P-011 Classified Employee Education Policy

Code: P-011
Date: June 2003
Approved: David C. Danahar

Southwest Minnesota State University

Policy

Classified Employee Education

Purpose

To outline the policy at Southwest Minnesota State University regarding release time for employee education.

Policy

Southwest Minnesota State University encourages employees to take advantage of educational opportunities for career development and self-improvement. To achieve this end, a combination of flexible work hours, annual leave, and work release time may be used to permit employees to attend classes. Such use of time for educational purposes is subject to the approval of the employee’s immediate supervisor for classes taken during the regularly scheduled workday.

Employee work release time for education, up to three credits per semester, may be granted with supervisory approval. Employee education work release time is deemed credited work time for payroll purposes and should be documented accordingly on employee time records. Time taken for classes beyond three credits per semester are to be covered by the employee’s approved earned annual leave, leave without pay, or through approved flexible work hours. Additional work release time beyond the three credits per semester may be approved based on the perceived value of the education to the University.

Because employees are expected to complete their regular job responsibilities, supervisors and employees should work together to identify reasonable accommodations that can be made that allow the employee to participate fully in education process without negatively impacting service. It is suggested that the employee and supervisor agree to a tentative yearly plan for training and/or education during the performance review cycle; such a plan helps in planning release time.