Refund of Matriculation Fees for Spouses and Dependents of Current, Retired, or Deceased Employees - Procedure 1.0200

Purpose:

The purpose of this procedure is to provide refunds approved by the District Board of Trustees of fees for courses taken by spouses and dependent children of current, retired, or deceased employees; to designate those courses for which refunds of fees are available; and to define the process by which the refunds may be obtained.

Definitions

Current Employee - Current full-time employee with 6 months or more of continuous full-time employment with Seminole Community College.

Retired Employee - Former employee who completed ten (10) years of continuous full-time employment at SCC immediately prior to retirement from Seminole Community College and is currently receiving retirement benefits through an SCC retirement plan.

Deceased Employee - Employee whose full-time employment at the time of death was with Seminole Community College and who completed 3 years of continuous full-time employment prior to the date of death.

Dependent- Individual who was declared a dependent of a current or retired employee the year prior to the request and is eligible to be declared a dependent in the year of the request. For surviving dependent(s) of a deceased employee or a deceased retiree, that individual must have been declared a dependent of a deceased or retired employee in the year prior to the date of death and would have been eligible to be declared a dependent in the year in which the death of the employee occurred. A 1040 tax form or other appropriate kinds of documentation may be accepted by the College president or designee as evidence of dependent status. However, eligibility shall cease at the end of the calendar year in which the dependent person reaches age 25. In no event shall a dependent of a deceased employee or deceased retiree be eligible for refunds if the death of the employee occurred more than 5 years before the date of the reimbursement request.

Surviving Spouse - Individual who is the surviving spouse of a deceased employee and who was living within the same household with the husband/wife employee at the time of death and was not separated. In no event shall a surviving spouse be eligible for refunds if the death of the employee occurred more than 6 months before the date of the reimbursement request.

SCC Retirement Plan - A college sponsored defined benefit or defined contribution retirement plan offered through the Florida Retirement System (FRS), the Community College Optional Retirement Program (CCORP), Public Employees Optional Retirement Program (PEORP), or Local Annuity Program.

Procedure:

1. Limitations
   
   1. Fees are those specified in the approved District Board of Trustee fee schedule and exclude reimbursement for late registration, laboratory and application fees.
   2. The amount of reimbursement per course shall not exceed the amount of in-state tuition per course.
   3. Refunds will be calculated and paid at the end of each term only for those courses in which a grade of at least a C or its equivalent has been earned.
   4. Courses taken at the Adult High School and those vocational and recreational courses ineligible for state support are excluded from this refund.
   5. Each spouse or dependent shall be limited to reimbursement for a lifetime total equivalent of 60 semester hours applicable to a degree.
   6. Spouses and dependents of employees, retirees, deceased employees or deceased retirees who receive institutional scholarships and waivers of fees are not eligible to receive refunds as provided in this procedure for
2. Eligibility
   
   1. The spouse and dependent(s) of a current full-time employee with 6 months or more of full-time employment at the College who meet the following qualifications shall be entitled to a refund of approved fees for post secondary education credit courses taken at the College for a total of 60 semester hours or their equivalent:
      
      1. The 6 months of current employment of a current employee through which the refund is claimed must have been completed prior to the end of the published add/drop period for the term in which the course(s) are taken.
      2. At the time of each enrollment period, a spouse requesting a refund shall be living within the same household with the husband/wife employee through whom he/she is requesting a refund.
      3. At the time of each enrollment period, the individual claiming as a dependent must have been declared a dependent of a current employee in the year prior to the request and is eligible to be declared a dependent in the year of the request. A 1040 tax form or other appropriate kinds of documentation may be accepted by the College president or designee as evidence of dependent status. However, all eligibility shall cease at the end of the calendar year in which the person reaches age 25.
   2. The spouse and dependent(s) of a retired full-time employee with ten (10) or more years of full-time employment at the College who meet the following qualifications shall be entitled to a refund of approved fees for post secondary education credit courses taken at the College for a total of 60 semester hours or their equivalent:
      
      1. The ten (10) years of continuous employment of a retired employee through which the refund is claimed must have been completed prior to the end of the published add/drop period for the term in which the course(s) are taken.
      2. At the time of each enrollment period, a spouse requesting a refund shall be living within the same household with the husband/wife employee through whom he/she is requesting a refund.
      3. At the time of each enrollment period, the individual claiming as a dependent must have been declared a dependent of the retiree in the year prior to the request and is eligible to be declared a dependent. A 1040 tax form or other appropriate kinds of documentation may be accepted by the College president or designee as evidence of dependent status. However, all eligibility shall cease at the end of the calendar year in which the person reaches age 25.
   3. The surviving spouse of a deceased full-time employee of the College who meets the following qualifications shall be entitled to a refund of approved fees for post-secondary education credit courses taken at the College for a total of 60 semester hours or their equivalent:
      
      1. The surviving spouse requesting a refund must have been living within the same household with the deceased husband/wife employee at the time of death.
      2. The deceased employee must have been employed full-time by the College at the time of his/her death.
      3. The deceased employee must have completed 3 years of continuous full-time employment with the College or the deceased employee must have completed 6 months or more of continuous full-time employment with the College and the surviving spouse was enrolled in a post-secondary credit course at the time of the employee's death.
   4. The surviving dependent(s) of a deceased employee of the College who meets the following qualifications shall be entitled to a refund of approved fees for post-secondary credit courses taken at the College for a total of 60 semester hours or their equivalent:
      
      1. The surviving dependent(s) of a deceased employee must have been declared a dependent of the deceased employee in the year prior to the request and is eligible to be declared a dependent in the year of the request. A 1040 tax form or other appropriate kinds of documentation may be accepted by the College president or designee as evidence of dependent status. However, all eligibility shall cease at the end of the calendar year in which the person reaches age 25.
      2. The deceased employee must have been employed full-time by the College at the time of his/her death.
      3. The deceased employee must have completed 3 years of continuous full-time employment with the College or the deceased employee must have completed 6 months or more of continuous full-time employment with the College and the surviving dependent was enrolled in a post-secondary credit course at the time of the employee's death.
   5. The surviving spouse of a deceased retiree of the College who meets the following qualifications shall be entitled to a refund of approved fees for post-secondary education credit courses taken at the College for a total of 60 semester hours or their equivalent:
      
      1. The surviving spouse requesting a refund must have been living within the same household with the deceased husband/wife retiree at the time of death.
      2. The deceased retiree must have been a former SCC employee who completed ten (10) years of continuous full-time employment at SCC immediately prior to retirement from Seminole Community College and is currently receiving retirement benefits through an SCC retirement plan.
   6. The surviving dependent(s) of a deceased retiree of the College who meets the following qualifications shall be entitled to a refund of approved fees for post-secondary credit courses taken at the College for a total of 60 semester hours or their equivalent:
      
      1. The surviving dependent(s) of a deceased retiree must have been declared a dependent of the deceased employee in the year prior to the request and is eligible to be declared a dependent in the year of the request. A 1040 tax form or other appropriate kinds of documentation may be accepted by the College president or designee as evidence of dependent status. However, all eligibility shall cease at the end of the calendar year in which the person reaches age 25.
      2. The deceased retiree must have been a former SCC employee who completed ten (10) years of continuous full-time employment at SCC immediately prior to retirement from Seminole Community College and is currently receiving retirement benefits through an SCC retirement plan.
3. Request for reimbursement
   
   1. The employee, spouse, or dependent shall complete and submit the Request for Refund of Matriculation Fees for Dependents of College Employees form prior to the end of the add/drop period of the term for which the reimbursement is requested.

Did you know?

SCC's tuition is approximately 30 percent less than the state university average.