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Staff Educational Benefit
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- Eligibility*
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- My Tuition Bill*
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- *EID Required
Overview
The Staff Educational Benefit (SEB) covers the cost of tuition for courses found in the University of Texas at Austin official course schedule. This 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.
Tuition is paid at the resident tuition rate. If you register at the non-resident rate, you pay the difference. The course does not have to be related to your job.
If you receive the SEB under flat-rate tuition, you have access to Student Health Services, Recreational Sports services and other student services (you're not eligible for a student ID).
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Staff Educational Benefit, you must:
- be an active university employee (the SEB isn't available to faculty or to students employed in positions that require student status as a condition of employment.)
- be appointed full-time (40 hours a week)
If you're in a regular position that that doesn't continue for 12 months you may be eligible on an exception basis (e.g. elementary teacher, University Health Services). If you're in such a position you can contact the Human Resource Service Center at 471-HRSC (4772) to request an exception.
- have been employed as a full-time employee for at least 12 continuous months as of the first day of class
- have been regularly admitted to the university as a degree-seeking or non-degree-seeking student
To determine your benefit eligibility for a specific semester, go to SEB Eligibility [EID required].
Applying for and using the SEB
If you've been admitted to the university and have registered for a specific semester, apply for the benefit online [EID required].
You don't need your supervisor's approval to apply for or receive the SEB. You do need your supervisor's approval to take classes during the workday. For further information, please refer to the Revised Handbook of Operating Procedures, 7.E.4, Taking Coursework During the Workday Policy .
What the Staff Educational Benefit Doesn't Cover
- Dissertation courses with numbers ending in 99
- Courses through the Division of Continuing Education (including Extension Credit Courses)
- Courses through Executive Education
- Courses offered through Option III programs
- Your admissions application fee.(You must pay the application fee when you apply for admission. Fee waivers are available in certain circumstances. For information call the Office of Admissions at 512-475-7325.)
- Online courses
- Optional fees such as Longhorn Sports and Cactus yearbook
- Auditing courses
- Reimbursement for previous semester's courses
- Courses at any other college or university
Confirming The Tuition Bill
You must confirm the tuition bill, even when all courses will be covered in full by the Staff Educational Benefit. If your attendance is not confirmed on the My Tuition Bill page by the due date, your course(s) will be canceled. If you're taking additional courses that aren't covered by the SEB you have to pay their tuition bill by the due date or all of your courses will be canceled.
Possible Additional Taxes
Under current IRS regulations, the SEB is considered taxable income if you apply the benefit to a graduate course. You're responsible for paying these taxes. Tax amounts differ from student to student due to different situations, including the withholding instructions listed in your "My Paycheck Profile." SEB payments for undergraduate courses aren't taxed but if you apply the SEB to both grad and undergrad courses then all of the benefit is taxable.
Summer Session
Employees requesting the SEB for summer session courses must apply for the benefit by 4:30 p.m. on the fourth class day of the second summer term. The shortened schedule for enrollment and tuition payment deadlines in the summer sessions means you might pay your tuition and fee bill before applying for the SEB. In this case, you'll receive a refund for the amount that's covered by the SEB. Refunds will be issued after the fourth class day of the summer term for which you're registered.
Student Records Update
Student records are separate from employee records. Ensure that your student records, especially mailing and e-mail addresses, are up-to-date. All correspondence related to the student accounting portion of the SEB is sent to your student record address.
Because your records are separate, when you apply for admission to the university for the first time you're automatically assigned a new EID. To make sure that the Office of Admissions has everything it needs when making decisions, you should visit the EID Self-Service Tools as soon as possible to combine your two EIDs.
