| (7) The deputy executive director is authorized to approve or deny the employee's request for tuition reimbursement, and shall issue the decision in writing. A denial shall include a statement of the reason or reasons for the denial. An employee may appeal the deputy executive director's denial of a request for tuition reimbursement to the executive director, whose decision is final. If the deputy executive director approves the request, the original documents shall be retained in the office of the deputy executive director, and copies of the documents shall be provided to the employee. (e) Registration and payment for the training. An employee who has received final approval of his or her request for tuition reimbursement shall: (1) meet all admission requirements of the educational institution offering the course for which the request for tuition reimbursement was approved; (2) complete all paperwork and pay all costs for the training, including tuition or registration costs, mandatory fees, expenses for books or other written materials, etc.; (3) retain all original dated receipts indicating the amounts the employee paid for each type of expenditure. (f) Attendance; notice. The employee shall complete the training within the time period for which tuition reimbursement was approved. The employee shall immediately notify his or her supervisor if the employee ceases to be enrolled in a class for which tuition reimbursement was approved. The Commission shall not reimburse an employee for training expenses for incomplete or dropped training. (g) Use of Commission resources. An employee attending training approved for tuition reimbursement shall not use Commission equipment or resources such as personal computers, printers, copiers, fax machines, e-mail, internet connections, etc. During the employee's work hours, the employee shall not do research, writing, projects, homework, or other activities related to the training. (h) Time used to attend training. The employee shall use flex time, if possible, to accommodate attendance at training. If flex time is not used, then the employee shall use accrued leave time for attendance at training. (i) Tuition reimbursement qualifications and procedure. Failure to comply with the reimbursement requirements will result in denial of reimbursement. (1) To qualify for tuition reimbursement, an employee shall complete the training with a grade of "C" or better for training graded on an "A" through "F" scale; a 75 percent or better score for training graded on a numerical scale; or a passing grade for training graded on a "pass/fail" scale. The employee shall complete any course in which a grade of "I" (Incomplete) has been awarded within three months, unless there are valid reasons, such as serious illness, to the contrary. A course dropped after registration does not qualify for reimbursement. (2) To receive tuition reimbursement, within 15 working days of receiving the final grade or grades, the employee shall submit to the Personnel Division a reimbursement claim. (3) A reimbursement claim consists of copies of: (A) the employee's request; (B) all recommendation memoranda; (C) the deputy executive director's or executive director's final approval memorandum; (D) the itemized paid receipts for tuition, mandatory fees, and books and other written materials; and (E) the official grade report, which the Commission will keep confidential. (4) The Personnel Division shall verify the employee's grade and the costs for tuition or registration fees, other mandatory fees, and expenses for books and other written materials. (5) Upon approval of the reimbursement claim, the Personnel Division shall forward the claim to the Finance Division for reimbursement to the employee. |
