Regulations & Policies

Human Resources

I. OBJECTIVE & PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is for the University of North Florida to strongly encourage its staff to pursue life-long learning opportunities for professional growth and development.

II. STATEMENT OF POLICY

It is the policy of the University of North Florida (UNF) to provide financial assistance for the ongoing education of eligible employees, subject to published guidelines and procedures. This benefit only includes University paid tuition and associated fees (see the Controller's Tuition and Fees webpage for a list of associated fees ). The benefit does not cover related fees, books, or supplies. Specific information on excluded fees and costs can be found here Onestop Employee Fee Waiver Webpage.

III. GUIDELINES

1. Full time university faculty, administrative and support, and direct support organization (DSO) employees in good standing*, who have been employed for at least six (6) months in a budgeted position, and who qualify as Florida residents for tuition purposes, are eligible to enroll in up to six (6) credit hours of instruction per semester at UNF. Prior UNF OPS and/or budgeted employment may be considered for budgeted employees who have not met the six-month employment requirement.
2. Part-time salaried employees (.5 FTE) in good standing*, who have been employed for at least six (6) months in a budgeted position are eligible to enroll in up to three (3) credit hours of instruction per semester. This program is not available to OPS or temporary personnel. This program is not available for Thesis, Dissertation, Internships, Directed Independent Study, non-credit courses, or sponsored credit program offerings.
3. Resident aliens and non-Florida residents must pay the out-of-state portion of their tuition.
4. In no case will a dependent and/or spouse be allowed to assign credit hours to the UNF employee.
5. Unused tuition hours do not roll over nor can they be carried over into another semester.
6. Any employee receiving student financial aid must notify the Student Financial Aid Office of their Employee Educational Assistance benefit prior to registering for classes.
7. The value of courses taken using the Employee Educational Assistance Program is not used to compute the employee's base rate of pay or regular rate of pay.
8. UNF will not be responsible for any tax liability arising from the use of this Program.
9. The university reserves the right to exempt specific courses from eligibility for this program. For a list of exempted courses for a specific semester, contact the Registrar's Office
10. The lifetime maximum is 132 attempted credit hours per individual through this Program.

*For the purposes of this policy, an employee shall not be considered 'in good standing' if a notice of non-reappointment or just cause termination has been issued, or if the overall performance is below the satisfactory level.

IV. PROCEDURES

1. The employee must complete admissions and registration requirements
2. The employee is responsible for completing the Employee Educational Assistance Program application form.
3. Any employee receiving student financial aid must notify the Student Financial Aid Office of the use of the Employee Educational Assistance Program.
4. As a precondition to approving a request to participate in this program, the university will require the employee to enter into an agreement that requires the following in order to enjoy continued participation in this program:
   1. Remain in good academic standing;
   2. Complete all courses taken through this program which the user does not drop/withdraw before the expiration of the regular add/drop period. Designations such as withdraw (W) or incomplete (I) will not satisfy the requirements of this paragraph, and will count toward the lifetime maximum as stated in guideline J above.
   3. Failure to remain in good academic standing or complete the courses as described in (a) and (b), above, will result in the user's loss of eligibility to participate in the program for the subsequent semester.
5. Submit the fully approved original Employee Educational Assistance online form by the published last day to pay fees.
6. Classes should not be scheduled during normal working hours without the prior permission of the department head and an approved plan to makeup the time missed through use of personal accrued leave or flexible scheduling.
7. Under unique circumstances, the university can make exceptions to this policy. Request for exemptions should be submitted to the Registrar's office and should include documentation substantiating the request for the exemption - for example, a medical doctor's verification of an illness that prevented completion of the course; documentation of a change in the university job held by the employee that prevented attendance in the course. The request will be reviewed by the university administrators so designated.

Adopted by the University of North Florida Board of Trustees as part of the University's Personnel Program on January 26, 2006.

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