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Staff Educational Benefit The BenefitThe Staff Educational Benefit (SEB) covers the cost of tuition and fees for either one eligible UT Austin 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. The benefit does not cover courses at any other college or university. The SEB does not cover the admissions application fee for an eligible employee admitted to the university. The employee must pay the application fee at the time of submitting the application, but fee waivers are available under certain circumstances. For information call the Office of Admissions at 512-475-7325. The coverage for tuition will be at the resident tuition rate. An employee registered as a non-resident student will pay the difference between resident and non-resident tuition. The SEB is available for the fall, spring, and summer semesters of each academic year. An employee who receives the SEB for undergraduate courses under flat rate tuition has access to Student Health Services, Recreational Sports, Gregory Gym, and other student services, such as the shuttle bus. An employee who receives the SEB for graduate courses does not have access to these student services. Optional fees such as Longhorn Sports, Cactus yearbook, etc., are not covered by the benefit. If an eligible employee selects an optional fee, he or she is responsible for payment. Covered Course WorkGenerally, the courses covered by the benefit are those found in the university's official Course Schedule. The benefit is intended to cover individual courses, not programs. Those courses NOT covered by the benefit include:
Other educational activities, such as continuing education conferences and seminars, are not covered by this benefit. Benefit EligibilityAn active UT Austin employee is eligible for the benefit if he or she has been appointed as a full-time (40 hour per week) employee for at least twelve (12) continuous months as of the first day of class of the semester and has been regularly admitted to the university as a degree-seeking or non degree-seeking student. Persons employed in 9- or 10-month positions should contact Human Resource Services at 512-471-HRSC (4772) for information on their eligibility. The benefit is not available to faculty or to students employed in positions that require student status as a condition of employment. To determine benefit eligibility for a specific semester, an employee can go to the SEB Eligibility Web page [UT EID required]. Applying for the Benefit for the Fall and SpringAn eligible employee admitted to the university and registered for a specific semester applies for the benefit online [UT EID required]. It is important to note that all registration and payment policies are enforced. Employees taking only courses covered by the SEB must confirm their attendance by the payment due date or their course(s) will be canceled. Attendance may be confirmed at the "My Tuition Bill" Web page [UT EID required]. Employees taking more courses than what is covered by the SEB are responsible for payment of their tuition and fee bill by the payment due date or all course(s) will be canceled. Employees registering for classes during Registration Access Period 1, and applying for the benefit prior to tuition and fee bills being created, will have a bill amount due reduced by the amount of the benefit. Employees registering after Registration Access Period 1 will need to have their tuition and fee bill recalculated, after applying for the benefit, by going to the "My Tuition Bill" Web page. Please consult a UT Course Schedule for registration access periods. Employees paying tuition and fee bills prior to applying for the benefit will receive a refund for the paid amount that is covered by the SEB. Refunds will be issued after the 12th class day. In all cases, an employee must apply for the benefit by 4:30 p.m. on the 12th class day of the semester for which the benefit is to be applied. However, employees are encouraged to apply for the benefit as soon as possible after registering for classes. Supervisory approval is not required for an eligible employee to apply for and receive the SEB. However, under Taking Course Work During the Workday, Policy Number 7.E.4 of the Revised Handbook of Operating Procedures, supervisory approval is required to take course work during the workday. For further information, please refer to the policy. Under current IRS regulations, the SEB is considered taxable income for an employee who applies the benefit to a graduate course. The employee will be responsible for payment of associated taxes. Graduate courses are taxed with regard to tuition (including Designated Tuition), laboratory fees, supplemental fees, course-related incidental fees, and non-course related incidental fees. Taxation amounts differ from student to student because of the variables, including the withholding instructions on the employee's PO-8 form. An employee who applies the SEB to an undergraduate course is not taxed. Applying for the Benefit for the SummerAn eligible employee admitted to the university and registered for a specific semester applies for the benefit online via the Eligibility Web page [UT EID required]. The employee will not select a course online to apply the benefit to for the Summer Session only. This process will be handled by Student Accounts Receivable. The employee must still go to the "My Tuition Bill" Web page, as described below, to confirm the fee bill. This should be done after one business day of applying for the benefit online. It is important to note that all registration and payment policies are enforced. Employees taking only courses covered by the SEB must confirm their attendance by the payment