Queen’s has made its first update to the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), expanding support for employee learning and development.
The two-decade-old TAP is an employer-paid benefit provided by the University designed to support the professional and educational development of Queen’s employees. As of Sept. 1, TAP now includes non-credit courses offered through the Faculty of Education in an effort to broaden who is eligible for the TAP benefit. The updates also raise the Professional Development Fund’s reimbursement cap from $400 to $600.
The expansion follows feedback collected from the Employee Experience Survey and the most recent union negotiations with CUPE 229, 254, 1302 and USW Local 2010.
In an interview with The Journal Katie Ramoutar, director of organizational development and learning in Queen’s Human Resources, spoke to help break down this expansion and what it means for Queen’s students and employees.
Ramoutar distinguished the two funding streams that go into TAP.
“The first one’s the Educational Development Fund, and that’s probably the most popular one […] that fund waives tuition for credit programming at Queen’s for those eligible employees,” Ramoutar said. “The second fund is called the Professional Development Fund, and that fund reimburses employees for studying at eligible institutions outside of Queen’s.”
Ramoutar further explained that Employees are eligible if they’ve completed one year of continuous employment at Queen’s and are holding a position dedicated to 16 hours a week or more. Ramoutar confirmed that TAP is open to “contract employees, continuing term employees, members of the CUPE bargaining units, as well as USW bargaining units, academic staff, and adjunct academic staff with renewable appointments.”
TAP is distinct from the Tuition Support Program, a separate benefit for the dependents of Queen’s employees. While the Tuition Support Program helps fund education for children and spouses, TAP is focused exclusively on supporting employees in their own learning.
“This expansion shows that we’re thinking hard about how employees want to develop and grow in their careers,” Ramoutar said.
According to Ramoutar, the goal of the expansion, particularly the addition of more non-credit courses, is to make TAP more accessible to a broader range of employees, especially those who may not have considered it relevant before because they weren’t pursuing an undergraduate degree.
Ramoutar said the new changes to TAP came after identifying a gap between the existing program and the types of learning Queen’s employees were seeking.
“This expansion really responds to employees looking at different methodologies and modalities for learning beyond our traditional degree-granting programs,” she said.
Under the updated benefit, tuition waivers continue to cover up to the cost of five undergraduate Arts and Science courses annually, currently valued at $6,183.10 according to Ramoutar. She explained that most recipients pursue their studies part-time while continuing to work at Queen’s.
The current academic year will serve as an evaluation period, with Human Resources monitoring participation in non-credit offerings throughout the calendar year.
Tags
Staff, TAP, University, university employee
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