Compensation for Non-faculty Employees Receiving Advanced Education (Procedure 2.1310)

Authority:	F.S. 1001.64, 1001.65
Effective Date:	03/2013
Date of Review:	08/16
Date of Revision:	11/16
Related Policy:	2.131

Purpose

Seminole State College values knowledge and encourages employees to pursue advanced education. An incentive increase in base salary will be paid to regular full-time, non-faculty employees who acquire advanced education while employed at Seminole State College. This procedure defines “advanced education” and describes the application and pre-approval process; submission of evidence and final review; and base salary increase for full-time, non-faculty employees who receive advanced education while employed at the College.

Definitions

For the purposes of this procedure, advanced education is defined as an associate degree or the completion of 60 credits matriculated toward a specified bachelor's degree (certified by the attending institution as fulfilling general education and all other requirements for an associate degree); bachelor's degree; master's degree; or earned doctoral degree. The degree must be:

• higher than the degree currently held by the employee, and exceeding the minimum requirements of the position, and
• conferred upon the employee during the course of the person’s employment at the College, and
• conferred by a regionally/nationally accredited institution recognized in the most recent publication of the Higher Education Directory or the current year’s Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) Directory of Recognized Organizations, and
• related to the business of the College.

Procedure

Application and Pre-Approval Process

1. The employee must be in a full-time, non-faculty position at Seminole State College.
2. Any eligible employee may initiate an application by completing the appropriate sections of the Request for Advanced Education Form, and submitting it through supervisory channels to the Office of Human Resources.
3. The applicant’s immediate and next level supervisors at each level below Executive Vice President will review the application and recommend approval or disapproval.
   1. A supervisor's approval means that: (1) both the applicant and the applicant’s desired program of study meet the criteria set forth in this procedure; (2) the supervisor supports the applicant's request for participating in the program; (3) the supervisor certifies that the applicant’s proposed program of study will not interfere with their work schedule and assigned duties; and (4) the supervisor recommends approval of the request.
   2. When a supervisor does not approve an application, the supervisor will notify the applicant of the reason in writing. The applicant will be given an opportunity to review the matter with that supervisor and may appeal the decision to the Executive Vice President, whose decision will be final. The supervisor will send a copy of the document to the Office of Human Resources where it will be retained in the employee’s personnel file.
4. The immediate supervisor will send the completed, approved application to the Office of Human Resources. Upon receipt, Human Resources will send a Notice of Acceptance to the employee, copied to the supervisor(s). The approved application and notice will be retained in the employee’s personnel file.
5. Employees who change their program of study must resubmit their application.
6. Employees currently taking courses to earn an advanced education will have ninety (90) days from the date this procedure is approved to submit a proposed program of study.

Submission of Evidence and Final Review

1. Once the advanced education is earned, the employee must submit evidence of completion to the Office of Human Resources. Such evidence shall consist of certified official transcripts provided in hard copy (non-electronic) format. Certified transcripts will be added to the employee’s personnel file.

Base Salary Increase

1. Employees may receive only one award for each degree level during the course of their employment at the College, and the degree must be higher than the current one held. The payment structure for attainment of advanced education is as follows:
   1. Associate Degree $600
      (certified by the attending institution as fulfilling general education and all other requirements for an associates degree)
   2. Bachelor's Degree $1,200
   3. Master's Degree $1,800
   4. Earned Doctorate or Terminal Degree $2,400
2. Any change in base pay, as a result of this procedure, will not be subject to enforced pay-range maximums.
3. The change in salary will be made effective the first day of the pay period following the date the required documentation was received in the Office of Human Resources.

Miscellaneous

1. An employee's decision to pursue a specific career path to prepare for a future position by earning an advanced education does not entitle the employee to ongoing employment, a specific position, promotion, etc.
2. The President is authorized to approve advanced education, advanced courses, or other courses of study, not specifically identified in this procedure, that are deemed beneficial to the college and the employee.
3. The President may make exceptions to the guidelines in this procedure on a case-by-case basis.

Recommended By	Executive Team	Date	11/15/2016
Signed by	President, E. Ann McGee	Date	12/6/2016