5-301: Education Reimbursement

Purpose

Sacramento County is committed to investing in and maintaining a highly skilled, well-trained workforce and establishing a “learning organization.” The Education Reimbursement Program is designed to: 

• Promote personal and professional development of the workforce 
• Assist employees with tuition and other education related expenses 
• Enhance employees’ job performance 

This policy outlines the criteria for reimbursement of education expenses for County employees. 

Authority

On October 21, 1974, the Board of Supervisors approved the Tuition Reimbursement Program to accommodate for career development  through education. In February 2001, the Board directed the Human Resources Agency Administrator to expand and rename the program to Education Reimbursement. ​​

Scope

This policy applies to many full-time and part-time, permanent County employees. Employees should review their labor agreement to determine if they are eligible.

Represented Employees

Labor agreements negotiated with the applicable recognized employee organizations provide the authority and maximum negotiated dollar amounts of County reimbursement for many of the represented, eligible employees.

Represented Employees in Bargaining Units 003,015,016

Employees in these units are currently excluded from this policy. These units have labor agreements which either eliminated reimbursement for education or have substitute provisions for different educational benefits and or enhancements.

Unrepresented Employees and Managers

The approved Board of Supervisors policy provides the authority for reimbursing unrepresented, eligible employees, including management (adopted 10/21/74, amended 8/13/91 and amended 2/7/01).

Policy

The Education Reimbursement Program is a benefit for eligible County employees to receive reimbursement for education-related expenses.

Items Eligible for Reimbursement Include

• Registration fees
• Tuition
• Required items as outlined in the course syllabus

Items Not Eligible for Reimbursement Include

• Transportation 
• Parking 
• Meals 
• Computers and other audio-visual equipment including laptops, monitors, printers, printer ink, cameras, and speakers (even if listed as required in syllabus) 
• Exam costs (unless inseparable from a test preparation course) 
• Self-study materials/books and costs of tutors 
• Professional membership and/or association costs 
• Membership dues or fees associated to maintain a certification or license 

An employee may not receive reimbursement for any course for which he/she receives financial assistance by another source (such as the GI Bill, scholarships, grants, foundations, etc. that are not repaid by the student). 

However, if the employee can show that financial assistance from the primary source will not cover all course related costs, the employee becomes eligible for County reimbursement of the remaining balance, up to the maximum reimbursement amount.

Amount

Eligible employees will receive up to $1500.00 per fiscal year. Employees should refer to their labor agreement for the current eligible reimbursement amount. 

Criteria for Eligibility

Employees must meet each of the following criteria in order to receive education reimbursement:

Employee is in an eligible bargaining unit

• Regular, full-time and part-time, permanent County employees including those on probation.  Employees should refer to their labor agreement to determine if they are eligible.
• Temporary and emergency appointees, who do not have permanent Civil Service status, are ineligible.

Course meets the intent of education reimbursement

This program reimburses educational expenses with the intent that the course meets one or more of the following criteria:

• Related to current job, promotion, or preparation for other County position
• Required for completion of a degree or certificate program
• Meets continuing education units (CEUs) requirement for employee to maintain license, registration, or other recognized professional standing

Eligible courses include:

• Courses as part of degree program (Associates, Bachelors, Masters, Doctoral, or professional degree)
• Individual courses
• Certificate/Licensing programs (e.g., CPA, project management, drug and alcohol counseling, mediation/conflict resolution, management, etc.)
• Seminars/Conferences which provide CEUs that meet the intent requirement above
• Web-based or distance learning courses

Course is offered by an accredited institution or professional association

An Accredited Institution is a college, university, or school that maintains standards requisite for its graduates to gain admission to other reputable institutions of higher learning or to achieve credentials for professional practice.

A Professional Association is a body of persons engaged in the same profession, usually a non-profit organization, seeking to further a particular profession, maintain standards, and represent the profession and the public interest.  Professional Associations will typically offer education, skill building, and/or certificate or licensing courses.

Course must be attended on personal time

In order for courses to be eligible for reimbursement, the employee must attend courses on personal time.  Whenever possible, courses attended should be outside the employee's normal work schedule otherwise the employee may request a schedule change or to use leave to attend the course.

The Department may approve or deny such requests, depending on its operations and service needs.

Required level of achievement must be met

The required level of achievement for each course is listed below.

• If the course is an Associate or Bachelor level, then employee must earn a grade of "C" or higher.
• If the course is a Master/Doctoral/Professional level, then the employee must earn a "B" or higher.
  
• If the course is taken or graded as Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory, then the employee must earn a "Satisfactory" or "Pass". 
• If the course is a workshop or other short course, then the employee must earn a certificate of completion. 

Applicant must submit all required documentation within 45 calendar days of course completion

All required documentation must be provided by the employee to his/her department designee within 45 calendar days of the course completion date, including:

• CPP-E-1 Request Form
• Original receipts/proof of payment
• Proof of course completion (grade, transcript or certificate)​

Appeals

Employees have the right to appeal the denial of a reimbursement request by contacting the Training and Organization Development Office at CountyTraining@saccounty.net or (916) 874-7711.

Appeal Process

Applications that have been denied may be appealed through the informal, and then if applicable, formal grievance process.

1. Confirm the reason for denial with your Education Reimbursement Department Designee.
   1. Unrepresented employees: refer to the Employee Grievance Policy (effective October 1, 1969, revised February 15, 1980) for procedure to follow.
   2. Represented employees: refer to the labor agreement for timelines and remedy under the informal and if applicable, formal grievance procedures.
2. The County Training and Organization Development Office is available to assist Departments in determining eligible courses and maintains a resource list of:
   1. accrediting organizations,
   2. accredited  universities, colleges, schools, and academies
   3. associations and organizations providing training.