Proposal to Include Faculty Educational Benefits to Employees Blinda E. McClelland; Chair, Faculty Welfare Committee

Transcription

1 Proposal to Include Faculty Educational Benefits to Employees Blinda E. McClelland; Chair, Faculty Welfare Committee Currently at UT, Staff members can take 3 hours of courses per semester for tuition-waived credit. The Staff Educational Benefit (SEB) covers the cost of tuition for courses found in the University of Texas at Austin official course schedule and is available for use in the fall, spring and summer. The benefit applies to either: One eligible university undergraduate or graduate semester credit course regardless of the number of credit hours, or More than one semester credit course provided the combined number of course hours does not exceed three. (

2 There Are Restrictions: What the Staff Educa-onal Benefit Doesn't Cover Disserta(on courses with numbers ending in 99 Courses through the Division of Con(nuing Educa(on (including Extension Credit Courses) Courses through Execu(ve Educa(on Courses offered through Op(on III programs Your admissions applica(on fee. (You must pay the applica(on fee when you apply for admission. Fee waivers are available in certain circumstances. If an employee applies for admission and is not accepted, the fee will be refunded. For informa(on call the Office of Admissions at )

3 There Are Restrictions: What the Staff Educa-onal Benefit Doesn't Cover Cont. Online courses Op(onal fees such as Longhorn Sports and Cactus yearbook Audi(ng courses Reimbursement for previous semester's courses Courses at any other college or university Student services, such as the Counseling and Mental Health Center and University Health Services, excluding the Forty Acres Pharmacy

4 There Are Restrictions: What the Staff Educa-onal Benefit Doesn't Cover Cont. Costs associated with required vaccines for entering students are not covered by the SEB. Please see Required Vaccina(ons for more informa(on. Recrea(onal Sports membership - You must purchase a RecSports membership to access classes that meet at a RecSports facility (Gregory Gym and Aqua(c Complex, Caven Lacrosse and Sports Center at Clark Field, Whitaker Fields and Tennis Complex and the Recrea(onal Sports Center).

5 We Propose Extending This Benefit to Faculty Members Who Wish to Take Classes at the University Rationale: 1. Career Development. Rapidly advancing fields Emphasis on Interdisciplinary Studies Increased qualifications for grant awards Increased facility with data analysis and communication 2. Retention and Recruitment of faculty. UT is very much lagging in this benefit to faculty when compared to peer institutions (see following) 3. Personal Development.

6 Facts? Evidence? Data? Information?

7 Ten Largest Public University Campuses by Enrollment as of Fall Florida International University b[ ] Miami, Florida 50,396 yes yes 8 University of Florida b[ ] Gainesville, Florida 49,913 yes yes 9 Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan 48,906 yes yes 10 Pennsylvania State University University Park, Pennsylvania 45,351 yes yes SEB = Staff Educational Benefit FEB = Faculty Educational Benefit Rank University Location Enrollment SEB? FEB? 1 Arizona State University a[ ] Tempe, Arizona 60,169 yes yes 2 University of Central Florida b[ ] Orlando, Florida 60,048 yes yes 3 Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 56,387 yes yes 4 Texas A&M University b[ ] College Station, Texas 53,337 no no 5 University of Texas at Austin b[ ] Austin, Texas 52,186 yes no 6 University of Minnesota Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota 51,853 yes yes

8 US News and World Report Top National Public Universities (2012) College of William and Mary Williamsburg, Virginia yes yes Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia yes yes Pennsylvania State University University Park, Pennsylvania yes yes University of California Berkeley, California yes yes University of California Davis, California yes yes University of California Los Angeles, California yes yes University of California San Diego, California yes yes University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan yes yes University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina yes yes University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia yes yes University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas yes no

9 Can We Predict How Many Faculty Would Take Advantage of This Benefit? No, but we can provide a bit of information regarding UT Staff. The UT Accounts Receivable Department lists approximately 220 staff personnel taking courses in Fall This is 1% of the staff. By extension, 1% of the faculty (assuming 2,494 full time faculty of various ranks in 2010 which is information from the Office of Information Management and Analysis) would be 25 people.

10 What Would Be the Cost of This 3-Hour Tuition- Waiver Benefit? UT tuition for 3 hours ranges from $2,059 (Liberal Arts) to $2,366 (Business; but Executive Education courses are excluded from this benefit). QUESTIONS? Blinda E. McClelland mcclelland@austin.utexas.edu