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CITY OF SALEM EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE POLICY MANAGEMENT AND NON-UNION EMPLOYEES POLICY It is the policy of the City of Salem to provide educational assistance to its management and non-union employees in accordance with the guidelines established below. GUIDELINES 1) Employees eligible for educational assistance must have regular full-time status, at least one year of full time service, and hold a management or non-union position within City Ordinance Chapter 2, Section 2- 93. 2) Eligible employees may be reimbursed for courses of study which the City determines are directly related to the employee’s present position or which will enhance the employee’s potential for advancement to a position within the City and to which the person has a reasonable expectation of advancing. Employees will be reimbursed for courses or classes related to their position of employment with the City. Employees will be reimbursed for courses leading to an Associates, Baccalaureate, Masters, or Law Degree. 3) Employees seeking educational assistance under this Policy must submit a request in writing to the Human Resources Director. Such request must include a letter of recommendation from the employee’s Department Head. 4) The Human Resources Director will review each request with the Mayor. Following approval, the Human Resources Director will notify the employee of the decision. 5) Reimbursement shall be no more than 50% of the cost of tuition, not to exceed $1500.00 per fiscal year per employee. Employees must receive and provide verification of a passing grade in order to be reimbursed. 6) All reimbursements are subject to the availability of funding. A budget will be established at the beginning of each fiscal year. 7) Employees seeking reimbursement for tuition expenses must submit to the Human Resources Director a certified transcript of their grades and receipt of the expenses incurred. The Human Resources Department will then reimburse the employee 50% of the cost of tuition. 8) Employees who are terminated during the course of enrollment because of a reduction in force or job elimination, or who are unable to complete an approved course because of a transfer within the City, will be reimbursed 50% of the costs incurred up to the date of transfer or termination. Employees who, prior to completing an approved course, voluntarily leave employment with the City or who are terminated for reasons other than those listed above will not be reimbursed for expenses associated with the course. 9) Employees seeking reimbursement for educational expenses must agree in writing to repay the City in full if they leave the City voluntarily or are terminated within one year from the date of reimbursement. 10) Employees are expected to schedule class attendance and completion of course assignments outside of their regular work hours, unless such scheduling is not possible. In those cases where the ---PAGE BREAK--- scheduling of the class conflicts with regular work hours, approval for such course shall be required from the Mayor. 11) Records of all educational programs completed by and reimbursed to employees will be maintained in the Human Resources Office. Adopted 2015. Reviewed by HR/1.2019