Job Related Courses

Employees taking job-related courses in or outside of Cornell may be eligible for a portion of the tuition to be covered by the University's Tuition Aid Program. Employees may take up to four (4) credits per semester, eight (8) for the academic year. Reimbursement is calculated at 80% of the per credit hour charged by Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3). There is a deferral agreement for payment with TC3 and most area BOCES. To find out how this Program may help employees and departments pay for job-related classes outside of Cornell, call the University's Benefit's Office at X5-3936.

Departments requiring an employee to attend a class should familiarize themselves with the University's Tuition Aid Program's rule regarding payment of job-related credit and noncredit courses prior to issuing any payment. Please do not use your Procurement Card. Follow the procedures outlined below.

The following scenarios may be of some help.

Scenario 1:

An employee is encouraged by his/her supervisor to take a workshop (either on or off campus). The workshop is nondegree granting, not part of a degree program, but job related. The workshop costs $100.00. Some portion of that fee is covered under the University's Tuition Aid Program and the department wants to pay the remaining cost. The criteria for reimbursement via the University's Tuition Aid Program are that the course or workshop must be related to the employee's current job or current Cornell career.

Procedure: The employee must complete a Tuition Aid Application (available at Benefits), and, if approved, the employee will be notified by Benefits of the amount of reimbursement paid by the Tuition Aid Program. To reiterate, if the course is job related and being taken at the request of the department, provide Benefits with the account number to reimburse for Central's portion of the cost. The copy of the Application with Central's approval and notation as to the amount covered, should then be submitted to the Administrative Service Center, 235 Sage Hall. The ASC will cover the remaining cost from a departmental account. The employee should not have to expend any of his/her own funds. Once the class or workshop is over the employee provides the University with a certification (no credits earned) or a grade report (course for credit) to initiate the reimbursement. If uncertain as to the departmental account number to use, contact the Administrative Service Center.

Scenario 2:

If an employee is interested in taking a workshop off campus and there is an "advanced" fee required, the process is slightly different. In this scenario, the employee will have to request that the Department pay the full amount and the Benefit's Office will reimburse the department once the employee has successfully completed the course. The employee will still be expected to complete a Tuition Aid Program Application (and include the departmental account number for reimbursement) and follow the steps outlined above.

Scenario 3:

An employee wants to take a workshop (not considered job related or required by his/her supervisor), but something that will help him/her professionally. The University Tuition Aid Program will not reimburse for courses or workshops that are not related to a person's job or current career, which should not be confused with a course for credit towards a degree. If ever this is in question, contact the Benefit's Office directly. In addition, please refer to the University's Tuition Aid Program web site at http://www.ohr.cornell.edu/benefits/educational/tuitionAid.html for details regarding reimbursement for tuition for courses taken for credit towards a degree.

To recap: If tuition exceeds the University's Tuition Aid Program benefit, that portion not covered will be paid directly by the School. This refers only to Job Related Courses. Courses an employee opts to enroll in for career development or in pursuit of a degree do not qualify for the direct payment method. The process is as follows:

1. Complete a Cornell University Employee's Application for Tuition Aid;
2. Bring the executed form to the Administrative Service Center, 235 Sage Hall, once your Supervisor has signed off granting permission;
3. The ASC will obtain the necessary remaining signatures and will return the form to you
4. The employee will send the completed form with signatures to the Office of Human Resources, 130 Day Hall, before the course begins. Benefits will return an approved copy of the application to the employee with a notation of the amount the University will cover. The ASC will need that information before it can process the remaining amount from the departmental account and/or to request reimbursement from Central HR if the full amount was charged initially to a departmental account; and finally,
5. No employee should have to incur out-of-pocket costs for job related course work.

Do not use your Procurement Card or that of anyone in your department to pay tuition for any courses offered either at the University or elsewhere. If you do, it may result in the owner's card being canceled. Payment will be made via the Administrative Service Center.

Fees charged by Organizational Development and Employment Services, Information Technology, or the Division of Financial Affairs for workshops held at Cornell are not eligible for partial payment through the Tuition Aid Programs.

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Last Modified: May 9, 2008