Collin County
Community College
Human Resources

Faculty and Staff Handbook

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

7.1Health Benefits

7.2 Service Date

7.3 Extended Health Care Coverage (COBRA)

7.4 Medicare

7.5 Workers' Compensation

7.6 Unemployment
Compensation

7.7 Retirement Plans and Investment Programs

7.8 Optional Retirement
Program Eligibility

7.9 Professional
Development

7.10 Benefits for Limited
Full-Time Employees

7.11 Wellness Incentive
Program

LEAVES OF ABSENCE

EVALUATIONS AND AWARDS

MILEAGE CHART

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS EXPENSES

GENERAL

PURPOSE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COLLEGE OVERVIEW

COLLEGE ORGANIZATION

INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF ROLES

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

PERSONNEL PROCEDURES

COMPENSATION

employee benefits

7.1 Health Benefits

All eligible employees are provided with paid medical, dental, life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance. This is available immediately upon employment. Dependent coverage is also available at group rates by payroll deduction or salary reduction.

Employees pay for the following insurance plans in pre-tax dollars, which has the effect of reducing taxable income by the amount of the premium paid.

• Dependent medical

• Dependent dental

• Short-term and long-term disability insurance

• Supplemental term life insurance

• Supplemental accidental death and dismemberment

Detailed information is available in the Human Resources Office at CPC.

An employee’s service date is the first date of full-time, non-temporary employment with CCCC which has been unbroken by a period of unemployment or ineligible employment with the college. The service date is the basis for calculating service date-based benefits, such as vacation accrual rates, multi-year employment contracts and service/recognition awards.

An employee on an approved sabbatical or leave without pay status is considered to have continuous and unbroken service. However, an employee who terminates or changes to an ineligible status, and subsequently returns to work in a benefits-eligible position at the college, has a service date effective the date the employee returns to full-time or benefits-eligible status.

Employees who return to work at CCCC in an eligible position within six months of termination, or have a status change which affects service date, may request to have continuation (bridging) of service. Approval may be granted at the discretion of the president upon recommendation by the employee’s supervisor and the appropriate Vice President or Provost.  If approved, the service date is adjusted forward by the number of days the employee was in an ineligible status and the adjusted date is the basis for determining related benefits such as contract progression, leave accrual rates and service/recognition awards. The bridging of service does not restore previous leave balances.

Service does not carry forward from other employers.

Through COBRA, all eligible employees and their families have the opportunity for a temporary extension of health and dental coverage at group rates in certain instances where coverage under the plan would otherwise end. Details are provided both in the new employee benefits information package and upon termination of eligible employment.

Full-time employees of the college do not participate in the Social Security System. However, all employees hired after March 31, 1986, are required to contribute 1.45 percent of their salary as Medicare tax. The college contributes an equal amount.  Student employees enrolled and actively attending 6 or more credit hours in a semester are exempt from this tax.

All CCCC employees are covered under the Workers' Compensation Act of Texas. It is a form of insurance that pays for medical treatment and provides compensation for loss of earnings when an employee has been injured in a job-related accident. The college pays the entire cost of this insurance.

All on-the-job accidents or injuries must be reported in writing to Human Resources, regardless of whether medical treatment is sought.

If medical treatment is required for an on-the-job accident, the employee should seek immediate treatment. However, in order for claims under this coverage to be valid, it is the responsibility of the injured employee to notify Human Resources and their supervisor and complete the First Notice of Injury Form. This form should be forwarded to the Human Resources Office, Central Park Campus, as soon after the injury as possible.

Texas law provides that under certain conditions, weekly payments may be made to unemployed individuals from an unemployment insurance fund contributed to by employers under the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act. The objective is to aid unemployed persons while they are looking for work by providing weekly income for a stipulated period of time. CCCC pays the entire cost of this benefit.

Eligibility

Full-time faculty and certain administrative staff may choose between the Teacher’s Retirement System of Texas (TRS) and an optional retirement program (ORP). The election between TRS and ORP is a one-in-a-career -in-higher-education-in-Texas choice and must be made within the first 90 days of eligibility. Information and guidelines regarding ORP eligible positions are available in the Human Resources Office. A description of the programs and the definition of eligible administrative staff follows.

All other full-time staff who are scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week for at least 4.5 months within an academic year and earn a rate of pay comparable to full-time employees performing same or similar work, and part-time employees who work full-time in a public school system or other public institution of higher education and participate in TRS as a result of that employment, must participate in the Teacher’s Retirement System of Texas while also employed at CCCC.

Part-time employees who also work full-time in a public institution of higher education and participate in ORP as a result of that employment, must also participate in the Optional Retirement Program while employed at CCCC.

All other part-time employees (except student assistants and college work-study students) must elect to participate in either PERC (Program for Extra Retirement Compensation) or Social Security (FICA).

