Academic Senate
Resolution: 01/02-08
[by Handbook Committee 4/3/02]
Procedure:
1.
A
motion should be typed or hand-printed.
2.
A
motion should first be offered to the Executive Board for review and advice on
editing and parliamentary implications.
3.
If
changes are necessary, the motion should be recopied on another form. Amendments may be indicated in the margin or
on the reverse of this form.
CHANGES TO THE FACULTY HANDBOOK
WHEREAS, the handbook Section 3-5, Faculty Benefits, and Appendices contain
information items available elsewhere, specifically:
o section 5-1 is rewritten as a general statement of
the University’s commitment to provide an extensive benefit program, and to
support use of the web for further, detailed benefits information;
o sections 5-2,
and 5-3 are deleted, since the information contained is fully available
elsewhere;
o section 5-4 is
substantially reduced and relabeled as Tuition Assistance and Tuition Exchange,
to provide basic information about the faculty rights in that area, and is
relabeled as section 5-2;
o section 3-16,
Candidacy for Degrees, is deleted since its content is included in the Tuition
Assistance discussion;
o Appendices 1
through 5 are deleted, since they are fully available elsewhere:
o subsection
3-15 (B) (2) is deleted, since its whole purpose is to reference the old
Appendix 5, which has been deleted:
BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the Academic Senate endorse the changes in Section 5 and the
Appendices of the Faculty Handbook, as specified below.
| Resolution Number: 01/02-08 | Motion by: Faculty Handbook Committee |
| Date: April 3, 2002 | (No second required when moved by committee) |
| For consideration at the Academic Senate meeting on May 8, 2002 | |
| Action Taken: 22 yeas, 5 nays, and no abstenstions | |
HANDBOOK SECTIONS AFTER PROPOSED CHANGES
Section 5
Faculty
Benefits
§ 5-1
UNIVERSITY BENEFITS
The University of Southern
California provides extensive benefit programs to benefits-eligible
faculty. In addition to benefits
required by law, those programs currently include health insurance, dental
insurance, retirement benefits, child care, tuition assistance for the faculty
member and his or her eligible spouse and dependent children, life insurance
and various other benefits.
The particular provisions of each
benefit program are determined by the USC Senior Vice President for
Administration after consultation with faculty through the University Employee
Benefits Advisory Committee and the Senate Committee on the Faculty
Environment. Current provisions are
discussed in the University publication Your
Benefits for 200*, which can be accessed via the USC Benefits web site
[hyperlink to: www.usc.edu/benefits].
§ 5-2
TUITION ASSISTANCE and TUITION EXCHANGE
The University has two distinct
plans to encourage and assist the dependent children and spouses of its full‑time
faculty members to pursue higher education.
While this section contains a brief description of these plans, faculty
members must contact the appropriate representative for complete information.
The Tuition Assistance program
provides support to attend USC for the faculty member, the spouse, or dependent
children who are admitted to the University.
Faculty members are allowed to audit one course per semester or
summer session or to take a limited number of units of coursework in
undergraduate, graduate, or professional classes per semester or summer session
for credit at no charge.
Full‑time faculty members at the rank of assistant professor or higher shall not be received as candidates, or continued in candidacy, for any degree at the University of Southern California. Individual exceptions may be made only with the approval of the Provost or of a special committee appointed by the President.
Spouses, if admitted to the University, receive a fifty percent tuition discount for a maximum of 144 units of course work (including units for credit or audit-for-record) at the undergraduate, graduate, or professional school level.
Dependent children, if admitted to the University, receive a
grant of 100% tuition remission up to a maximum of 144 units for credit or
audit-for-record for their undergraduate education, or for up to 72 units of
graduate and professional study.
Faculty children enrolled in undergraduate degree programs that require
more than 144 units shall be eligible for the additional units necessary to
complete the degree program upon approval of a petition to the Provost's
Office. Dependent
children of faculty members with 15 years of full-time equivalent service
continue to be eligible for tuition assistance, even if the faculty member is
no longer employed by the University.
Similarly, dependent children already receiving tuition remission who
marry retain their eligibility.
The Tuition Exchange program,
which is a nationwide competitive scholarship plan involving over 500
universities, provides for reciprocal tuition assistance for children of full‑time
faculty members and other eligible employees of institutions that grant
internal full tuition assistance. Tuition Exchange Scholarship awards
are competitive and based on policies set by each member institution. The awards may range from 75 to 100 per cent
of tuition and fees. Units taken under
the Tuition Exchange Scholarship program count toward the unit maximums for
tuition assistance at USC. Information
about participation in the program may be obtained from the Tuition Exchange
Liaison in the Office of the Registrar.
