Rule 3341-5-13 | Employee fee waiver.
(A) Policy statement and purpose
It is the policy of the university to support and promote the education of its employees. The employee's first obligation is to fulfill their job obligations; however, reasonable access to university coursework shall be given as approved by the supervisor of the employee.
(B) Policy
(1) Full-time employee
(a) Eligibility. For the purposes of this policy, a full-time employee (staff and faculty administrator) is one who works forty hours a week on a regular schedule and is employed full-time for a minimum of nine months per year (including an individual employed full-time at the university but compensated by another agency such as ROTC or a granting agency). The employee is eligible to utilize the fee waiver the first semester following the full-time date of hire.
(b) Benefit. Full-time employees may enroll for unlimited hours per semester. The employee fee waiver will waive one hundred per cent of the in-state instructional and general fees only.
(c) Procedure
(i) The employee completes the online employee fee waiver application, which is located in the my.bgsu portal.
(ii) The supervisor is notified electronically and certifies that the employee's course enrollment will not interfere with the discharge of duties as a university employee. In order to avoid interruptions on the job, employees should, whenever possible, register for courses outside their regular work schedule. When this is not applicable employees may, with the approval of their supervisor, enroll in a course during the regular work day. All time away from work to attend the course must be made up within that work week, either by using a flexible work schedule or appropriate paid leaves, exclusive of sick leave.
(iii) Unpaid leave is not available for this policy.
(iv) The application is then electronically forwarded to the office of human resources for processing. An employee fee waiver application must be completed for every semester in which the employee is registered for courses.
(v) An incomplete employee fee waiver application will not be processed by the office of human resources. It will be pushed back to the employee for completion.
(vi) No applications will be processed for retroactive semesters and therefore must be received in the office of human resources by the last date of the semester applied for Anyone submitting an application after the semester begins will be responsible for any late fees.
(vii) The employee enrolls in coursework through the office of registration and records.
(viii) The employee's enrollment will not prevent a regularly registered student from attending the course.
(ix) An employee may not receive fee waiver benefits as both an employee and as a dependent in any academic year.
(x) Employees seeking accommodations for reasons related to equal employment opportunity regulations should contact the office of human resources. Employees seeking accommodations for reasons related to disability should contact the Office of Accessibility Services.
(d) Responsibility for fees
(i) Employees are responsible for all fees except the instructional and general fees.
(ii) Employees are responsible for all applicable fees that are incurred as a result of adding and/or dropping courses, regardless of the reason.
(iii) BGSU will pay for each class only once. If an employee enrolls in a class and fails the class, or wishes to retake it, any cost to retake the class will be covered by the employee.
(e) Payroll taxes
(i) Undergraduate fee waiver benefits are not subject to taxation.
(ii) Graduate-level fee waiver benefits that do not exceed five thousand two hundred fifty dollars in a calendar year are not subject to taxation (the amount exempted from taxation was current at the time this document was written; however, you should refer to IRS regulations for the most current information on the taxability of employer-provided educational assistance).
(iii) If an employee's graduate-level fee waiver benefits exceed five thousand two hundred fifty dollars (or the current threshold) in a calendar year, the amount over is subject to taxation.
(f) Reciprocity
(i) An agreement exists between BGSU and the university of Toledo-main campus and health sciences campus, whereby full-time employees of one university may enroll in courses at the other university. This arrangement covers full-time employees only and does not include waivers for dependents. The agreement is solely a tuition waiver and does not cover any additional fees or costs associated with instruction. The following conditions apply:
(a) The number of hours covered per semester are limited by the policy for the university of Toledo employees. We suggest you visit their policy to see how many hours will be covered per semester.
(b) The employee must be properly admitted as an undergraduate or graduate student at the university of Toledo before registering for courses.
(c) The fee waiver applies to courses that are eligible for credit hour(s) only.
(d) If the class is available on a BGSU campus the request for a fee waiver to take the class at the university of Toledo will be denied.
(e) Courses that are not covered at the university of Toledo through the reciprocity agreement are covered under the university of Toledo's policy.
(ii) BGSU employees must contact the office of human resources to prepare a fee waiver for courses at the university of Toledo. It is the employee's responsibility to make arrangements for the fee waiver to reach the appropriate office at the university of Toledo.
(2) Part-time employee
(a) Staff eligibility. For the purposes of this policy, a part-time employee is one who works less than forty hours a week on a regular schedule and whose Staff action form and/or contract indicates part-time status. Part-time employees that have completed the equivalent of one year of full-time service at BGSU (two thousand eighty hours) are eligible for an employee fee waiver. Part-time employees that are less than point five FTE are not eligible for this benefit.
(b) Benefit. The employee fee waiver is prorated to fifty per cent of the in-state instructional and general fees.
(c) Procedure. refer to paragraph (B)(1)(c) of this policy
(d) Responsibility for fees. The employee fee waiver is prorated to fifty per cent of the in-state instructional fee and general fees.
(e) Payroll taxes. refer to paragraph (B)(1)(e) of this policy.
(f) Reciprocity. Part-time employees are not eligible for the reciprocity agreement.
(3) Part-time faculty
(a) Eligibility. For the purposes of this policy, a part-time faculty member is one who works less than forty hours a week on a regular schedule and whose contract indicates part-time status. Part-time faculty who have completed the equivalent of one year of full-time service at BGSU (twenty-four hours of consecutive instruction) and continue to teach at least one course per academic year, are eligible for an employee fee waiver.
(b) Benefit. The fee waiver is prorated to fifty per cent of the in-state instructional fee and general fees and is applicable for one degree.
(4) Retired employees
(a) Eligibility. An employee who has retired with ten years of continuous full-time service from the university is able to receive the same fee waiver benefits as an active full-time employee. If an employee was a part-time employee at the time of retirement, the employee must have the equivalent of ten years of full-time service (twenty, eight hundred service hours). Retirement is defined by the retirement program in which the employee is enrolled. The retiree must be in the degree program at the time of retirement.
(b) For a part-time employee that retired with ten years of full-time service from the university the fee waiver is prorated to fifty per cent of the in-state instructional fee and general fees. The retiree must be in the degree program at the time of retirement to be eligible for this benefit.
Once this degree is completed fee waivers covering in-state instructional fees and general fees are no longer available for retirees. Retirees are encouraged to access classes through the senior adult grants program (SAGE) or contact the professor to audit the class at no cost with the professor's authorization. Attending the class may not adversely affect the enrollment of any other student.
(c) Reciprocity. Only employees that were full-time at the time of retirement with ten years of full-time service from the university are eligible to use the reciprocity agreement in effect for active employees at the time the benefit is accessed. refer to paragraph (B)(1)(f) of this policy.
(C) Exceptions
(1) Collective bargaining agreement
This policy does not apply to any employee who is a member of a BGSU-recognized bargining unit. Instead, the fee waiver provisions of the relevant collective bargaining agreement will apply.
(2) Courses/programs provided under a contract with a third party
BGSU will provide a fixed amount for tuition for courses/programs provided under a contract with a third party. Any tuition or fees in excess of the fixed amount will not be covered. This section does not apply to courses/programs delievered pursuant to a reciprocity agreement with another Ohio public institution of higher education or if the employee or retiree was actively enrolled in the course or program before fall semester 2023.
Last updated July 11, 2023 at 9:39 AM
Supplemental Information
Amplifies: 3341
Prior Effective Dates: 3/17/2015, 8/13/2015, 10/28/2015, 3/3/2017, 9/6/2021