August 5, 2005

Back-to-school: MGH employees benefit from tuition assistance

As September approaches, many MGH employees will return to school to advance their skills or pursue a college degree. Among the concerns of many returning students is how to finance their education.

As an advocate for career growth and education, the MGH aims to help employees who are current or aspiring students meet educational costs through its tuition assistance program. "Our program is an excellent resource for all employees of the MGH who desire to further their education," says Helen Witherspoon, program manager in the Human Resource's Training and Workforce Development Office, which administers the program.

For MGH employees like Virginia Hines, a part-time clinical investigator for the Department of Psychiatry's Gerontology Research Unit, this program helps ease the financial burden of pursuing an advanced degree. "I'm very appreciative and grateful to the MGH for helping me complete my education," she says. "With two of my children in college and one just having finished graduate school, every little bit helps."

Hines returned to school in 2000 to pursue a master's degree in counseling psychology. With funding from the tuition assistance program for the past five years, she graduated in May.
Hines at her graduation ceremony
at Lesley University

To be eligible for this program, employees must work at least 20 hours per week and have completed six months of continuous service at the time of application. Applicants must be enrolled in a basic education, certificate, undergraduate or master's degree program. Employees are reimbursed upon the successful completion of their course. Reimbursable expenses include tuition, academic and laboratory fees. Books, nonacademic fees and equipment are not reimbursable but may be covered under various MGH scholarship or grant programs.

The allotment of tuition reimbursement funds is dependent on the type of program the employee is enrolled in and his or her employment status. Full-time employees are eligible to receive up to $750 for certificate programs and $2,000 for degree programs. Applications for tuition assistance must be submitted prior to the first day of class. Employees are encouraged to submit applications well in advance to allow
sufficient time for processing of the request.

To apply, employees need to submit a completed application, copy of the official letter of acceptance into the program, course description and documentation indicating cost per credit from the current school catalog. To initiate the reimbursement process, employees must submit grades and proof of payment within 60 days upon completion of the course or semester.

Representatives from the Training Office will be available to answer questions about the program Aug. 10, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm near Coffee Central, and Aug. 16, from noon to 2 pm in the Employee Access Center, Clinics 117.

For more information or to download an application, visit http://is.partners.org/hr/New_Web/mgh/mgh_training.htm or send e-mail to mghtraining@partners.org.