OPERATING POLICIES FOR THE EDUCATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM/ EDUCATION ASSISTANCE COMMITTEE PURPOSE The Education Assistance Program was established in 1982 by the Civil Service Employees Council (CSEC) of Southern Illinois University Carbondale to provide financial assistance for dependents of civil service employees who attend SIUC. The Education Assistance Program shall be financed by employee contributions, income from an endowment fund, and proceeds from fund raising activities sponsored by the Civil Service Council (CSC). The CSC shall maintain sole authority and jurisdiction for the development, implementation, and administration of the Education Assistance Program. The Education Assistance Committee (hereinafter referred to as "The Committee") acting under the auspices of the CSC, shall be directly responsible for the management of the program. If any portion of the operating policy of the Committee is considered to be in conflict with the Bylaws of the CSC, the CSC Bylaws shall take precedence. The Committee acknowledges its responsibilities to manage the program in accordance with SIUC's fund raising guidelines and within the purview of the Chancellor for Institutional Advancement and the office of University Relations. The Committee shall not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, religious preference, national origin, sex, age, handicap, or any other factors prohibited by law in the management of the Education Assistance Program. COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP The Committee shall have a minimum membership of seven civil service employees: 1. Incumbent members will be eligible for reappointment. 2. A vacancy shall exist when a member resigns from the Committee. 3. Vacancies shall be filled by CSC. Recommendations for appointments shall be made by members of the Council and/or other civil service employees. 4. All appointments shall be subject to approval by the CSC membership. The Committee will have a chair or co-chair, at least one of whom shall be a current CSC member, and a recorder of minutes. The Treasurer of the CSC shall be a member of the Committee and shall be fiscal officer of all Education Assistance Program accounts. The Chair and/or Co-Chair shall be elected by the Committee membership on an annual basis and shall serve for a term of one year. The Chair(s) of the Committee shall report monthly to the CSC on both financial and administrative matters. FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS The Committee shall maintain an Agency Account, an SIU Foundation Operating Account, and an Endowment Account. The Agency Account shall be established for the express purpose of depositing revenue generated through fund raisers and to pay expenses for such fund raising activities. A minimum of $2,000 shall be reserved in the account to generate interest income. Any revenue in excess of $2,000, after expenses, shall be deposited into the Endowment Account. This deposit shall be made after scholarship award amounts have been determined. The Foundation Account shall be established for the express purpose of depositing revenue generated through contributions, interest income and raffle sales and to allocate scholarship awards. Any revenue in excess of $2,000, after scholarship award amounts have been determined, shall be deposited into the Endowment Account. It will be the objective of the Committee to deposit to the Endowment Account from both the Agency Account and the Foundation Account a combined amount equal to the total awards given each semester. These "matching funds" may be from employee contributions, net revenues from fund raising proceeds, or any combination of the two. The Endowment Account shall be established for the express purpose of generating additional revenue for the Education Assistance Program. Any request to remove principal funds from the Endowment Account must be authorized in advance by a two-thirds majority vote of the CSC membership. POLICY MODIFICATIONS Proposals to add, modify, or delete policies of the Committee shall be presented to the CSC. In order for changes to be placed on the agenda for consideration at the next CSC meeting, written proposals must be submitted to a member of the Executive Committee of the CSC no later than the third Tuesday of the month prior to the meeting in which the changes shall be considered. A two-thirds majority vote of the CSC membership present shall be required for all policy changes. ELIGIBILITY Participation in the Education Assistance Program shall be restricted to the dependents of civil service employees occupying status positions at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, SIU School of Medicine, the Office of the President, and the Office of the Board of Trustees, (Carbondale Offices) that have worked at SIU for at least one year, and persons who are retired from such positions. The year of service is to be contiguous with the award application and must be completed on or before the first day of the semester in which the award is being granted. Eligibility: The applicant for this benefit must have a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file with the Financial Aid Office for the current academic year, must be under the age of 25 at the commencement of any academic year in which the benefit is claimed, must qualify for admission to the university under its usual rules, and must maintain satisfactory academic progress toward graduation (as defined in university Financial Aid rules) in order to claim the benefit in each following semester. In addition, after the first semester enrolled, the applicant must maintain an overall GPA of at least 2.25 throughout all work done at SIUC. Duration: The Education Assistance benefit will be granted for a total of 130 semester hours. The benefit is not applicable for non-credit or graduate or professional studies. All applicants must maintain a minimum of twelve hours during the semester in which they are applying and be classified as an undergraduate. An exception will be made for those students enrolled in internship programs. Dependents who are candidates for an Associate Degree shall be granted up to 65 hours of eligibility. Dependents who are candidates for a Bachelor's Degree shall be granted up to 130 hours of eligibility. All applicants shall be required to meet the definition of the term "dependent" as set forth in the following paragraph. Definition of "Dependent" An eligible dependent includes the employee's natural, adoptive, or step child, legal ward or a child of a person standing in loco parentis whose support for the calendar year in which the taxable year of the taxpayer begins was received from the taxpayer and who was eligible to be claimed as a dependent on the taxpayer's income tax return. The term "Dependent" does not include any individual who is not a citizen or national of the United States unless such individual is a resident of the United States or of a country contiguous to the United States. No restrictions shall be placed on the number of dependents in each family who will be eligible to receive financial assistance. SIUC policy on withdrawals from the university shall be in effect for the Education Assistance Program. Dependents who withdraw from the university before the deadline to receive a refund shall not be assessed for the hours taken. Those who withdraw from the university after the deadline to receive a refund shall be assessed for the hours taken. