Union College Tuition Benefit Program (March 15, 2013)

(for employees signing appointment or employment letters after July 1, 2011)

The following Tuition Benefit Program is offered to employees who sign appointment or employment letters after July 1, 2011. For those who signed appointment or employment letters on or before July 1, 2011, the previous program of record will remain in force (Faculty/Staff Children’s Scholarship Program, contained in the 2010-2011 Faculty, Administrators, and Staff Manuals).

The Tuition Benefit Program offers benefits to eligible full-time employees for the following:

• Full-time undergraduate enrollment at Union College or another accredited institution, for eligible dependent children.
• Part-time enrollment at Union College and/or the Union Graduate College for employees, their legally married spouses, domestic partners, and their eligible dependent children.

The goal of the full-time tuition benefit is to minimize, to the extent possible, financial barriers to higher education for the dependent children of Union’s employees. The goal of the part-time tuition benefit is to support the educational goals and encourage professional development of eligible participants.

Tuition Benefit for Full-time Enrollment of Dependent Children

The full-time tuition benefit applies to a dependent’s enrollment as a full-time matriculated student at Union or at an accredited college, university or program (listed in the US Department of Education database of accredited institutions) for a bachelor's degree, or as a full-time matriculated student in a two-year junior or community college. The benefit applies for four years of full-time undergraduate study (8 semesters, or 12 trimesters, or 12 quarters, etc.). Full-time enrollment in a summer term is counted for the purposes of this four-year limit unless the courses are taken at Union College or the Union Graduate College under the part-time tuition benefit. In cases where both parents are employees of the College, one scholarship for full-time study will be given per child per academic year. The tuition benefit for full-time study is based on, and may only be applied to, “core” tuition charged by the institution attended, not to room and board or other fees or charges, even if they are characterized as “tuition-like” or otherwise “constituting tuition.”

The amount of scholarship available is a function of the published tuition at the school attended (or for attendance at Union, the full tuition figure minus the average financial aid grant), a $7,070 “first-dollar” benefit that does not require any employee contribution, and a stated cost-share of the remaining tuition balance. The first-dollar amount paid by Union is intended to cover the typical full tuition expense for a New York State resident attending a baccalaureate degree-granting institution within the SUNY system.

Tuition Benefit Amount to Attend Union College

For a dependent attending Union College full-time as a matriculated undergraduate student, the tuition benefit received will be the total of

1.) the first-dollar amount of $7,070, and

2.) the average financial aid grant, and

3.) 50% of the remaining balance to Union’s full tuition figure.

Below is a sample calculation of the tuition benefit to attend Union under the hypothesis that Union’s tuition is $65,000, the average financial aid grant is $28,500, and the student is receiving a tuition-specific award (from an outside source) of $2,000.

The amount of the tuition benefit for attendance at Union, when combined with all other “tuition-specific” awards (e.g., TAP, ROTC, etc.), may not exceed the total tuition at Union. If the total of Union’s tuition remission benefit and all other “tuition-specific” awards exceeds the amount of Union tuition, the tuition benefit will be reduced accordingly.

TUITION BENEFIT AMOUNT TO ATTEND INSTITUTIONS OTHER THAN UNION COLLEGE

The full-time tuition benefit to attend other accredited institutions pays a first-dollar amount of $7,070 per year (or the tuition of the school, if lower) without any employee contribution. If the tuition at the institution attended is more than the first-dollar amount, then the tuition benefit additionally pays 50% of the remaining tuition balance, up to an annual maximum of 45% of Union’s base tuition for that year.

Below are sample calculations of the tuition benefit amount to attend another institution under the hypothesis that Union’s tuition is $65,000, the first-dollar amount is $7,070, the maximum benefit for the year is $29,250 (45% of Union’s tuition of $65,000), and the student is receiving a tuition-specific award (from an outside source) of $2,000.

For a dependent attending an institution other than Union, the employee will be required to provide an invoice from the institution attended, along with documentation from that institution’s financial aid office as to the total amount of “tuition-specific” scholarships and grants (if any) that the dependent is receiving. In cases where the student is not receiving any such tuition-specific awards, a letter from the financial aid office to that effect will satisfy this requirement. The amount of Union’s tuition benefit award plus any other tuition-specific awards (e.g., TAP, ROTC, etc.) may not exceed the actual tuition at the institution attended. If necessary, Union’s tuition benefit will be reduced so that the recipient receives no more than full tuition for that year in tuition-specific awards. The tuition benefit is payable in installments, and the payment will be sent directly to the institution attended, for credit against the dependent's tuition charges.

Guidelines and Procedures for Full-time Enrollment Tuition Benefit

Provisions to Determine Employee Eligibility

• To be eligible, employees must have been employed by the College on a full-time basis for the seven years prior to the beginning of the academic term for which the tuition benefit is being requested.
  • Time worked in short-term or adjunct positions (e.g., summer or seasonal help) does not count towards the seven-year accrual.
  • Sabbatical leaves for faculty are considered full-time employment and count towards the seven-year accrual.
  • Approved medical leaves (including family medical leaves) and short-term disability leaves are considered full-time employment and count towards the seven-year accrual
  • Leaves of absence for winners of prestigious grants are not considered interruptions of employment, and they may count towards the seven-year accrual, if the leave is determined to be benefits-eligible under the guidelines of the Faculty Manual.

