Advanced Degree Tuition Reimbursement Program

Introduction

In a desire to provide effective tools for the development of our teams and individuals, this program is designed to provide both incentive and support for certain advanced education for full-time employees of The Austin Stone. Embarking on an advanced degree program should be considered in cooperation with your Division Head and Department Leader, as part of your own personal development and as essential to job performance for the benefit of the church.

More specifically, this tuition reimbursement program is meant to promote the completion of multi-year advanced degree programs that are pertinent to the individual and relevant to their development as a leader in our church staff team.

Objectives

The organizational objectives that this program is intended to support are:

• Retention of key talent
• Growth in personal ministry and/or professional effectiveness for the benefit of the individual and the organization
• Career preparation and development of staff leaders for our church
• Enhancement to the overall credibility of our institution

Program Description

Program Benefits

Under this program, employees are eligible for a reimbursement of up to $1000 per fiscal year for tuition, fees, or other expenses directly related to the degree program.

In addition, The Austin Stone desires to incentivize completion of degrees pursued under this program and to provide a blessing at that point. So, upon successful completion of the approved degree program, the employee will receive a one-time bonus of $1000. To receive this bonus, reach out to the HR team once degree has been completed.

Note: Reimbursements under the amounts in this program are not considered a taxable benefit. However, the one-time bonus is considered taxable income by the IRS.

Program Eligibility

All full-time employees of The Austin Stone are eligible to apply for tuition reimbursement under this program.

• Though an undergraduate degree may be considered in certain circumstances, the preference of this program is for the pursuit of a multi-year advanced degree in a field relevant to the work and development of the individual.
• Education expenses prior to approval of the tuition reimbursement are not eligible for retroactive reimbursement. Tuition reimbursement eligibility does not include course hours under the ASDP program partnership between ASI and Southern or Southeastern Seminaries, unless approved in conjunction with a degree program under this tuition reimbursement program.

Continuing Education Units (CEU) and certificates of completion, certifications, licensures, conferences, seminars, workshops or other non-degree learning programs are not eligible under this program.

Reimbursement eligibility

• Eligible expenses under the approved degree program will be reimbursed upon completion of each course that is passed with a grade of “C” or above, or a grade of “Pass” in the case of pass/fail grading.
• Students must be employed by The Austin Stone at the time of submission for each reimbursement.
• Students must be employed by The Austin Stone at the time of graduation in order to receive any eligible completion bonus.

Any exceptions to the above eligibility requirements are to be formally approved on a case-by-case basis by the Executive Team and the student’s Division Head.

Approval process and criteria

TAS desires to support advanced education opportunities that are

1. Relevant and beneficial to role and development of the employee.
2. Relevant and beneficial to the mission and priorities of the organization.
3. Within the current resources available for the program.

Tuition reimbursements will be assessed and approved by the employee’s Department Leader, Division Head, and HR, along these three primary criteria as follows:

1. Relevance and benefit to the employee as assessed by Department Leader

The applicant’s Department Leader will assess the application based on relevance to their function, and benefit to their development as an employee of The Austin Stone. If the applicant is a Department Leader, their Division Head will serve this function.

The applicant’s Department Leader must weigh this benefit with any potential impact on team health and function with respect to the employee’s current capacity and responsibilities. After doing so, the Department Leader must recommend that the degree program as essential to the development of the individual and important for their current and future responsibilities as part of The Austin Stone team.

2. Relevance and benefit to the church as assessed by Division Head

The applicant’s Division Head will assess the application based on agreement with the Department Leader’s assessment of the first criteria above, plus the organizational benefit and alignment with church departmental or organizational priorities.

The applicant’s Division Head must affirm the Department Leader’s recommendation of the first criteria and recommend that pursuing the degree program is both relevant and beneficial to the needs and priorities of the church.

3. Funding and compliance as confirmed by HR

HR will evaluate to confirm availability of funding within the approved annual program budget. HR will also confirm compliance with the other requirements of this program.

Upon positive recommendations by all three of these, the tuition reimbursement will be approved.

Program Management

• HR will manage the process of facilitating application, approval, and administration of reimbursements according to this program outline.
  
• With oversight by the Division Head, the candidate’s Department Leader will be primarily responsible for assessment and recommendation according to the criteria above, in addition to approval of individual reimbursement requests under the program.
  
• The Department Leader will be responsible for approving reimbursement requests that are accompanied by all required documentation, according to this program outline.
  
• The student will be responsible to the Department Leader to manage their time and effort in the degree program while remaining faithful to their job responsibilities.
  
• If the applicant is a Department Leader, their Division Head will have the responsibilities of the Department Leader.

Application

Applications for Tuition Reimbursement must be submitted to your Department Leader or Division Head no later than fifteen (15) days before the start of the class/program. Approval is subject to the terms of the Advanced Degree Tuition Reimbursement Program.