Carnegie Institution for Science encourages employees to further their education by providing reimbursement for a portion of undergraduate or graduate degree school expenses.
Eligibility
To be eligible to participate in the educational assistance program you must meet the following criteria:
- Employee is classified as working full-time.
- Employees are eligible to participate in the Educational Assistance Plan on the first month after one year of benefits-eligible service.
- Employee is on good standing with the institution and does not have any active corrective actions/disciplines.
Criteria
- Course work must meet requirements for an associate, bachelor’s or master’s degree.
- School must be accredited by agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
- Completion of course must be verified with a grade of “C” or better.
- Applicability of the degree to the job and/or future positions in the Institution.
- Potential of continued employment with the Institution.
- Statement from the employee regarding purpose, intentions and personal commitment.
Reimbursement
- The Institution will reimburse up to 75% of tuition.
- The Institution will reimburse up to 100% of books.
- This benefit does not cover application fees, room and board charges, laboratory fees, activity fees other special fees charged for particular courses or programs and any other incidental fees.
Reimbursement Criteria
- Carnegie pays 75% up to $5,000 per fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) of tuition for courses taken toward a first two-year or four-year undergraduate or graduate degree at regionally accredited colleges or universities.
- Each fiscal year, you can receive reimbursement for up to six courses, but no more than two courses per semester.
- The lifetime maximum benefit is $20,000.
- Certificate classes are not eligible for reimbursement.
- All required documentation must be provided with the application.
- Classes should be scheduled to not interfere with normally scheduled working hours.
- The employee must assume some financial responsibility.
- Employee remains in good standing with the Institution and does not receive any active corrective actions/disciplines.
- If employee terminates employment with Carnegie within one year of receiving educational assistance funds, the employee is required to return the amount of the educational assistance received.
Applying for Reimbursement
- Applications must be submitted each semester/quarter.
- Applications must be submitted with the following:
- Proof of payment for approved reimbursable expenses (tuition and books) must accompany the application.
- Proof of completion of the course with a grade of “C” or better for undergraduate courses, and a grade of "B" or better for graduate courses.
- Reimbursement will be issued after completion of classes with proof of grade.
- Employee Educational Assistance Applications should be sent to the Human Resources at hr@carnegiescience.edu. It may take up to three weeks to process your tuition request.
- The benefit covers tuition and book expenses only.
Taxation on Reimbursed Expenses
Reimbursements up to $5,250 in a calendar year (January 1–December 31) are treated as nontaxable income by the IRS. This Plan is administered based on Carnegie’s fiscal year (July 1–June 30), it may be possible to receive more than $5,250 in a calendar year. When this occurs, any reimbursements exceeding $5,250 in the calendar year is taxable income.