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<br /> <br /> STAFF REPORT <br /> <br /> <br />TO: Mayor Keis and Members of the City Council <br /> <br />FROM: Joel Hanson, City Administrator <br /> <br />DATE: June 1, 2018 <br /> <br />RE: Revisions to Educational Reimbursement Policy <br /> <br />Within the City’s Personnel Policy is a section on Educational Reimbursements. It reads as follows: <br /> <br />Educational Reimbursements <br /> <br />In order to develop further skills and self-improvement, the City will provide financial <br />assistance to all regular full-time employees who continue formal study in areas directly <br />related to their present position. This includes high school and accredited college diplomas. <br /> <br />1. Educational assistance will be made for tuition, registration, and laboratory fees. <br />Costs of books, supplies, mileage, or other expenses will not be included. <br /> <br />2. Tuition refund will be made upon completion of the approved course and will amount to <br />100% for a grade of C or better. <br /> <br />a. Failure to receive a grade of C or better will nullify any payment. <br /> <br />b. Reimbursement will not be made for courses not completed or courses where <br />payments are received by the employee from another agency (i.e. GI Bill). <br /> <br />3. The program will apply to accredited colleges, technical institutions, certain vocational <br />institutions and other specialized training programs. <br /> <br />4. Course must be taken other than during normal working hours. <br /> <br />5. An annual maximum tuition reimbursement of $3,500 per employee, subject to <br />budgetary limitations. <br /> <br />6. Application for educational assistance must be completed and approved by the <br />supervisor and the City Administrator prior to taking the course. Applications may be obtained <br />from the City Administrator. <br /> <br />Bryce Shearen is pursuing his Masters in Public Administration (MPA) at Hamline University. The <br />cost for a four credit class currently runs $1,966. I believe his pursuit of this degree is “job related” <br />given the generalist approach we had included with his Parks & Recreation duties. He has already <br />completed four classes toward the completion of this degree with two of them at his cost. Based on <br />past utilization by other employees, taking two classes per year has been a common approach. Under <br />the current policy, if Bryce were to take two classes per year, he would be out-of-pocket $432. <br />