By Mary Jo Frank
It will cost most U-M employees less to study at the University beginning this fall. The $600 cap per term on tuition reimbursement has been removed.
Beginning with courses taken after Sept. 1, a full-time employee will be eligible for reimbursement of up to 75 percent of in-state U-M tuition and registration fees for up to four credit hours per term or eight credit-hours per fiscal year, Provost Gilbert R. Whitaker Jr. and Vice President Farris W. Womack announced today (Aug. 16).
For courses of fewer than four credit hours for which 75 percent of the cost is less than $600, up to $600 per term ($1,200 per year) may be reimbursed.
Part-time staff members with 50 percent appointments or more are eligible for tuition refunds proportional to their appointment fraction. For example, if the staff member has an 80 percent appointment and the cost of tuition and registration is $800, the amount refundable is $480 ($800 X .75=$600 X .80=$480).
The reimbursement formula for staff taking undergraduate or graduate courses at other institutions remains the same, with a maximum of $600 per term or $1,200 per fiscal year.
Although tuition reimbursement caps were raised in 1988 from $300 per term and $600 per year to $600 per term and $1,200 per year, the reimbursement program wasn’t covering as much at the U-M as it was for courses offered by other institutions, says Warren E. Cohen, human resource associate and leader of the Tuition Refund Policy Review Team, which recommended the reimbursement formula be changed for staff enrolled at the U-M.
The decision to increase tuition reimbursement for staff taking classes at the U-M reflects the administration’s awareness of the U-M’s higher tuition costs compared to neighboring institutions, notes James R. Thiry, assistant vice president for personnel.
Removing the cap on tuition reimbursement for employees taking classes at the U-M was one of several recommendations made by the Tuition Refund Policy Review Team. Steps are under way to implement other recommendations that will simplify application procedures and forms, Thiry adds.
The U-M reimbursed staff $614,000 for tuition in 1991; 2,420 participants (includes duplicates in cases where staff members enrolled two terms) took advantage of the program.
Tuition Refund Policy Review Team members in addition to Cohen were Melinda Bachman (Payroll), Patty Braden (University Library), Christina Crawford (Faculty and Staff Records), Deena M. Hubbard (Medical School), Carrie Mink, (Transportation Research Institute), Matthew Roy (Work-Study student) and Hattie Summerhill (University Library).
