Board amends and approves revised tuition assistance policy for Clearview staff

The Human Services and Health Board approved revisions to Clearview’s tuition assistance policy aimed at increasing uptake among staff pursuing LPN and RN degrees.

Staff reported the program reimburses semester tuition on a reimbursement basis after receipt of a passing grade. The revised policy reduces the payback horizon by changing the payback ratio (presented as increasing employer credit to reduce hours owed), and adds explicit language that county educational leave is available for employees who cannot work during school semesters. Staff said the goal of the changes is to make the benefit more attractive to employees who cited the prior payback timeline as a barrier.

Board members questioned whether the policy’s language would produce consistent treatment across applicants. One supervisor raised concern about a clause that treated requests on an individual basis. Board members moved to strike the two sentences that read “the above points will be used as guidelines. Each case will be evaluated on an individual basis” from the end of page two of the policy packet. Supervisor Bischoff seconded the motion to amend. The board voted in favor of striking those two sentences and then voted to approve the policy as amended.

A staff member said program details (forms and signatures) are included in the packet and that employees must sign the agreement; once signed, staff are expected to follow the terms. Human Resources and the Clearview committee will continue to monitor uptake. The HR committee will review related hiring incentive statistics at its next meeting.