• Full-time faculty on ten-month contracts, and other full-time employees in ten-month positions who start employment by September 10 of the academic year in which they begin service, become eligible upon completion of seven academic years of full-time service, without having to wait until the actual service anniversary date.

• Two faculty members who share a position of at least 1.0 FTE and are legally married or in a domestic partnership with each other are considered to be one full-time employee for the purpose of eligibility and service accrual.

• Except as noted below, the employee must be an active full-time Union College employee during the period for which the tuition benefit is requested, or be on an approved benefits-eligible leave of absence not to exceed one year. If an employee ceases to be eligible for the tuition benefit (e.g., the employee leaves the College or goes to part-time status), then the child’s eligibility ceases at the end of the child’s current academic term.
  • Retirees, as defined by College policy, continue to be eligible for the tuition benefit, provided that they meet the other employee eligibility criteria of the policy.
  • Employees who become permanently disabled while in active service of the College, and who due to their disability are unable to work for Union or another employer, continue to be eligible for the tuition benefit, provided that they meet the other employee eligibility criteria of the policy.
  • Employees who die while in active service of the College continue to be eligible for the tuition benefit, provided that they meet the other employee eligibility criteria of the policy.

• Tenured or tenure-track faculty, the President’s senior staff members, and the President will receive service credit towards Union’s seven-year eligibility requirement for all prior full-time service at a college or university.

Provisions to Determine Dependent Eligibility

Children of Employees: Four criteria are applied to determine dependent eligibility for children of the employee. To receive the full-time tuition benefit, the applying child must:

• be the employee’s child (biological child, legally adopted child or child placed for adoption, foster child or a child subject to a legal guardianship court order); and
• have been in a child/parent relationship with the employee for at least as long as the seven-year eligibility period for the full-time benefit; and
• be under age twenty-four at the beginning of the academic term for which the benefit is being requested; and
• be claimed as a dependent (qualifying child or qualifying relative) on the employee’s or the employee’s spouse’s or domestic partner’s latest federal or New York tax return, and have been so claimed for at least five of the seven years prior to the initial request for the benefit, OR if there are years in which the child has not been so claimed, documentation will be required for those years to demonstrate that the employee is/has been subject to, and complied with, a requirement to provide educational support or child support, or has some type of joint/partial custody arrangement with specified visitation rights. (The requirement for continued dependent status of the student is waived for a deceased or permanently disabled employee.)

Children of Employee’s Spouse or Domestic Partner: Four criteria are applied to determine dependent eligibility for children of the employee’s spouse or domestic partner. To receive the full-time tuition benefit, the applying child must:

• be the employee’s spouse’s child or employee’s domestic partner’s child (biological child, legally adopted child or child placed for adoption, stepchild, foster child or a child subject to a legal guardianship court order); and
• have been in a child/parent relationship with the employee for at least as long as the seven-year eligibility period for the full-time benefit; and
• be under age twenty-four at the beginning of the academic term for which the benefit is being requested; and
• reside in the employee’s household and be claimed as a dependent (qualifying child or qualifying relative) on the employee’s, employee’s spouse’s, or employee’s domestic partner’s latest federal or New York tax return, and have been claimed as a dependent (qualifying child or qualifying relative) on the employee’s, the employee’s spouse’s, or the employee’s domestic partner’s federal or New York tax return for at least five of the seven years prior to the initial request for the benefit.

The employee must provide the relevant documents (birth certificate, legal papers, tax returns, etc.) showing that the above criteria are satisfied prior to the initial request for the benefit. The age requirement must be met at the beginning of each academic term for which the benefit is being requested.

*If you have a child with disabilities, please reach out to HR directly.

PART-TIME ENROLLMENT AT UNION COLLEGE OR CLARKSON UNIVERSITY - CAPITAL REGION CAMPUS

Eligibility

• Eligibility extends only to full-time Union College faculty and Union College salaried and hourly non-faculty employees (hereinafter all collectively referred to as "employees"), their spouses, domestic partners and "dependent" children (as previously defined). Eligibility for this "Part-Time Enrollment" scholarship begins with the date of commencement of the employee's full-time status at the College.

Entitlement

• Union College employees may enroll, on a part-time basis, in a maximum of four Union College or Clarkson University - Capital Region Campus courses per year free of charge. For the purposes of part-time enrollment the summer term starts the academic year. This would mean up to two courses per term, including summer school. Employees registering for a free summer course will not be included in the enrollment count that determines whether a course will run or be canceled. Spouses, domestic partners and dependents of Union College employees may enroll on a part-time basis in up to three courses per calendar year up to three (3) per term at no cost. This entitlement does not allow a child, spouse, or domestic partner attending full-time to have his or her tuition bill reduced by one-third.

Process

• Instructions for part-time Undergraduate Enrollment at Union College and Graduate Enrollment at Clarkson University can be found on the benefits website.

General

• Employees under the part-time enrollment shall take courses that are not in conflict with the employee's work schedule.
• Admission to degree status is governed by the regular requirements and procedures of the College.
• Any special or other fees and costs related to tuition-free courses must be paid by the employee.

Administration and Miscellaneous

This program is administered by the Vice President for Finance and Administration, or other administrators of the College as designated by the Vice President for Finance and Administration.

For determination of individual tax liability, the participants in this program are encouraged to consult a qualified tax adviser, at the participant’s expense, for applicability of Internal Revenue or New York Tax Law.

While Union College intends to continue these benefit programs indefinitely, the College reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to change the eligibility requirements or any other part of the program, or discontinue any of the benefits described herein.