TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY
TWU HUMAN RESOURCES OPERATING POLICY

 50.13

SUBJECT:               Employees Enrolling for TWU Courses

DATE PASSED:        May 6, 1999

DATE REVIEWED:    March 1, 2004

REVIEW NEXT BY:   March, 2009

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Texas Woman’s University Policy is to encourage faculty and staff to pursue professional development and improve skills by enrolling in courses at Texas Woman’s University.

POLICY

• Employees are encouraged to attend classes outside regular working hours.  Employees may be granted time off from work to attend classes during regular working hours provided the time off is not in excess of three (3) hours per week and the employee’s absence does not adversely affect the operation of the employing department, unit or division.  Attending classes during work hours must be approved in advance and in writing by the appropriate Department official/supervisor.  The employee and supervisor will be accountable for the appropriate compliance with this policy.

• Faculty and staff employees eligible for admission to TWU may, upon acceptance to the academic program, enroll in courses for credit at TWU.  Audit of a class is subject to usual academic acceptance procedures described in the University catalog.  Faculty who enroll in courses for credit are subject to the policy, “Faculty Enrollment for University Studies”, described in the Faculty Handbook.

• A full-time regular faculty or staff member is defined as one who is employed to work 40 hours per week and who is enrolled in either the Teacher Retirement system or Optional Retirement Programs (this includes 9 month 100% employees).  In clarification, only full-time, regular staff members are eligible to attend classes during working hours.

• Time off work to attend class must be approved in advance, and in writing, by the department official/supervisor who has the authority to approve absence from work.  The department official/supervisor who has this authority is the head of the department unless otherwise designated by the appropriate Vice President or the President and Chancellor.  Classified/Non-Exempt  employees must  report time off from work to attend class on the employee’s time sheet.  Class time will not be included in the calculation of overtime or comp time.

• An employee may enroll for up to 3-hours in course per semester at TWU (including three hours total in the summer) to be taken during the working day.  Only three (3) working hours per week may be taken for class time per semester including summer.  For Classified/Non-Exempt employees any hours over three working hours must be applied to vacation or compensatory time.

• The privilege of taking TWU classes during the workday is subject to the approval of the department official/supervisor.  Because of University staffing requirements and heavy workloads, employees may not be able to enroll in course work each semester.  A full-time employee may take a maximum of three hours off per work-week to attend a TWU class and will be required to make up the time away from the work station.  Where two employees within a department desire the same time off for class, the individual with the most seniority will be selected if only one employee can be permitted to be away from the department.

• Enrollment in courses during off-duty hours is at the option of the employee, as long as course loads do not interfere with job responsibilities and performance.

• Employees may not work on homework for courses during work hours.

PROCEDURES

• The faculty or staff member should obtain appropriate approvals, in writing, prior to enrolling in a class to be taken during regular working hours.  The supervisor and/or department official may approve the request to attend class during working hours, provided the absence does not effect the efficient operation of the department.

• The faculty or staff member contacts the Admissions Office before the deadline date to apply for admission to the University to enroll in a course(s) for credit at TWU.  For permission to audit courses consult the University catalog.

• The employee will be liable for payment of tuition and fees.  If the faculty or staff member fails to pay the required tuition and fees, they will be administratively withdrawn from the course(s).

• For information regarding this policy contact the TWU Office of Human Resources (OHR).

APPROVALS:

Policy Review:              Associate Vice President of Human Resources    

Approved:                    Vice President for Finance and Administration