SPD Professional Study-Non Degree Seeking

Guidelines

All Non-Bargaining Seminole State personnel must adhere to the following guidelines:

• The above objective will be accomplished by providing payment for tuition and certain fees, which are indicated in the Reimbursement section of this page.
• Request for tuition or fee reimbursement must be submitted prior to the starting date of the study or training. Tuition and fee reimbursement requests received after the activity or class has started or finished will not be approved.

• Non-Degree seekers' applications must include a statement identifying the reason for the request and supervisor's signature.

• Non-bargaining full-time employees must have been employed full-time for at least six (6) continuous months prior to applying for funding.
• Part-time employees must meet the following requirements in order to be eligible for tuition reimbursement. These requirements must be met prior to each request:
  • Part-time instructional employees must be employed at the College and must have at least 225 contact hours (equivalent of one term of hours for a full-time college credit instructor: 15-hour load x 15 weeks in a term) within a two-year period prior to applying for funding.
  • Part-time non-instructional employees, excluding student employees, must have completed 600 hours of employment within a two-year period prior to applying for funding. Student employment positions are ineligible for SPD travel and professional study funding.
  • Part-time employees who are employed in both instructional and non-instructional non-student positions will need to work the minimum required hours within a two-year period prior to applying for funding. The hours in each category will be weighted to determine if this criterion is met. Example: An employee who works 56.25 instructional hours, which is 25 percent of the 225-hour requirement, and 450 non-instructional non-student employment hours, which is 75 percent of the 600-hour requirement, will be considered to have met the requirement because the combination equals 100 percent of the minimum requirement.
• Collective Bargaining Faculty members are not eligible for SPD tuition reimbursement benefits, as provided by Article 23 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Application

• Download the Request for Reimbursement - Professional Study Form. Please see SPD Request for Reimbursement page for detailed instructions.
• Submit completed Request for Reimbursement - Professional Study Form to your SPD Contact with required documents priorto the start of the activity.

Procedure

• The person must be employed at the end of the activity funded and at the time the reimbursement paperwork is submitted.
• All employees requesting SPD reimbursements for professional study are hereby advised that reimbursements will only occur if funds are available at the time the reimbursement is being processed.
• Proof of payment is required for reimbursement. The intent is that reimbursement will be made to employees when the payments are related to personal out-of-pocket expenses, personal loans obtained through financial aid, payments made by family members, the Florida Prepaid College Program, etc. Payments made by federal, state or institutional grants or scholarships (e.g. Pell, Bright Futures) are ineligible for reimbursement. Payments made by other third parties will be approved/disapproved according to the intent of this guideline.
• For Non-Bargaining full-time employees, the maximum reimbursement per fiscal year for any combination of professional study and travel is $2,500. (Please refer to Articles 19, 24, and 34 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement for information regarding the professional development benefits available to bargaining faculty.
• For part-time employees, the maximum reimbursement per fiscal year for any combination of professional study and travel is $1,000.
• Reimbursement is for tuition and certain associated fees that are charged with tuition, such as access fees, capital improvement fees, financial aid fees, student activity fees, technology fees, laboratory fees, health fees and certification fees, incurred by College personnel while enrolled in college credit and non-credit activities. Reimbursement for testing and courses required for professional credentialing or certification exams. Books, digital educational materials, organizational memberships, test preparation courses (such as GMAT and GRE), testing (other than professional credentialing/certification), application fees, late fees, convenience fees for charging tuition online, parking fees at institutions other than Seminole State, and third- or fourth-attempt course fees are not included.
• College courses must be completed successfully with a "C" or higher (or equivalent). If the course is not successfully completed, please notify the SPD Contact that reimbursement will not be requested.

• For college credit courses, transcripts and/or certificates of completion are to be submitted to the SPD Contact at the end of the course. A certificate of completion is required for non-credit courses and activities.  

• Reimbursements must be requested in the fiscal year in which the courses conclude. Payments will be issued for courses ending on or before June 30th, if all documentation is received prior to July 11. However, in the case of courses ending on or before June 30 where grades will not be issued by the institution until after July 11, approved reimbursement will be made and applied to the current fiscal year in which the payment is disbursed.
• Non-Bargaining employee must be a current employee at time of reimbursement. All employees requesting SPD Reimbursements for professional study are hereby advised that reimbursements will only occur if funds are available at the time the reimbursement is being processed.