Staff Tuition Reimbursement Program (STRP)

The Staff Tuition Reimbursement Program (STRP) supports employee development by providing partial or full reimbursement of tuition costs for courses meeting requirements of undergraduate or graduate degree programs related to current performance or planned career development. Staff members must be enrolled in a degree program to qualify for assistance. The policy for this program is set forth in the Administrative Guide, Section 22.11.

• Employees must be a staff member in a benefits-eligible University position that is six months or more (four months or more for bargaining unit employees) and 50% FTE or greater.
• STRP assistance is pro-rated for regular staff working less than full-time.
• Staff receiving financial assistance from other sources that would DUPLICATE assistance (i.e. scholarships, grants, departmental funds) are not eligible for STRP.
  Service Requirement: The staff member must have completed one year in an ongoing regular position.

• STRP assistance is allowable for undergraduate or graduate education leading to a degree. The employee must be admitted to a degree program. The allowance is limited to regular tuition and general recurring fees only. An employee may not receive reimbursement under the Staff Training Assistance Program (STAP) and STRP for the same course or program.

  Fees and materials that STRP will not reimburse include:

• books or course materials
• certificate programs
• room and board
• courses taken through correspondence
• laboratory breakage fees
• expenses at any United States institution that are not normally included in the basic tuition fees by Stanford University, the University of California or the California State Universities.
• tutoring fees
• auditing fees
• special fees for specific courses
• late fees
• transportation and parking
  

• Benefit Amount per year: The maximum STRP reimbursement is $5,250.00 per fiscal year, pro-rated for regular staff who work less than full-time. Unused STRP funds may not be "carried over" to future years.

Payments under STRP will be made to accredited United States colleges and universities listed in the current edition of "Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education" published by the American Council on Education.

Employees must provide the supervisor and the Human Resources Educational Assistance Programs office with evidence of satisfactory completion no later than four weeks after each course is completed. Such evidence may be an official grade card or transcript from the institution, where a grade C or better, or pass grade in a pass/fail course is required. Alternatively, written confirmation of course completion from the instructor or institution will be accepted. Send evidence of completion to HR EAP at 655 Serra Street/6110.

When allowable costs exceed the current STRP limit, the excess cost may be partially or fully reimbursed by the employee's department. Departmental reimbursement is at the department's discretion and is determined on the basis of available departmental funds for training. Documentation of guidelines for locally-funded programs should be filed in the Human Resources Educational Assistance office.

Currently, for academic courses below the graduate level at a tax-exempt educational institution, up to $5,250 of STRP or departmental assistance can be excluded from an employee's gross income under section 117 and/or 132 of the Internal Revenue Code. Support for graduate courses is reported as part of the employee's income if the graduate course is not job related.

If the assistance exceeds $5,250 in one tax year regardless of the source of University funds or if a graduate course is not job related, the reimbursement will be reported as income on the employee's paycheck. (See Guide Memo 22.11 for additional tax information.)

Financial Aid Consideration: This program for tuition benefits could affect other financial aid benefits. Contact the Financial Aid Office at the college, university, or institution to be attended for more information.

Application Procedures
An application should be completed and submitted by the employee each year he/she wishes to attend. Forms will be available at the office of Human Resources Educational Assistance Programs Office or the SLAC Benefits Office. SLAC staff should submit applications directly to the SLAC Benefits Office. Online forms located at http://hreap.stanford.edu)

The Human Resources Educational Assistance Programs Office reviews applications and if the terms of the program are met by the applicant, an authorization letter is issued to the employee once per year. The employee presents the letter to the college or university. The letter will verify that payment from Stanford is guaranteed and provides billing instructions for the institution.

If tuition was prepaid Stanford will reimburse the staff member directly. Proof of payment will be required for this reimbursement.

See Guide Memo 22.11 for more information or call Human Resources Educational Assistance Programs Office at (650) 725-1024.