Are you taking college courses? See how to submit required documents for college course reimbursement. Learn more in our step-by-step guide below.
Tuition Reimbursement
Kaiser Permanente encourages lifelong learning for employees. You can receive tuition reimbursement for successfully completing eligible courses
to continue your education, get a certificate or earn a degree.
Once your application is processed for reimbursement, it will go to payroll.
The payment timing will depend on when the cutoff period is for your next paycheck.
When your status changes to “Payment Completed,” you’ll get an email stating which paycheck
the reimbursement will be on and the amount.
No, the reimbursement amount won't be taxed. It isn't part of taxable
gross income. On your pay stub, academic courses will appear as "NT TUI PY" and
continuing education units (CEUs)/certifications as "Non Tax Educatn Reim."
Our regular turnaround time is 2 to 4 pay periods. Depending on our volume, that timeframe is subject to change.
For an academic course:
Final grade with credits earned, course name, student name and term.
Student account statement showing detailed itemized charges and payments including payment method (cash, credit, check, grant, loan).
For CEU:
Receipt showing attendee name, course name, cost and proof the payment has been made.
Completion document showing attendee’s name, course name, date completed and CE units earned.
You must submit supporting documents within 90 days from the course end date.
You must submit them to National Tuition Reimbursement (NOT to your manager).
If you don’t, your application may be denied.
The preferred method is uploading documents to your application. This is the best way to ensure documents
are there for us to review. Other options are emailing documents to national-tra@kp.org or
faxing them to 877-201-0081. When faxing or emailing documents, please make sure the TR number, your full
name and NUID are visible.
The tuition reimbursement benefit year is determined by the course START date. If a course starts in December 2019,
it will be taken from the employee’s 2019 benefits (it doesn't matter when a course ends or when the payment is made).
Once submitted, applications can't be edited. It's OK if the estimated fees don't match your application.
You'll be reimbursed based on the receipts. If the course name and/or course start/end dates on the
application are incorrect, you must resubmit the application.
Employees can add an alternate manager if the direct manager isn't available.
Click on the link https://epf.kp.org/wps/myportal/hr/kpme/career/employeeselfservice.
On the right-hand side, you can add an alternate manager’s name and email.
If you've already submitted the application and need to add an alternate manager, please send an
email to National Tuition Reimbursement (national-tra@kp.org), providing your TR number and alternate manager's KP email address.
Please check your regional tuition reimbursement policy to ensure you're eligible for travel expenses.
For those who are eligible for travel expenses, travel is covered for workshops, seminars, professional conferences,
educational meetings and special events taken for continuing education (such as CEU, PDU, CME, contact hours).
Travel includes airfare, hotel, car rental, parking, toll, public transportation and mileage.
Academic courses aren't eligible for travel expense.
You must pay travel expenses by cash, check or credit card. See Step 6 of the step-by-step guide for more details.
A grade of C or better along with credits earned are considered a passing grade for academic courses.
Courses also can be taken for Pass/No Pass, Credit/No Credit. Please note, under the tuition reimbursement policy, C- is considered NOT passing.
The Ben Hudnall Memorial Trust handles the Individual Stipend Program. You can also apply for TAP through BHMT. Find out more at bhmt.org, 844-377-7849 or BHMT@kp.org.
Education leave is handled by National HR. Call 877-457-4772.
We don't have a list of schools that are affiliated with Kaiser Permanente. Please contact the schools you're
interested in and ask if they offer discounts to Kaiser Permanente employees.
As manager, please verify the employee meets eligibility requirements. Make sure courses are through an accredited institution. Also, courses must be relevant to the employee’s KP career. See your region’s tuition reimbursement policy for more details.
When an employee submits an application, an email gets sent to the manager listed on the application. The email will include a link for you to click on to approve it. Or, you can email national-tra@kp.org with the employee’s full name, NUID or employee ID #, and “Approved”.
