I'm a bit confused by the language in 4-B. It seems the start of the sentence "Retirees and" is a duplication of the remaining sentence.

What does "Employees and dependents are identified as residents for tuition remission purposes" mean considering the prior bullet point explains that qualified individuals are covered at both the resident and nonresident rate?

Additionally, are SLCC's Assistant Attorney General and their dependents no longer provided tuition benefits under the new version?

If a dependent is under the age of twenty-six but married, do they still qualify for the tuition benefit?

Do we want to add UHP to eligible employees? Executive Cabinet approved the contracted UHP employees to be eligible same as full-time employees.* this is a small number and may not need to be in the policy

I would like to advocate for concurrent enrollment instructors to be added to this benefit and policy. Concurrent enrollment instructors are in all intensive purposes SLCC adjunct faculty. They are set up banner as adjunct faculty and have all the same access. They are teaching SLCC courses and students receive college credit for taking concurrent enrollment courses just as they would if they were taking the class on a SLCC campus. Many CE instructors receive no additional pay (or if they do it is very minimal, a few hundred dollars from their district) but are required to do a large amount of additional work for SLCC. The only reason most do this now is because they care about the students and want to see them benefit from the opportunity to take SLCC classes in the high school. Several other USHE institutions offer this benefit to CE instructors, but SLCC does not. I can provide additional information if this is something we can consider.

I think it is inequitable that adjunct faculty receive this benefit after a few months of part-time work, however part-time employees who often work more hours than adjunct faculty and whose positions are just as critical, have to put in two years of service before they are eligible for this benefit. The benefit should be the same for both types of part-time employees.

Please consider broadening the eligibility criteria for this benefit to include concurrent enrollment instructors who are teaching SLCC courses. Making concurrent enrollment faculty eligible for this benefit would be a great way to recognize and reward their service to the college. It would also be a great incentive to encourage them to keep teaching SLCC courses and to attract new CE instructors

I feel like we need to change the eligibility requirement for part time employees. It's difficult to retain part time employees for more than two years, which is when this benefit goes into effect for them. I would love to see the eligibility requirement be one year or after a six-month probationary period. Two years is just too long and inaccessible.

Also, B4 mentions retirees twice. It says: "Retirees and dependents of full-time employees and retirees..."

In reading the tuition benefits policy I have some questions.
1. In section 4.A referring to Eligibility. The policy exhibits a bias in eligibility criteria, favoring adjunct faculty and their dependent with the tuition waiver benefit for one class. However, part-time staff members face a two-year waiting period and are not given the opportunity to include a dependent. This discrepancy raises concerns about fairness and equal treatment within our organization.
To address this bias and create a more equitable policy, would the following changes make sense to implement?
a. Equalize eligibility criteria Revising the policy to extend the same benefits to all part-time staff members. This will eliminate the current disparity and promote equal opportunities.
b. Implement a consistent waiting period: Introduce a consistent waiting period for all employees before they become eligible for the tuition waiver benefit. This ensures fairness and equal treatment across the board.
2. In B.1 referring to special fees. It states "Tuition remission covers the full cost of tuition for all eligible individuals and must pay special fees, such as laboratory fees, course texts, and other expenses. Is one of these special fees the online fees?
3. In Section B.3 referring to credit allowance. Why are the full-time credits being dropped from 12 to 11?
4. In Section B.6 referring to Workforce Training & Continuing Education. Workforce Training & Education is what came up when performing a search for continuing education on our website. How/Where does Salt Lake Technical college fall for the benefit?

B. Benefit section
3. Full-time employees and board of trustee members may register for 11 credit hours per semester, and the college will tuition remission includes student fees. In the 2023-24 Benefits Summary it shows 12 credit hours per semester

4. Procedures
4. Part-time hourly employees are eligible after two years of consecutive employment. What is the reason for Part-time hourly employees have to wait two years and Adjunct Faculty member dependents are able to have this benefit after only teaching one semester eligible for summer tuition.

6. Workforce Training & Continuing Education I believe has a new name now. Plus what about the Salt Lake Tech is not mentioned?

1.Policy
1. Change “remission” to “waiver” or “reduction.”

