Employee Resources - Education and Assistance

DANGER: IGNORING THIS INFORMATION IS EXPENSIVE!!

Please familiarize yourself with these Tuition Assistance program policies and procedures including the deadlines to avoid being responsible for payment of full amount of tuition and fees

TUITION ASSISTANCE INFORMATION FOR ACTIVE EMPLOYEES


Tuition Assistance ETAP/PDA – For full-time active UAW represented hourly employees who have acquired seniority (3 consecutive months of employment).

Education Tuition Assistance Plan (ETAP) provides for prepayment of tuition and approved fees up to $6,000* per calendar year for approved courses leading to a GED, Associate Degree, Bachelor Degree, Master Degree, PhD and approved certificate/diploma programs from regionally accredited educational institutions. Also included are fees for prior learning assessment, CLEP Testing, and licensing fees.

· IMPORTANT DEADLINE – Applications must be submitted no later than 45 days after term start date. Failure to do so will result in employee being responsible for full amount of tuition and fees. Applications may be submitted as early as 60 days prior to term start.

· Not all schools and courses are approved therefore, it is strongly recommended to submit an application for ETAP in advance to make sure selected school and course(s) are approved.

· Not all fees are covered by tuition assistance. Fees that are not approved are the responsibility of the employee.

· ETAP will cover the approved tuition and fees of each approved class only once. Subsequent applications for the same class at a later date or at another institution will be rejected.

· When your application is approved, a voucher will be issued. The voucher is used by you as payment for your class when you register or when the school requires payment. See Vouchers section below for instructions for voucher use.

· Do not pay for classes prior to requesting ETAP. There is no option for tuition reimbursement. Tuition reimbursement is only available at approved schools that are documented as not accepting our vouchers. This is very rare. Call the tuition assistance office for assistance. Applications must be submitted within 45 days of term start date. Preapproval of courses is strongly recommended.

*Approved tuition assistance amounts over $5,250 per year is subject to applicable State and Federal taxes.

Book Reimbursement – Up to $400 (of the $6,000) per year may be used for book reimbursement. Includes E- Books, book rental, and books purchased through on-line retailers and applicable shipping costs.

· Apply for book reimbursement on www.myuawford.com .

· Original receipt of book purchase/rental must be included with application for book reimbursement.

· Employee must write their name across book receipt if receipt does not already contain employee’s name.

· Employee must be registered and attending the course that book reimbursement is requested for.

· IMPORTANT DEADLINE – Book reimbursement applications must be submitted after the school’s drop date, but no later than 90 days after class start date.

Personal Development Assistance (PDA) – The PDA feature of the Employee Tuition Plan provides for prepayment of tuition and approved fees up to $2,700 (of the $6,000) for classes that improve or enhance a member’s position in the workplace.

· Includes classes such as: labor studies, public speaking, communication, professional development, computer classes and job related technical skills courses including testing and licensing fees. On-line PDA may be approved.

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· Up to $500 of the $2,700 can be used for educational enrichment courses at regionally accredited colleges and universities and government agencies. These are courses that peak a members interest in learning and allow for career and educational exploration. Hobby and sports classes are excluded.

· Books and certain fees are covered.

· IMPORTANT DEADLINE – Classes must be approved prior to class start date. It is strongly recommended applications be submitted 30 days before class start date.

· Once classes are approved a voucher will be issued. You must submit your approved voucher to the provider prior to, but no later than, the first day of class, based on the school requirements. See voucher section below for instructions for voucher use.

· Employee cannot start class without an approved Official Tuition Voucher.

How to apply:

· You can apply on-line at www.myuawford.com. Application processing time is 2-3 business days.

OR

· You can fill out an application and mail it to the UAW-Ford National Programs Center (NPC). Applications are available through your local ESSP/Education Representative or they can be downloaded and printed from www.uawford.org/edtp/etap. Application processing time is 2-3 weeks.

Vouchers Once classes are approved, an Official Tuition Voucher will be issued to the employee.

· Vouchers will be ready within 2-3 business days for applications submitted online.

· Employees who have opted to receive communications from the system will receive a text message and/or e-mail stating that their application is approved.

· We are in the process of transitioning to electronic billing. If your school has been set up for electronic vouchers, you will be prompted to release the voucher to your school electronically when you log in to the system to review your voucher.

· Vouchers will be mailed to employee within 2-3 weeks for applications submitted by mail.

· Employee is responsible for submitting the voucher to the school by payment due date.

· Employee is responsible for following up with the school to verify that the school has sent an invoice to the National Programs Center Tuition Assistance Department, and that we have paid the invoice.

· IMPORTANT DEADLINE - Official Tuition Vouchers must be received by the National Programs Center Tuition Assistance Department from the school no later than 9 months from term start date. After 9 months payment will become the responsibility of the employee.

Important Deadlines

· ETAP applications must be submitted no later than 45 days after term start date. Failure to do so will result in employee being responsible for full amount of tuition and fees. Applications may be submitted as early as 60 days prior to term start.

· Book reimbursement applications must be submitted after the schools drop/add date and no later than 90 days after term start date.

· PDA applications must be approved prior to class/term start date. It is strongly recommended applications be submitted 30 days before class/term start date.

· The employee must ensure that the Official Tuition Vouchers was received or billed electronically to the Tuition Assistance Department from the school with their invoice, no later than 9 months after term start date. After 9 months payment will become the responsibility of the employee.


For questions, contact the tuition assistance office by calling (800)-367-3829 or (313) 392-7162. Questions can also be sent via e-mail at edtp@uawford.com

 

Use your tuition assistance benefits to take online six Sigma Classes



Interested?


1. Find a school/program that fits your schedule.


2. Apply for your tuition assistance benefits (PDA) at myuawford.com at least 2 weeks in advance.


3. Once your application has been approved, print out your tuition voucher.


4. Register for the class at the school and use your tuition voucher to pay up to $2,200 of the tuition cost. Do not prepay tuition.


Questi ons ?


Call Jay at (313) 392-7162 or call your Local ESSP/Education Rep. Tanya at (440) 933-1423