NOTE: All retirement programs guidelines and contributions are subject to change by the state legislature.

Retiree Health Insurance

Eligibility for retiree insurance is currently based upon fulfilling all of the following requirements:

• Have at least ten (10) years of service credit in the ERS, TRS or ORP, or any combination thereof.

• At least three (3) of the ten (10) years of service credit were as a Uniform Group Insurance Program (UGIP) eligible employee.

• Meet age and service requirements to retire in your retirement program.

• Employment from all state agencies and higher education in institutions that participate in UGIP has terminated and you are no longer eligible for UGIP as an employee.

• The last Texas public employment was at a state agency or higher education institution participating in UGIP.

Program Descriptions

The Teacher’s Retirement System of Texas (TRS) is a defined benefit retirement plan in which each participating employee currently contributes 6.4 percent of salary on a pre-tax basis and the State currently contributes 6.0 percent of the employee’s salary to the TRS fund on behalf of the employee. The TRS contribution rates are regularly reviewed by the state legislature and are subject to change.

The retirement calculation is: the average of highest three annual salaries times the number of years of creditable service times 2.2 percent.

Example: The average highest three years annual salary was $30,000; 30 years creditable service in TRS*.

$30,000 x 30 x .022 = $19,800 annuity

A TRS member is vested after five years of service.

Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) is a defined contribution retirement plan in which teaching faculty, reference librarians and certain CCCC administrators (as defined by the Coordinating Board) currently contribute 6.65 percent of earnings on a pre-tax basis. For employees continuously employed in an ORP eligible position prior to 9/1/95, the state contribution rate is currently 6.0 percent, with an additional 2.5 percent contribution from the college, for a total of 8.5 percent. For all other ORP eligible employees, the current state contribution rate is 6.0 percent.

ORP contribution rates are regularly reviewed by the state legislature and the college and are subject to change. The employee may choose from any college-approved ORP annuity company to establish their retirement plan.

State/college contributions are vested after a period of continuous employment of one year and one day.

Program for Extra Retirement Compensation (PERC) is available for part-time CCCC employees (except student assistants and federal work study students enrolled and actively attending 6 or more credit hours in a semester) in lieu of participation in Social Security. Each participating employee must contribute 7.5 percent of earnings on a pre-tax basis. All contributions are 100 percent vested and there are no withdrawal/surrender charges by Metropolitan Life other than IRS penalties for early withdrawal. Contributions are available upon termination of employment.

Social Security (FICA) is a mandatory tax for all employees (except student assistants and college work study students enrolled and actively attending 6 or more credit hours in a semester) who do not participate in one of the above retirement plans. Contribution rates are currently 7.65 percent (6.2 percent FICA and 1.45 percent Medicare). The college matches all Social Security contributions.

Tax Sheltered Annuities with any approved carrier are available through pre-tax payroll salary reductions on a voluntary basis to all full-time employees.

Approved ORP Carriers

All companies authorized to write Optional Retirement and Tax Sheltered Annuity contracts in the State of Texas are eligible to offer programs to CCCC employees, provided that all college forms are completed and signed in advance with the president’s approval. Continued eligibility will also be based upon compliance with State guidelines and CCCC policies and procedures. Approval and cancellation of carrier contracts are made by the president.

Representatives on Campus

The CCCC Human Resources Office provides all new employees with information concerning approved ORP/TSA vendors and current names, addresses and telephone numbers of campus representatives. It is the responsibility of the new employee to contact the vendor representative(s) of their choosing for further information.

Individual representatives may represent more than one company or product line. However, only one representative may be assigned to represent an approved company. Applications and college forms must be completed for each company being represented.

ORP/TSA vendors should only be on campus at the request of an employee and by scheduled appointments.

Change of Carriers

Employees may change ORP/TSA carriers throughout the year.

In accordance with the guidelines set forth by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the following CCCC positions meet eligibility requirements and may elect to participate in the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) in lieu of TRS:

Full-time Teaching Faculty

• Reference librarians

• President, vice presidents, deans

• Associate deans and associate vice president

• Most directors

The guidelines describe in detail the qualification criteria for ORP eligibility. "Other professional staff person" shall mean administrative and professional positions that:

1. are generally and customarily recruited by advertising in national publications such as the Chronicle of Higher Education or in newsletters of national professional associations or at meetings of such associations, and

2. are at a salary rate equivalent to the rate for teaching faculty for the institution.

Administrative positions shall normally report to the office of a president, vice-president or dean. Incumbents in such positions serve as director or other administrative head of a major department or budget entity. Incumbents of such positions must be:

1. appointed by the Board of Trustees, the president, or his/her delegate; and

2. responsible for the preparation and administration of the budget, policies and programs of the department or entity.