TRACKING CHANGES FROM 2001 HANDBOOK
Section 5
Faculty
Benefits
§ 5-1 UNIVERSITY BENEFITSHEALTH,
RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS, AND INSURANCE
The University of Southern
California provides extensive benefit programs to
benefits-eligible faculty. In addition
to benefits required by law, those programs currently include health insurance, dental insurance,
retirement benefits, child care, tuition assistance for the faculty member and
his or her eligible spouse and dependent
children, life insurance and various other benefits.
The particular provisions of each benefit program
are determined by the USC Senior Vice President for Administration after
consultation with faculty through the University
Employee Benefits Advisory Committee and the Senate Committee on the Faculty
Environment. maintains a
varied program of employee benefits.
Those related to health, retirement accounts, and insurance Current
provisions are discussed can be found
in the University publication Your
Benefits for 200*, which is published
annually by the Benefits Office though consultation with the University
Benefits Committee and the Faculty Environment Committee of the Academic
Senate. The faculty member may enroll
without evidence of insurability during the first 60 days of employment.
For further
information, the faculty are referred to the Director of Health Plans, Stonier
302.
The publication
Your Benefits
for 200* includes the topics listed below. It can also be
accessed via the USC Benefits web site [hyperlink to:
, (www.usc.edu/benefits)].
Changes to benefits plans
Eligibility
Health plan options
Comparison of health plans
Dental options
Pretax payment options
Retirement contributions (employee and University
contributions to retirement funds)
Long-term care
Life insurance
Accidental insurance
Disability benefits
Home loan program
Group auto and homeowners insurance
How to enroll
As mandated by
federal law, there is no mandatory retirement age for faculty. Faculty may consult with the office of the
Senior Vice President, Administration on this issue.
University
faculty members may consult with the Staff/Faculty Counseling Service. This on‑campus resource is staffed by
social workers under the auspices of the School of Social Work. This service is supported by the University;
no fee is charged for counseling employees or their families.
Professional
help is available for problems such as marital stress, family tensions, worries
about children or about parents, return to work following serious illness, drug
or alcohol dependency, anxiety, depression, job‑related troubles, and
others. All counseling contacts are
confidential. Information given by the employee may not be given to family,
supervisors, or others without the employee's written permission.
§ 5-24
TUITION ASSISTANCE and TUITION EXCHANGE
The University has two distinct plans to encourage
and assist the dependent children and spouses of its full‑time faculty
members to pursue higher education. While this section contains a brief description of
these plans, faculty members must contact the appropriate representative for complete information.
The Tuition Assistance program provides support to
attend USC for the faculty member, the spouse, or dependent children who are admitted to the University. Faculty members are allowed to audit one course per
semester or summer session or to take a limited number of units of coursework in undergraduate,
graduate, or professional classes per semester or summer session for credit at
no charge.
Full‑time faculty members at the rank of
assistant professor or higher shall not be received as candidates, or continued
in candidacy, for any degree at the University of Southern California. Individual exceptions may be made only with
the approval of the Provost or of a special committee appointed by the
President.
Spouses, if admitted
to the University, receive a fifty
percent tuition discount for a maximum of 144 units of course work (including
units for credit or audit-for-record) at the undergraduate, graduate, or
professional school level.
Dependent children, if admitted
to the University, receive a
grant of 100% tuition remission up to a maximum of 144 units for credit or
audit-for-record for their undergraduate
education, or up to 72
units of graduate and professional study.
Faculty children enrolled in undergraduate degree programs that require
more than 144 units shall be eligible for the additional units necessary to
complete the degree program upon approval of a petition to the Provost's
Office. Dependent
children of faculty members with 15 years of full-time equivalent service
continue to be eligible for tuition assistance, even if the faculty member is
no longer employed by the University. Similarly,
dependent children already receiving tuition remission who marry retain their
eligibility.
The Tuition Exchange program, which is a nationwide
competitive scholarship plan involving over 500 universities, provides for
reciprocal tuition assistance for children of full‑time faculty members
and other eligible employees of institutions that grant internal full tuition
assistance. Tuition
Exchange Scholarship awards are competitive and based on policies set by each
member institution. The awards may
range from 75 to 100 per cent of tuition and fees. Units taken under the Tuition Exchange Scholarship program count
toward the unit maximums for tuition assistance at USC. Information about participation in the
program may be obtained from the Tuition Exchange Liaison in the Office of the
Registrar.