due date or their course(s) will be canceled. Attendance may be confirmed at the "My Tuition Bill" Web page [UT EID required]. Employees taking more courses than what are covered by the SEB are responsible for payment of their tuition and fee bill by the payment due date or all course(s) will be canceled. Employees registering for classes during Registration Access Period 1, and applying for the benefit prior to tuition and fee bills being created, will have a bill amount due reduced by the amount of the benefit. Employees registering after Registration Access Period 1 will need to have their tuition and fee bill recalculated, after applying for the benefit, by going to the"My Tuition Bill" Web page [UT EID required]. Please consult a UT Course Schedule for registration access periods. Employees paying tuition and fee bills prior to applying for the benefit will receive a refund for the paid amount that is covered by the SEB. Refunds will be issued after the 4th class day of the summer term for which the employee is registered. In all cases, an employee must apply for the benefit by 4:30 p.m. on the 4th class day of the second summer term. However, employees are encouraged to apply for the benefit as soon as possible after registering for classes. Supervisory approval is not required for an eligible employee to apply for and receive the SEB. However, under Taking Course Work During the Workday, Policy Number 7.E.4 of the Revised Handbook of Operating Procedures, supervisory approval is required to take course work during the workday. For further information, please refer to the policy. Under current IRS regulations, the SEB is considered taxable income for an employee who applies the benefit to a graduate course. The employee will be responsible for payment of associated taxes. Graduate courses are taxed with regard to tuition (including Designated Tuition), laboratory fees, supplemental fees, course-related incidental fees, and non-course related incidental fees. Taxation amounts differ from student to student because of the variables, including the withholding instructions on the employee's PO-8 form. An employee who applies the SEB to an undergraduate course is not taxed. Student Records UpdateIt is critical for employees who receive the SEB to ensure that their student records are up-to-date, especially their mailing and e-mail addresses. Student records are completely separate from employee records. Therefore, employees must update both records whenever changes occur. All correspondence related to the student accounting portion of the SEB is sent to the address in the student record files. Because student and employee records are separate, employees applying for admission to the university for the first time are automatically assigned a new EID. To ensure that the Office of Admissions has everything it needs when making individual admission decisions, employees who are assigned new EIDs when they apply for admission should visit the EID Self-Service Tools as soon as possible to combine their two EIDs. Frequently Asked QuestionsWhen was the SEB first effective? The benefit was effective beginning with the fall 2000 semester. Does the course work covered by the benefit have to be related to an employee's job? No, an employee can register for any course that can be covered by the benefit for which he or she meets any prerequisites. Is the admissions application fee refunded for an employee who applies for admission but is not accepted? If an employee applies for admission, pays the application fee, and is not accepted, the fee will be refunded. For information call the Office of Admissions at 512-475-7325. Does the SEB apply to an employee who just wants to audit a course? This benefit does not apply to an employee who chooses to audit a course. When can an employee take a course during the summer session and utilize the SEB? SEB covered course work can be taken during either the 12 week summer session, the 9 week summer session, or one of the 6 week summer terms. If an employee is taking two courses, one of which is covered by the SEB, what does the employee pay for the second course? The employee pays all tuition and fees for the second course not covered by the benefit, just as if that were the only course for which the employee was registered. In the future can an eligible employee request reimbursement for previous semesters? No, reimbursements are not issued for previous semesters. Is prior approval from an eligible employee's supervisor required for the employee to take a course during the employee's workday? The supervisor's prior approval is required if the employee wants to take course work during the employee's normal workday. Refer to Taking Course Work During the Workday, Policy Number 7.E.4 of the Revised Handbook of Operating Procedures. Can an eligible employee who applies for and receives the SEB get a student ID card? Under the benefit, an employee is not eligible for a student ID card. If an employee applies for the SEB for both a graduate and undergraduate course in the same semester, what part of the benefit is taxable? The entire benefit is considered graduate and is therefore appropriately taxed. If a FLSA non-exempt employee is taking a course during the workday with prior approval by the supervisor, is the time in class considered work time for purposes of determining overtime? Yes, the time spent in class, as well as reasonable travel time, is counted as hours worked when determining if the employee receives overtime for a given work week. Need More Information?For more information on the Staff Educational Benefit, please contact HRS Benefit Services at 512-471-HRSC (4772). |
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