Professional positions shall include positions in nationally recognized fields that require advanced degrees and/or specialized professional or artistic training, experience and achievement. These would include titles such as physicians, athletic coaches, engineers and lawyers.

7.9A Tuition Reimbursement

Employees may request, after three months of eligible employment, participation in a tuition reimbursement program. Approval must be obtained from the appropriate supervisor prior to beginning an eligible course for reimbursement of tuition and fees with a maximum reimbursement for full-time employees of $400 each fiscal year and for limited full-time employees (benefits-eligible employees working between 20 and 39 hours per week) $200 each fiscal year (Sept. 1 through Aug. 31) based on availability of funds.

1. Prior to enrolling in a course, the approval sections of the Request for Reimbursement form should be completed, with appropriate signatures.

2. Within 60 days after completing the course (a grade of C or better is required), a copy of the original tuition and fee receipt and documentation of a passing grade should be submitted with the reimbursement form to the appropriate supervisor.

3. Reimbursement is made from appropriate college funds after receipt of the completed form documentation with appropriate signature.

Reimbursement is limited to credit courses and up to 6 hrs of research course credit (including dissertation hours) from regionally accredited institutions or CCCC continuing education courses, which are directly related to current or prospective job duties. Employees may elect to enroll in a credit class on an audit basis and request reimbursement of the tuition as well as the audit fee. Completion of a course must be documented before any reimbursement can be processed. "Prospective job duties" does not include development toward a career path position but does include development for duties that are planned in the existing position. In addition, not all courses in a related degree plan are eligible for reimbursement. To ensure course eligibility, each course needs to be evaluated by the appropriate Vice President, Provost or Director that reports to the President.

With written supervisory approval on the tuition reimbursement form, employees may use up to three paid hours per week of regular work time in order to take an eligible course at CCCC or other accredited institution. Limited full-time employees may use up to 1.5 hours of paid time in order to take an eligible course at CCCC or other regionally accredited institution. Hours to be paid as work time, for non-exempt employees, should be recorded on the time sheet as "paid class time."

With prior written supervisory approval, staff members may also take any class during work hours and adjust the regular work schedule to make up any lost time. Documentation of the adjusted work schedule should be forwarded to the Human Resources Office for inclusion in the employee’s personnel file.

Note: Reimbursement requests which are submitted without the appropriate advanced approvals may not be processed and the employee may not be reimbursed for the cost of the course.

7.9B Tuition Waiver Policy

A full-time or limited full-time employee, who resides outside Collin County, may receive a waiver of the difference between the out-of-county and in-county resident tuition for the employee, the spouse and dependent children.

Full-time teaching faculty, their spouses and dependent children may also receive a waiver between the out-of-state and in-county resident tuition.

Both a letter from Human Resources verifying CCCC employment and appropriate documentation of dependent status must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office, which issues the waiver form.

7.9C Employment Training Agreements

Employees are frequently offered opportunities to enhance job skills through intensive training programs. To participate in training programs in which the college-paid portion is $1,000 or more, the employee is required to sign an Employment Training Agreement. The agreement states that the employee agrees that, in the event he/she voluntarily leaves full-time employment with the District within the period of the agreement, the employee will reimburse the district, via payroll deduction on the final regular payroll, for a pro-rata portion of the training program costs. 

The supervisor is responsible for ensuring the Employment Training Agreement is signed by the employee and attached to the appropriate professional leave and travel form.

Employment Training Agreement forms are available from the Business Office and approved agreements are maintained in the Human Resources Office in the appropriate personnel file.

Employees who are employed on a part-time basis at a pay rate equivalent to other full-time employees in the same or similar positions and are scheduled to work between 20 and 39 hours per week for more than 4.5 months, receive insurance coverage as do regular full-time employees and are considered limited full-time employees.

Limited full-time employees accrue four hours of sick leave per month and vacation as follows:

In addition, four hours of personal leave are available each fiscal year, and college approved holidays are paid at four hours per day.

A time sheet must be completed to document the portion of the week worked. All limited full-time employees are required to participate in the Teacher’s Retirement System of Texas (unless the employee is eligible to participate in an ORP through a previous position).

Full time faculty and staff may participate in any of the college’s sports or exercise programs and receive matched time for their exercise efforts. For every 30 minutes of exercise by a faculty/staff employee, the college will match 30 minutes of free exercise time, within the following limits:

1. College-contributed time and employee-contributed time must be taken on the same day.

2. Incentive time is limited to 30 minutes, three times weekly (one and one-half hours weekly maximum for college's contribution).

3. Participants must check in and out at the campus fitness center desk.

4. College-contributed time should be discussed with and approved by supervisor, in advance.

5. Fitness programs must be performed on CCCC campuses.