3. Definitions
1. 3.A - Add the word “partial” before the word “reduction”
2. 3.A. - Why doesn’t the policy use the term “Tuition Waiver” instead of “Tuition Remission.” Waiver is more understandable than remission is to employees.
3. Consider adding definition for
a. Student Fees
b. Course Fees
c. Domestic Partners
d. Dependents

4. Procedures
A. Eligibility
1. 4.A.1 - Who are the dependents who are eligible? This should be itemized in the policy.
2. 4.A. - Make clear statement in policy that there is a Tuition Waiver for full-time employees, but not student fee or course fee waivers.
3. 4.A.3.a - In this section, it states “first semester or equivalent.” What does equivalent mean? This should be defined.
4. 4.A.3.a & 4.A.4 - There seems to be lack of equity between trigger for when waiver is received by adjunct faculty (one semester) versus part-time hourly employee (two years). Can the two years be reduced to six months?
5. 4.A.5 - Why are work student students prohibited from this benefit? Is this required by law?
6. 4.A.6 - In the Emeritus policy, it was recommended that there be Emeritus provision for employees of less than 10 years-service with the college. Is an Emeritus employee who served less than 10 years entitled to tuition waiver?
7. 4.A.7.b - What is a domestic partner? This needs to be defined. What if an employee has a polyamorous relationship or practices polygamy? Are all the partners entitled to tuition reduction and considered a dependent?
8. 4.A.7.b - On the PWC website, there is an Affidavit of Domestic Partner. This should be linked to this policy.
9. 4.A.7.c - If an employee who has a disabled child who is over 26 year of age, but who is still a dependent, can the disabled child qualify for tuition reduction?
B. Benefits
1. 4.B.1. - If both residents and non-residents are eligible for tuition remission, why do we need link to Utah residency requirement?
2. 4.B.1. - It states tuition remission “cover the full cost”, but the definition for Tuition remission states it is a “reduction or total waiver”. Why the difference? Should partial be added to 4.B.1?
3. 4.B. - Clearly state in the policy that eligibility for tuition remission does not authorize waiver of student fees or course fees.
4. 4.B.3 - Why does the policy change amount from 12 credit hours to 11 credit hours?
5. 4.B.3 - Do you mean to say with this sentence that the college will only waive tuition up to 11 credit hours per semester. If so, the policy should state that rather than having to infer it from the language.
6. 4.B.3 - Do full time employees get student and course fees automatically waived? The language “includes student fees” suggests this. If so, clearly state that student fees are waived.
7. 4.B.3 - This section addresses full time employees maximum credit benefits. Does same limit apply to their dependents? This is not clear.
8. 4.B.5 - This does not make sense. Most SLCC classes are three credit hours. Why can’t adjunct instructors and part-time staff obtain tuition waivers for two courses totaling six credit hours?
9. 4.B.6 - This is a confusing section. Workforce Training does not have consistency in how they waive tuition. Every program is an island to itself. Some programs provide 20% tuition reduction and others do not.
10. 4.B.6 – Why are these courses offered at only a discounted rate? The courses offered under these programs (Project Management, Positive Psychology, some of the computer-based courses, ect) are directly related to the work of staff and faculty. Offering benefits similar to the for-credit courses could improve and better our employees.
11. 4.B.6 – “Workforce Training And Continuing Education” is no longer what this department is titled. It is “Workforce Training and Education” and has been umbrellaed under Salt Lake Tech. General confusion over this section could be fixed by referring to the specific not-for-credit programs and/or courses.
12. 4.B.6 –General confusion over this section could be fixed by referring to the specific not-for-credit programs and/or courses that get the reduction.
13. 4.B.6.a. - The last sentence is “Workforce Training & Continuing Education sets minimum enrollment level.” This seems redundant with the previous sentence.
14. 4.B.6 - Should Workforce Training section be a separate policy?
C. Approval Process
1. 4.C.1. - Change link so it goes directly Tuition Reduction Form. Typically, this is approved in E-trieve form.
2. 4.C.2. - Applies more to hourly staff rather than salaried employees or faculty. There should be separate subsection on the approval process for salaried employees.
3. 4.C.2.b - Why can’t employees use a lunch break to take a class?
4. 4.C.3 - Why is this section in the policy? What kind of situation is this intended to address?