Payment for Attainment of an Advanced Degree

I. POLICY:

As authorized by Civil Service Rule 6.16(h), classified employees of the Division of Administration ("DOA") serving with permanent status may be granted a base pay adjustment for attainment, while employed by the DOA, of a job-related Master's Degree, Ph.D., or equivalent (JD, MD, Ed.D), from an accredited college or university.

A probationary classified employee who attains such a job-related advanced degree while employed by the DOA may be granted a base pay adjustment, but only after attaining permanent status.

II. PURPOSE:

This policy provides management a means by which to compensate employees who, while employed by the DOA, further their education and thus, their knowledge, skills and abilities, by attaining an advanced degree in a job-related field of study. Recognition and support of such an achievement encourages the workforce to be better educated, enhances performance and productivity, and serves as a retention mechanism to incentivize employees to seek a career in state government.

III. APPLICABILITY:

This policy applies to:

• All full-time permanent classified employees of the DOA and ancillary agencies
• All job classifications available to employees of the DOA and ancillary agencies
• All advanced degrees from accredited colleges or universities that, upon evaluation, are determined to be qualifying as job-related

IV. REQUIREMENTS – LIMITATIONS:

1. To be eligible for an advanced degree adjustment, the employee must be employed by the DOA at the time the advanced degree is conferred.
2. To be eligible for an advanced degree adjustment, the employee must have a current performance evaluation of at least "Successful". An employee who is "Unrated" or "Not Evaluated" may be eligible for consideration for such an adjustment.
3. The salary adjustment for attainment of a qualifying advanced degree may be up to, but shall not exceed 10% of the employee's base salary within a fiscal year. However, under no circumstance shall such an adjustment cause the employee's base salary to exceed the maximum of the pay range for his current job classification.
4. A request for an advanced degree adjustment shall be initiated by the employee's supervisor, supported by the recommendation of the Section Head, within twelve (12) months of the employee's attainment of the advanced degree.
5. Determination of the qualifying nature of an advanced degree as job-related will be made by the Deputy Commissioner in collaboration with the Human Resources Director, with any such determination to be final and binding.
6. Determination of the amount of an advanced degree adjustment to be granted an employee will be made by the Deputy Commissioner in collaboration with the Human Resources Director, with any such determination to be final and binding.
7. The effective date of an advanced degree adjustment shall be no earlier than the date of approval by the Deputy Commissioner.
8. Employees whose job classifications require a Master's Degree or Ph.D. as a minimum qualification are not eligible for an advanced degree adjustment.
9. No advanced degree adjustment will be permitted under this policy for any employee who previously was compensated under another Civil Service Rule or DOA policy for the same advanced degree.
10. Advanced degree adjustments under this policy are contingent upon the availability of funding.

V. PROCEDURE:

1. The employee shall present for consideration to his supervisor an official transcript evidencing receipt of an advanced degree.
2. The supervisor shall forward to the Section Head all relevant information and documentation in support of a request for an advanced degree adjustment, including:
   • Employee name
   • Employee job classification
   • Employee Section/Unit
   • Statement describing the job-relatedness and benefit to the DOA
   • Official college transcript
3. The Section Head shall review the information and documentation provided and note his support or opposition to the request. The Section Head's recommendation shall then be forwarded to the Human Resources Director.
4. The Human Resources Director will review the recommendation for compliance with the Civil Service Rule and requirements of this policy and recommend approval or denial to the Deputy Commissioner.
5. After review and consideration of the information and documentation provided, the Deputy Commissioner will approve or deny the request. The employee, supervisor and Section Head will be notified by the Human Resources Director of the Deputy Commissioner's decision.

VI. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS:

The Human Resources Director shall:

• Maintain a record of all advanced degree adjustments authorized under this policy each fiscal year.
• Conspicuously post throughout the DOA's offices a list of all recipients of advanced degree adjustments each fiscal year.
• Submit a report, by July 31 of each year, to State Civil Service identifying all DOA recipients of advanced degree adjustments for the prior fiscal year.

VII. EXCEPTIONS:

Requests for exceptions to the requirements of this policy shall be justified, documented and serve the overall interests of the public service. Such requests are to be submitted to the Human Resources Director for processing to the Deputy Commissioner for consideration.

VIII. QUESTIONS:

Questions regarding this policy should be addressed to the Human Resources Director.