At its September meeting, the Board of Regents for
the University System of Georgia approved modifications
to the tuition remission program. The changes, which
became effective as of Nov. 1, were designed to make
the process easier and more accessible for employees.
Deborah Covin Wilson, director of career development
in the Office
of Organizational Development, said the Regents
renamed the System’s employee educational assistance
program — from the Tuition Remission and Reimbursement
Program to the Tuition
Assistance Program (TAP) — to reflect the
new model.
The most important change, Wilson said, was the elimination
of the job relatedness requirement. Previously, an employee
was required to show how the coursework would improve
one’s preparedness in their current position.
Under previous guidelines, for example, a research engineer
could not pursue a degree in accounting. Ultimately,
the Regents decided such restrictions didn’t reflect
its desire to create a more educated population.
The program, which is available to full-time Tech employees
who have six months of employment in a benefits-eligible
position, enacted several other changes:
• Employees may seek enrollment in up to eight
academic hours each semester. Though fewer hours than
employees were previously allowed, the change does accommodate
those whose coursework includes mandatory labs;
• Establishment of universal application deadlines
for all USG schools, eliminating some of the past confusion
that arose from each institution setting its own deadlines;
and
• Due to budgetary constraints, technical schools
are no longer eligible to receive tuition assistance
through the Regents’ program. Wilson said Tech
employees may still use the Institute’s Staff
Tuition Reimbursement Assistance Program Information
(STRAP) program to enroll in these courses.
Wilson also reminded the campus that the deadline for
applications for spring semester is November 15. Information
related to Tech’s education assistance programs
are located at www.training.gatech.edu/education.
Applications should be sent to the Office of Organization
Development via campus mail code 0206, or delivered
in person to their office in the Savant Building.
For more information about these changes, contact either
Deborah Covin Wilson at 894-3850 or Kimberly Porter
at 894-2249.
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