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS Dependents seeking financial assistance shall file a formal application with the Committee each semester within the time period established for each semester. The deadlines for filing a formal application shall coincide with the dates used for the respective collection periods. The application/collection period for Fall Semester shall be January 1 through June 30, and the application/collection period for Spring Semester shall be July 1 through December 31 of each year. The FAFSA must be on file with the Financial Aid Office by July 15 for Fall Semester and January 15 for Spring Semester. Failure to file all applications before stated deadlines shall result in the dependent being ineligible for consideration of an award for the semester. Dependents shall not be required to use their semesters of eligibility in a sequential manner. Enrollment on a part-time basis shall require a full semester's eligibility. AWARDS ALLOCATION POLICY As soon as possible after the close of an application/collection period, the Committee shall review the applications received to determine eligibility of applicants. A statement shall be generated for each collection period in order to determine the total income for that period. The Committee shall recommend the names and amount of awards at the next CSC meeting, based on revenue received during the collection period as follows: any contributions, interest income, and net income generated by fund raising activities. After the CSC has approved the number and amount of awards, the CSC Treasurer shall forward a voucher listing the recipients and the award amount to the SIU Foundation and shall arrange a transfer of funds from the operating account of the Education Assistance Program to the Financial Aid Office. The Financial Aid Office shall credit each recipient's account with the amount of the award. The CSC shall notify the sponsors of the amount of the award that will be given to the recipient. No refunds shall be granted for contributions to the Education Assistance Program. Payroll deduction errors shall be the sole exception to this policy. APPEALS POLICY An appeals system shall be established for the purposes of the Committee to operate in the following manner: Appellant shall contact the Chair(s) of the Committee to request that a hearing be held. The Chair(s) shall arrange a hearing date that is agreeable to both parties. A minimum of four Committee members shall be required to attend the hearing. The Committee shall be required to maintain a written record of the hearing. The Committee shall forward a written notice to the appellant within five working days after the hearing stating their decision. If the appellant does not accept the decision of the Committee, the Chair(s) of the Committee shall be notified, and a request for an Appeals Committee hearing shall be submitted in writing. The Chair(s) of the Committee shall notify the Chair of the Appeals Committee that a request for a special hearing has been submitted. A special hearing shall be arranged for a date and time that is agreeable to both parties. All members of the Appeals Committee shall be present at the special hearing. The Appeals Committee shall be required to maintain a written record of the special hearing. The Appeals Committee shall forward a written notice of its decision to the appellant within five working days of the special hearing. The decision of the Appeals Committee shall be final, with no further right of appeal. The Appeals Committee shall be comprised of the following persons: President of the CSC (To serve as Chair) Two members of the CSC Executive Committee Chair(s) of the Committee (in non-voting role(s)) CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS All dependent/parent/spouse records shall remain the permanent and confidential property of the Committee. No individual, office, or organization shall be permitted access to the records without obtaining authorization from the CSC. Exceptions to this policy are granted to the Board of Trustees, the President's Office, the Chancellor's Office, the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement, University Relations, University Legal Counsel, and the SIU Foundation. A written request for information shall be submitted to the President of the CSC. The request shall include: what information is sought, why the information is only accessible in the records of the Committee, who is seeking information, who shall have access to the information, the use to be made of the information, what impact there may be on the dependent/parent/spouse, and how the confidentiality of the information shall be maintained. The CSC shall reserve the right to deny a request for access to the records. The denial shall be final, with no further right of appeal. SOLICITATION CAMPAIGNS Solicitation campaigns for the Education Assistance Program shall be limited to SIUC employees. A corps of volunteers from the civil service staff shall assist in the campaign. The goal of the volunteers shall be to contact employees within their area, offering to explain any facet of the Education Assistance Program and to accept donations, if requested, by the employees. Interested employees shall receive a copy of the Education Assistance Program brochure, a payroll deduction card, and a return mail envelope addressed to the SIU Foundation. At the end of the campaign, volunteers shall be asked to report their evaluation of the campaign process and to make suggestions for its improvement. A report on the success of the solicitation campaign shall be made to the CSC. Civil service employees and recipients of the awards shall be encouraged to contribute to the program monetarily and/or with service to the fund raising efforts.   Approved by the Civil Service Council on April 2, 2008