Version 11-13
A. The grant-in-aid is intended to serve as a means of job related career development as well as individual professional development. GIA shall be available to eligible
employees when the employing institution in its sole discretion determines that the proposed courses of study will enhance the value of the employee to the home
institution. This program is dependent upon the availability of funds at the home institution.
1. Eligibility
a. Any regular full-time faculty member or administrative/professional staff member at a TBR institution who has been employed by the institution for two or
more years may be eligible for receipt of a grant-in-aid award.
1) Employees with temporary service immediately preceding regular employment shall receive credit for such service if they qualify for leave accrual and
longevity adjustments.
2) Requests for grant-in-aid shall be submitted on a TBR GIA Recommendation Form.
b. The grant-in-aid shall be awarded on the basis of demonstrated need for further academic development which will ultimately benefit the institution; written
justification must be submitted to and approved by the chief executive of the institution.
c. Grant-in-aid normally will be limited to employees working toward the doctorate, or other terminal degree.
1) However, requests for aid to pursue degrees below the doctoral level in technical/professional disciplines, and for the training or retraining of
administrative/professional staff may be considered.
d. Grant recipients must be placed on an approved leave of absence and enroll as full-time students in credit courses, except where less than full-time status is
needed to complete the program.
e. No grant-in-aid shall be awarded for a period longer than twelve (12) months.
1) In general, a full-time grant-in-aid will be awarded on a one-time basis.
2) If the program objectives are not achieved by the end of the designated period, the institution may grant a leave of absence for a maximum of an
additional twelve-month period.
3) A second grant-in-aid may only be awarded after the recipient has fulfilled the return employment commitment of the first award.
f. The status of an employee on the published first day of classes for each term determines eligibility for participation in this program. Any change in status
after the first day of classes shall not affect eligibility for that term or the amount of assistance received.
2. Fees Paid/Type Course Paid/Number of Hours
a. This program is designed to provide an individual with institutional funds for tuition or maintenance fees and/or living allowances in accordance with the
following provisions:
1) Reimbursement of tuition-related fees may not exceed actual maintenance fees or tuition. Tuition-related fees may include maintenance fees, tuition, debt
service fees, online course fees, RODP fees, service charges and incidental fees payable at the time of registration, but shall not include room, board, and
supplies.
2) Monthly living allowances may not exceed 50% of the grantee's monthly salary. Academic year salaries are to be divided by twelve to derive an equated
monthly salary rate.
3. Payback Provisions
a. A contract form, shall be executed between the institution and the recipient of the grant-in-aid stating the conditions under which the grant-in-aid is awarded.
The conditions of a grant-in-aid shall comply with the following minimum requirements:
1) The recipient shall be required to return and be employed by the institution for not less than three months of full-time employment for each month of
grant-in-aid awarded. Repayment of time shall commence immediately after completion of the period of study or withdrawal from program. In exchange
for reimbursement of allowable expenses, a participant will commit to work for the sponsoring institution or, if no appropriate employment is available, at
one of the other Tennessee Board of Regents institutions or within the University of Tennessee system.
2) Failure on the part of the recipient to remain employed for the period of time agreed upon in the contract shall result in a financial obligation to the
institution based upon the terms of the contract. The contract, specifies that if employment is voluntarily terminated prior to fulfillment of the
employment obligation, the final paycheck and check representing the amount of accrued, but unused annual leave may be withheld as repayment of the
financial obligation. If such amounts are insufficient to recoup the amount owed by the employee, the institution has the option of pursuing one of two
methods to achieve repayment as stated below:
a) The amount or balance owed shall become an account receivable and the institution shall follow the procedure outlined in Guideline B-010,
Accounts Receivable - Employee Receivables. If payment in full is not obtained, the debt shall be assigned to a collection agency; or
b) The employee will be required to execute a promissory note acknowledging receipt of the grant-in-aid and containing repayment terms and
conditions consistent with the grant-in-aid contract prior to the employee leaving the institution should he/she fail to fully complete the employment
requirements of the contract.
3) The institution may terminate the employee prior to the commencement of or during the employment service period provided herein. In the event of such
termination by the institution, the employee shall be relieved of repayment of the Grant in Aid.
4) Summer or short-term employment shall be considered part-time employment in cases where the employee holds an academic year appointment. No part-
time employment shall be creditable toward the fulfillment of the contract.
4. When the Participant May Attend
a. After approval by the chief executive, the institution may issue and execute the contract stating to the recipient the conditions under which the grant-in-aid is
awarded, including when the participant may attend.
5. Accounting/Budgeting Provisions
a. The number of grants-in-aid of each institution shall not exceed three percent (3%) of the number of full-time faculty and administrative/professional staff at
the institution at the time the awards are requested. At institutions where the number of full-time faculty and administrative/professional staff totals less than
one hundred (100), three (3) such grants may be awarded.
b. Requests for grants-in-aid shall be submitted using the form to the chief executive for approval prior to the beginning of the semester. After approval, the
institution may issue and execute the contract.
c. Complete materials supporting each grant-in-aid request shall be maintained by Human Resources. Also, each grant recipient shall be required to provide the
official grade reports during and upon completion of the grant period. Continual participation is dependent on the recipient's satisfactory progress toward
completion of a course of study.
6. Where the Participant May Attend
a. Participants may attend public and private institutions of higher education. Requests for participants attending Tennessee public institutions will be
reimbursed at the current semester hour rate for that institution.
b. For individuals who wish to attend other than a Tennessee public institution under this program, reimbursement will not exceed the highest current semester
hour rate for a comparable program offered by a Tennessee public institution.
c. Reimbursement for concentrated programs at public or private institutions will be limited to the prevailing graduate fee rate for a comparable program within
a Tennessee public institution.
ETSU FACULTY OR ADMINISTRATIVE/PROFESSIONAL STAFF GRANT-IN-AID (GIA) PROGRAM
