Inside Iowa State
October 20, 2000
P&S tuition grants roll on
by Anne Krapfl
A tuition reimbursement program that
pays for one course per semester for Professional and
Scientific applicants silently entered its fourth year this
fall. While formally beyond the "pilot" stage, the program
remains on a one-year renewal schedule.
George Covert, chair of the P&S Professional Development Committee, said that 100 to 120 P&S staff members use the program during fall and spring semester; a little fewer during summer school. With that relatively small pool, he said the grant amount awarded during any semester varies enough that it's difficult to decide on a permanent funding level for the program. The $98,838 currently in the program is funded cooperatively by the offices of the president, provost and vice president for business and finance. The latter two also cover any shortfalls when program demand exceeds the budgeted amount.
(The program used to have about $58,000 in funds and awarded grants that paid for part of the cost of a class.)
"The two sources of great variation in this program are the number of people who apply, and the number who succeed and then ask for reimbursement," Covert said. "For example, for reasons we don't completely know, we had a lower completion rate among applicants this summer. In a group of this size, 10 makes a big difference."
Professional development funds tapped out
Covert said another program his committee administers, the
professional development grant program, is out of funds for
the year.
The $5,000 program awards grants, up to $400, to P&S employees who need assistance to pay for conferences and other professional development efforts. He said the old practice was to allot money for fall and spring semesters. But often the committee wound up funding spring requests that were "less meritorious" than fall semester requests that had been turned down due to funding limits. Now committee members review applications as they come in and make awards until funds run out.
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