Alyssa Thompson

Kharmyn Williams

Rachna Karnik

Pat Daniels

The Classified Staff Professional Development Funds exist to support permanent classified staff with their educational goals and building on knowledge and skills.

The current annual funds total $30,000.

Requests for funds are reviewed by the Classified Staff Training Committee for approval.

Permanent classified staff are eligible to receive tuition assistance up to $1,000 per quarter for Fall, Winter and Spring quarters.  Summer quarter does not qualify for tuition assistance.

The assistance is provided as a reimbursement of up to 50% of the staff member’s out-of-pocket expenses for tuition and fees.   Examples:  If your cost for tuition and fees for coursework towards a degree during Winter quarter amount to $1,800; then you would be eligible to receive $900.00 reimbursement after the completion of the course.
If your cost for tuition and fees for Winter quarter is $3,000; you are eligible for reimbursement of $1,000 (maximum per quarter).

Amounts covered by your department or other funding sources such as financial aid or scholarships do not apply, however amounts paid by student loan are considered “out-of-pocket”.

In order to be eligible, the staff member must submit a request, providing basic information and estimated costs on the request form.

Once the courses have been completed, the staff member must submit additional documentation showing proof of payment and proof of participation.

Students attending semester programs are eligible to receive up to $1500 per semester, totaling no more than $3,000 for the academic year.

Applications for the Classified Staff Training Funds are accepted using the form linked below.  Once the committee has reviewed the requests, an award notification will be sent to applicants.

In the case of limited funding, how applicable the degree or certificate is to the applicants work at Highline College will be taken into consideration.

Tuition reimbursement is limited to no more than 50% of the cost of tuition and fees paid by the employee. Required course materials are reimbursable up to 100% of the cost. Receipts (proof of payment) and course completion (proof of attendance) are required for reimbursement.

Eligible classified employees are required to submit for reimbursement at the end of each quarter or semester following the posting of their final grades. When submitting for reimbursement, please send your proof of payment (receipts) and proof of attendance (eg: unofficial transcripts) to the Classified Staff Training Committee at cstc@highline.edu.  An Expense Report will be submitted on your behalf to process your reimbursement.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All reimbursement requests must be processed prior to the close of the fiscal year. Requests received after the designated date in June will not be eligible for reimbursement. It is the responsibility of the award recipient to submit all applicable documentation to the Classified Staff Training Committee (cstc@highline.edu) in advance of the deadline with enough time for processing. Exceptions to this deadline will not be made.

Funding is also available for both in-person and virtual education opportunities such as conferences, workshops, non-credit courses, and training.

Trainings and conferences can be attended year-round, provided there are ample funds to cover tuition assistance requests.

Once approved by the committee, trainings and conference registrations can be covered prior to the event via department p-card (preferred) or by submitting a requisition.  These registration/training fees are covered at 100 %, but will count towards the maximum amounts per quarter/year.

The funds do not cover travel expenses.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  The training or conference must be paid for in the same fiscal year as you attend the event.  Fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30.

It is the responsibility of the requestor to submit all pertinent documentation showing event description, location, day/times,  and costs.

Please reserve requests for conference support from this fund for when division funds and grant support cannot be identified.