Kansas State University values continuing education for its employees and provides tuition assistance for classes taken through Kansas State University. The Tuition Assistance Program is available to full-time, benefits eligible employees.
An additional program is the President's Scholarship for Classified Employees. See Section .040
To receive tuition assistance, university employees must submit an Application for Tuition Assistance (pdf) to the Office of Student Financial Assistance before the start of each semester. Payment of tuition for one undergraduate or graduate course, up to three hours, is permitted for each Fall, Spring and Summer semesters. The application requires the employee's and department head's signatures. Classes may be taken through the Manhattan or Salina campus.
Tuition assistance pays for tuition only; fees and other associated costs are the responsibility of the employee.
Work release is not part of the program; time away from work for classes is up to agreements made with the supervisor and department head.
In 1989 Kansas State University created the President's Scholarship for Classified Employees. It is a one academic year scholarship granted to an outstanding classified employee to be used toward completion of an undergraduate or graduate degree at Kansas State University. The degree may be in any discipline offered by the University and does not need to be related to the employee's current job. The scholarship may be awarded to one employee taking classes on a full-time basis or to multiple employees taking classes on a part-time basis. The scholarship includes tuition and fees for either full or part-time enrollment.
An employee awarded a President's Scholarship may not receive a scholarship award under the Tuition Assistance Program during the same semester(s) that the President's Scholarship is in effect.
Employee Eligibility -
applicant must be a regular full-time classified employee at Kansas State University (including local agency) for a minimum of three years with the last year being in continuous service.
applicant must have a current (within the past twelve months) performance evaluation of at least satisfactory.
applicant must be at least a Sophomore undergraduate student.
applicant must have a 3.0 grade point average.
Course Eligibility - Approved courses include those undergraduate and graduate courses offered by Kansas State University regardless of location of the instruction.
Criteria for Selection -
course of study must be with Kansas State University in a degree discipline offered by the University.
preference will be given to any work-related degree program but this is not a requirement.
involvement in University and community activities.
outstanding achievement on the job or in class work.
Release Time for Class Work - Employees awarded a President's Scholarship are eligible for up to nine months leave without pay from their current job duties but may work whatever schedule is satisfactory to both the employee and the department while attending classes as long as it conforms to Fair Labor Standards Act provisions. A less than full-time appointment would require a corresponding decrease in compensation. The time away from work is required to be made up by the employee or the employee may use accrued vacation leave, compensatory time, be on leave without pay (LWOP), or any combination thereof.
Application and Review Process - Application for the President's Scholarship is made on a PER-32-A Application for President's Scholarship for Classified Employees (PDF) form. The Tuition and Educational Assistance Committee shall review the application and supporting documents and forward a recommendation to the Vice President for Administration and Finance who is the approving authority. The application form is to be submitted to the Division of Human Resources by April 15 each year for the next academic year.
The following documents must accompany the application form:
a statement from the employee regarding degree/career goals and if it will be a direct benefit to Kansas State University.
a listing of involvement in University and community activities.
up to three letters of recommendation including:
the employee's supervisor or department head,
the employee's academic advisor indicating the feasibility of completing a degree or one from an instructor who is knowledgeable of the employee's academic ability, and
anyone of the employee's choice.
current transcript for any post-secondary course work.
The application form requires the approval of both the employee's supervisor and department head. Such approvals constitute agreement by the supervisor and department head as to the provisions of the President's Scholarship program.
Employee Agreement - Acceptance of a President's Scholarship by an employee means that the employee agrees to the following stipulations:
the employee is responsible for meeting all criteria for admission to the college or university, degree program and/or courses of study for which they have been approved and to pay any related admission costs.
the employee agrees to work for Kansas State University at least one full year in a regular position following the end of the scholarship or repay the scholarship in full.
the employee agrees to remit to Kansas State University any monies returned to them as a result of withdrawing from the course of study.
the employee agrees to provide a grade report to the Division of Human Resources upon completion of the course(s) paid for by the President's Scholarship.
the employee agrees that they cannot be selected for the President's Scholarship more than once.
Appeal - There is no appeal to the Tuition and Educational Assistance Committee recommendation or the approving authority's decision.
Spouses and dependents of full-time employees (at least .9 FTE) are eligible for the Spouse/Dependent Grant. Employees are not eligible to receive tuition assistance from the Spouse/Dependent Grant. Information is available at the K-State Spouse/Dependent Grant website.
Questions on the application and submission guidelines for tuition assistance should be directed to Student Financial Assistance at 785-532-6420 or email finaid@k-state.edu For other questions, please call the Division of Human Resources at 785-532-6277 or email benadmin@ksu.edu