It is the policy of the University to grant tuition
assistance to the dependent children* and spouses** of its regular full‑time faculty members***. Dependent
children who are married during their four‑year entitlement will continue
to be eligible notwithstanding their change in marital status. Tuition assistance, of course, does not
include general fees, non‑credit courses, special educational service
programs, nor special fees for individual or small group instruction or
dissertation. If regular full‑time
faculty employment status ends during a semester or session, assistance will be
prorated. Faculty on sabbatical leaves
continue to be eligible for tuition assistance.
Assistance for
faculty members is allowed as follows:
To audit one course per semester or summer session:
no charge.
To take 6 undergraduate or 4 graduate or
professional units per semester or summer session for credit: no charge.
Fifty percent
tuition assistance for a maximum of 144 units of course work (including units
for credit or audit for record) at the undergraduate, graduate, or professional
school level.
It is the policy of the University to grant 100%
tuition remission to a maximum of 144 units for credit or audit for record for
the undergraduate education of each child of a faculty member, or up to 72
units of graduate and professional study for which he or she has been
admitted. Appropriate combinations are
allowed, and only those undergraduate units taken at the University are
considered in determining the limit.
Faculty children enrolled in undergraduate degree programs that require
more than 144 units (such as Architecture) shall be eligible for the additional
units necessary to complete the degree program upon approval of a petition to
the Provost's Office.
Spouse and
dependent child applicants for tuition remission are required to present
documentation as proof of their relationship to the full‑time faculty
sponsor. A photocopy of the document
being used to verify eligibility must be submitted with the completed
application for tuition remission to the Office of Personnel Services before
the office can approve the application.
Examples of
acceptable documents include marriage license, birth certificate, or
certification of adoption. A copy of
the appropriate document should be presented with each tuition remission
application. Application forms are
available at the Office of Personnel Services and at the Health Sciences
Personnel Office. The completed forms
with appropriate signatures should be taken to the Credit Office with the fee
bill during registration.
Faculty
children eligible for California State Scholarships are required to apply for
such scholarships. There is no
requirement to apply, however, if the faculty member signs an affidavit
asserting that family income exceeds the cutoff level of the California State
Scholarship program. The monetary value
of such scholarships may be applied to current mandatory fees at the 100
percent level or to future graduate or professional tuition fees at the 50
percent level.
1. Children of Deceased, Totally Disabled, or
Terminated Faculty Members
Upon the death,
total disability, or termination of a full‑time faculty member, the
faculty members children shall be entitled to receive tuition assistance as
follows:
Children Enrolled at the University. Children enrolled at the University of Southern
California or elsewhere under the Tuition Exchange program at the time of
death, total disability, or termination after 15 years of service shall
continue to receive the tuition remission until the maximum allowances shall be
accumulated.
For Children Not Yet Enrolled. For such children of deceased or totally disabled
faculty with less than five years of service with the University, tuition
assistance shall be computed on the basis of one year (36 units) for each year
of the parent's full‑time service to the University, with a maximum of
144 units for undergraduate studies, to be divided among one or more such
children as the surviving parent or guardian may designate, but no child shall
receive tuition benefits beyond 144 units.
Children of deceased or totally disabled faculty with 5 or more years of
University service, or of terminated faculty with 15 or more years of
University service, shall be entitled to the same tuition remission privileges
as children of current full‑time faculty. Any children of deceased or totally disabled faculty members who
qualify for partial or total tuition scholarships from other sources will be
eligible for tuition assistance only to the extent that such scholarships do
not cover full tuition.
2. Tuition Exchange
The University
of Southern California belongs to Tuition Exchange, a nonprofit corporation to
promote and administer reciprocal tuition assistance for children of full‑time
faculty members and other eligible employees of those higher educational
institutions that grant internal full tuition assistance.
Early during
the child's senior year in high school, the parents of children eligible for
100 percent tuition remission should contact the Director of Registration and
Records to learn full details. At that
time, a membership list of participating Tuition Exchange schools will be made
available. Application for admission
and regular scholarship assistance should be submitted to the college concerned
without regard to application for Tuition Exchange. Although the catalogues of such colleges should be consulted to
determine the deadlines for admission, the Office of Admissions staff will
provide needed assistance.
** Spouses are defined as those currently and
legally married to faculty, specifically excluding divorced and legally
separated spouses.
*** Faculty are defined as those who hold full‑time
teaching/research positions with the rank of instructor or above.