CITY OF CULVER
ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY STATEMENT
Policy Number: II-08 Effective Date: 12/1/05
Subject: Employee Training, Education and
Tuition Reimbursement Program
Source/Authority: CCPol 4201; CAO
Statement of Policy:
Education Policy
The City encourages and will assist employees in a continuing program of self- improvement and skills development by establishing, conducting and financially supporting education and training programs as budgeted funds permit.
Employees have an obligation to maintain the proficiency required to perform their job duties as changes in laws, polices, regulations, methods and technology impact the performance of municipal services.
Training:
1. Training programs shall be implemented through f unding in the annual budget as approved by the City Council.
2. The Personnel Department shall coordinate the pl anning and Implementation of city-wide training programs and shall facilitate the administration of the programs.
3. Training needs withing an operating department s hall be coordinated by the respective department head.
Tuition Reimbursement
Tuition reimbursement for education and training which is not provided by in-house by the City is limited to job-related courses. Job relationship is determined by the individual course topic and its applicability to current or anticipated job duties.
Advance approval for tuition reimbursement is required, and may be limited by budgetary resources.
Acceptable Courses
There are some generic courses which have general applicability to City employment responsibilities (business and report writing, improving English skills, use of a computer, public speaking, public administration courses, and other). However, other courses may be required by a college or university degree program, or are offered as electives to satisfy a requirement, which are not, by themselves, job related. For example, the City will not reimburse employees for cinema, art, oceanography and some physical education courses, even when such course may be satisfactory electives for a specific degree program. Employees shall not be permitted to study or complete school work assignments during assigned work hours.
Qualifications for Reimbursement
Reimbursement for tuition, fees and books shall be contingent upon; (a) pre – approval of the course and the amounts requested; (b) the successful completion of the course with a grade of “C”, or “Pass” in a Pass/Fail course; and
(c) a written report to the Department Head (or in the case of Department Heads or department-level staff, the CAO) on the relevance and value of the education received.
Failure to meet the above requirements will be cause for rejection of a reimbursement claim. Employees receiving reimbursement shall remain working for the City for a minimum of two (s) years following completion of the course, or shall repay the City the full amount of the reimbursement. A waiver may be granted by the CAO in exceptional circumstances; however, no waiver will be granted an employee terminated for cause. An employee who is laid-off by the City shall not be liable for repayment.
Books and materials purchased with City funds become the property of the City.
The employee shall either turn such books over to the department head upon completion or the course or training, or in the event the books can be re-sold to the school, shall indicate the amount of refund obtained to be deducted from any reimbursement claim.
Reimbursement Limits
Tuition Reimbursement will be limited to a maximum of $100 per college unit and the actual costs of books, registration fees and parking permit fees.
Approval
Advance approval is required so employees will not seek additional education with a misunderstanding of the City’s role in paying for that coursework.
Employees should expect to pay for some of their voluntary education pursuits, and may not rely on the City for any payment unless advance approval has been provided.
Procedures
Qualified employees shall submit Tuition Reimbursement requests to their appointing authority who must review and approve the expense from departmental budgeted training/education funds. The respective appointing authority will advise the employee if the particular course(s) being taken will be reimbursed, and to what extent. Written approval by the appointing authority is required. If adequate funds are not available int eh operating department Training accounts, the total amount to be reimbursed may be less than the maximum authorized.
Approved: _______________________________________Chief Administrative Officer