Yes, tuition reimbursement will verify the employee’s eligibility, then proceed accordingly.
Amounts listed on the application are estimated fees. They don’t have to be exact. Once we review the final receipt, we’ll reimburse the amount accordingly.
Ensure the education course/program meets your
policy's eligibility requirements.
Action:
Read your regional TR policy
Verify that your course or program provides the required academic credit or continuing educations units
Ensure your education is delivered by an accredited school, professional society, or governmental agency or endorsed by the
same to deliver credentials on their behalf
Department of Education (DOE) web site for searching accredited schools
Step 2 - Get approval from your manager
Speak with your manager at least 30 days prior to the beginning of the course. Your manager will need to know how the course relates
to your job duties or future career goals at Kaiser, and may want to discuss how you will share your learnings with your coworkers, and
the estimated travel costs per Continuing Education class/program, if you are eligible.
Action:
Discuss with your manager and refer to your regional TR policy
You can use your IDP to plan your educational advancement.
Upon your manager's contingent approval, you can proceed to Step 3.
Step 3 - Create and submit the Tuition Reimbursement Application
All fields with a red asterisk must be filled out. An incomplete application can mean delays
in approval or payment.
Action:
Once you submit your application for tuition reimbursement:
Your manager will receive a copy of your submitted Tuition Reimbursement application to review and contingently approve. Your
application status will display as “Manager Accepted”
NOTE: NTRA does NOT pre-approve applications. It is your responsibility to read and know your policy, posted on HRconnect, attend an approved program and institution/event, and submit the required documents.
Check your Tuition Reimbursement Benefits Page on HRconnect for status updates. If your application status has been changed to
Denied or Pending Documents, you will receive an email from National-TRA explaining reason of denial or next steps.
Step 4 - Pay for the course and successfully complete it
You cannot receive advance payment for your education expenses. You must register and pay for the course and satisfactorily
complete the course.
Action:
Enroll in the class as scheduled. Reminder: If you require Time-Off / Ed Leave / PTO you must have your manager's prior
approval (see Step 2)
Tuition reimbursement policy indicates that you must receive a letter grade of C or better, P (passing) and Cr (Credit),
a certificate listing CEUs earned.
Upon class completion return copies of the following documents within 90 days of the course end date to National-TRA. Failure to do so
will result in a denial.
Upload your reimbursement documents directly into your TR application, from your HRconnect Tuition Reimbursement Benefits Page.
Action:
Upload tuition, books and course fee: itemized invoices with your name, term, tuition charges and fees.
Upload receipts listing payment method (Itemized Receipts, Processed Checks [front and back of check], Statements, etc.)
Satisfactory grade report with your name and term
Online upload is the preferred method. Note: Documents must be uneditable, original documents or screenshots. Do not copy- paste from a website.
Payment turnaround depends on when your final tuition and travel documents are received, and the accuracy of your submission(s). We typically review your documents within a few weeks of submission, depending on volume. Once we review your documents you will receive either an email telling you when your payment will be on your paycheck (Status = PAYMENT PROCESSED or PAYMENT COMPLETE)
or requesting any further information or documentation we may need (Status = PENDING or DOCUMENTS MISSING ).
For reimbursement of continuing education-related travel costs attach all travel receipts
to your tuition reimbursement application.
Action:
Travel receipts must be scans or photos of original bills or receipts listing your name, name of the vendor,
location, date, a full description of the goods or services received, along with itemized charges and payments
including payment method (cash, check, credit card, PayPal, etc..). We don’t accept payments from vouchers,
credit card points, frequent flyer points, rewards points or travel points.
Travel receipts cannot be faxed; you must upload them to your Tuition Reimbursement Application.
Only submit for mileage that exceeds your normal commute mileage (per Kaiser’s National Travel and Expense policy NATL.FIN.FSO.001).
Check back to this page in the future for details on updates to the tuition reimbursement policy and the
addition of many resources to help you achieve your education goals.
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