subject to federal income tax, FICA (Social
Security tax), Medicare tax and city wage tax to the extent that the
benefits exceed $5,250 per calendar year. This "tax-free" exemption currently applies through calendar year 2010.
Any applicable taxes are withheld directly from the benefit and the net amount is awarded to the student as the benefit. The student will then be left with a balance on his/her student account that must be paid within the deadlines set by the University’s Student Financial Services Office. The gross tuition amount subject to taxes and the taxes withheld are reported to the IRS as a part of the faculty or staff member's earnings. The taxpayer is responsible for making appropriate W-4 adjustments, if desired. The taxpayer is also responsible for settling his/her tax liability on year-end tax filing.
In order to take courses at the University of Pennsylvania, faculty/staff must apply, as would any outside candidate, and be accepted into the Penn program of interest. Eligibility for the tuition benefit does not confer acceptance into a Penn program.
Faculty/staff accepted into a program at Penn are considered students of Penn and are thus bound by all program and University rules and regulations. Faculty/staff may be limited in their access to certain programs by educational program regulations such as those requiring full-time status or program/course pre-requisites or restrictions. Educational program regulations are outside the scope or management of the Tuition Benefit Office and should be thoroughly researched by the faculty/staff member before embarking on any course of study.
The University requires full-time students to maintain medical insurance with coverage for inpatient care and catastrophic illness and injury. Student Health Services will automatically enroll and bill full-time students for the Penn Student Insurance Plan if they do not submit a waiver each school year showing that they have other health insurance. This includes faculty and staff members working at Penn. If you have health coverage through Penn’s benefits program or through another source (e.g., spouse’s benefits program), you must submit a waiver to Student Health Services each school year. Please refer to the Student Health Services website for more information
(www.vpul.upenn.edu/shs/).
Applicability: Full-time Faculty, Regular Full-time and Limited Service Staff
Cross-reference: Policy 407, Policy 408, Policy 409, Policy 628
Supersedes Policy Number(s): 406 (08/15/95, 07/01/97, 07/01/2004, 05/26/2005, 11/02/2005, 04/09/2007)