Ohio Administrative Code
Title 3349 - Northeast Ohio Medical University
Chapter 3349-7 - Human Resource Rules
Section 3349-7-45 - Educational benefits

(a) Educational benefits are available to full-time employees who normally work a minimum of forty hours per week on a regularly scheduled basis and who have an expectation of a minimum of nine months of continuous employment each year. Employees are eligible for payment of instructional fees for themselves or their dependents in the first enrollment period after having been continuously employed by the university for a period of six months.

(b) The university will pay for instructional fees at one of the partner universities for employees or their dependents who are pursuing a degree in an identified field of study.

(c) All employees seeking to utilize educational benefits for themselves or their dependent must submit an itemized invoice for all tuition expenses and disclose any scholarships received, public or private, from any entity, including but not limited to the state foundations, civic groups, agencies, religious entities, educational institutions or labor unions.

(d) Employees are required to apply for, accept and disclose any institutional scholarships award. Failure to do so may result in disqualification from receipt of future educational benefits.

(e) Educational benefits will not be decreased when other sources of financial aid are eligible to be used for expenses other than instructional fees (i.e. general fees, other fees, room and board). If other forms of financial assistance such as scholarships, apply to instructional fees only, education benefits from university will be decreased accordingly.

(f) Educational benefits cannot be transferred to any non-partner university nor received in any manner other than what is set forth in this rule.

(g) All other fees, including but not limited to, general, overload, admission, matriculation, parking, bus, dissertation, graduation and special course fees are the responsibility of the employee. Books, room and board and all other educational expenses are the responsibility of the employee.

(h) Non-resident/out-of-state surcharges are the responsibility of the employee. It is the responsibility of the employee to contact the partner university the student is attending to establish permanent residency.

(i) The university will reimburse employees for fees paid to receive course credit by examination through the college level examination program CLEP, or other authorized examinations for course work for which the university otherwise would have been charged.

(j) Educational benefits will not be paid for continuing education or other non-credit or non-degree courses under this rule. Job-related, non-credit courses may be paid for separately by the employee's department.

(k) Accelerated programs will be reimbursed at the normal program rate (i.e. an executive master's degree program will be reimbursed at the standard program rate for the university).

(l) No educational benefits will be paid for courses taken by anyone holding a graduate degree or terminal degree.

(m) Employees who have been laid off, resign, or are otherwise terminated from employment at the university are not eligible for educational benefits and may be required to repay the educational benefit at the point of separation based on the mutual decision of the director of human resources and the employee's department head.

(n) Instructional fees are paid for employees and dependents for any fall or spring enrollment sessions. Instructional fees for summer enrollment sessions are payable for employees only.

(o) In some instances, the receipt of educational benefits under this rule may have tax implications to the employee.

(a) Educational benefits are limited to payment of instructional fees for up to six credit hours per semester for either undergraduate or graduate courses.

(b) Undergraduate educational benefits

Educational benefits are limited to the hours required by the attending university for one baccalaureate degree or a maximum of one hundred fifty hours, whichever is less.

(c) Graduate benefits

(d) Class attendance during normal working hours

In exceptional circumstances, an employee may be permitted to take one course per semester during normal working hours, provided that satisfactory arrangements to cover the time lost from the normal forty hour week (for both class time and travel) have been authorized by the immediate supervisor, department head, and the director of human resources.

(a) Limitations on instructional fees

(b) Undergraduate educational benefits

(c) Graduate educational benefits

Educational benefits are limited to fifty per cent of the instructional fees for one graduate degree per dependent child subject to the annual maximums set forth in paragraph (D)(3)(a) of this rule.

(a) Eligibility

Dependent children of employees who were actively employed on or before June 30, 2018 and died after having at least ten years continuous service to the university prior to their death, are eligible to receive educational benefits as set forth herein. Dependent children of employees hired July 1, 2018 or after are not eligible for educational benefits after the employee's death.

(b) Undergraduate educational benefits

(c) Graduate educational benefits

Educational benefits are limited to fifty per cent of the instructional fees for one graduate degree per dependent child.

(a) Eligibility

The director of human resources will administer this program and be responsible for determining eligibility, in accordance with the rule. The department of human resources may monitor eligibility and may request proof of eligibility at any time. Decisions made by the director of human resources regarding eligibility may be appealed to the employee's supervisor. If the employee's supervisor determines that the eligibility decision presents an issue of inequity or fundamental unfairness, the supervisor will forward the appeal to the chief of staff and vice president for operations and finance for a final determination on eligibility.

(b) Grade reports

(c) Reimbursement and payroll deductions

(d) It is the responsibility of the employee to inform the department of human resources of any dropped courses. If an employee or dependent child drops a course after the full refund date, the employee is responsible to reimburse the university for the amount not refunded to the university by the partner university.

(e) Failure to pay any amount owed in full to the university within thirty days of an employee's receipt of an invoice from the university will result in automatic payroll deduction as individually established with accounting. For amounts owed that are less than one thousand two hundred dollars, employees will have a maximum of six months to reimburse the university. For amounts in excess of one thousand two hundred dollars, employees will have a maximum of twelve months to reimburse the university.

(f) If an employee owes the university any outstanding balance of two hundred fifty dollars or more at the time an application for instructional fees is submitted, the university will not prepay instructional fees for that semester. In such cases, an employee shall be required to pay all instructional fees for that semester at the time of registration. An employee will receive reimbursement of such instructional fees minus any outstanding balance upon submitting passing grades and a paid invoice to the university at the conclusion of that semester. Once the employee's outstanding balance above two hundred fifty dollars has been paid, the university will resume prepaying instructional fees as provided herein.

(g) Upon separation from the university, the university shall automatically deduct any balance owed to the university from an employee's last paycheck, before issuing such paycheck.