MEMO

TO: Executive Board and Council Leaders

DATE: March 26, 2010

RE: Article 15 updates for fiscal year 2010-2011

I am pleased to announce that the Article 15 Professional Development Committee has increased the maximum value of a Voucher and reimbursement under the College Tuition Reimbursement and has increased the maximum reimbursement under the Workshop and Seminar Reimbursement Program (formerly known as VALT).

Increase in Tuition Benefit Amounts

With the increase in the SUNY tuition rates, the Professional Development Committee voted to increase the amount that members can obtain from the Article 15 funded educational programs. These following increases will go into effect for coursework commenced on or after April 1, 2010.

Program	Course Type	Current Rate	New Rate on 4/1/2010
Voucher Program	Undergrad up to 3 credits	$600	$621
	Undergrad 4 or more credits	$725	$828
	Graduate up to 3 credits	$1,200	$1,200
	Graduate 4 or more credits	$1,200	$1,396
Nurses' Enhanced Pilot Program for Voucher	Undergrad up to 3 credits	$600	$621
	Undergrad 4 or more credits	$725	$828
	Graduate up to 3 credits	$1,200	$1,200
	Graduate 4 or more credits	$1,200	$1,396
College Tuition Reimbursement (CTR) Program	Undergrad up to 3 credits	$600	$621
	Undergrad 4 or more credits	$725	$828
	Graduate up to 3 credits	$1,200	$1,200
	Graduate 4 or more credits	$1,200	$1,396

Nurses' Enhanced Pilot	Undergrad up to 3 credits	$600	$621
Program for CTR
	Undergrad 4 or more credits	$725	$828
	Graduate up to 3 credits	$1,200	$1,200
	Graduate 4 or more credits	$1,200	$1,396

VALT's New Name and Increase in Benefit

The College Tuition Reimbursement (CTR) program was made a permanent program in this contract period as the alternative to the Voucher Program and increase benefits over what was previously provided under VALT. As a result, the Voucher Alternative (VALT) program has only been used to reimburse registration fees for workshops, seminars, etc. The name VALT doesn't correctly characterize what the program will reimburse and after much deliberation it was decided that the VALT program will now be called the Workshop and Seminar Reimbursement Program (WSR). This change is referenced in the reimbursement chart below and is effective for training commenced after April 1, 2010.

Workshop and Seminar Reimbursement (WSR) Program * Formally VALT Program *	All non-credit Courses, workshops, and seminars	$600	$1,000
Nurses' Enhanced Pilot Program for Workshop and Reimbursement (WSR) Program ** Formally known as VALT Program**	All non-credit courses, workshops, and seminars.	$600	$1,000

On-Line Registration

Applications for the Article 15 educational programs will be on-line beginning sometime after May 1, 2010. The on-line application process will reduce the time needed to process the applications because it will walk the members step by step through the application process and will provide automatic notifications of receipt and processing to the member. This will reduce any issue with incorrectly filled out applications, reduce the time spent following up to retrieve the correct information and obtaining updates on the status of an application. Paper applications will still be available from the PEF Education Department to members who don't have interne access, but all members will be strongly encouraged to apply on-line.

If there are any questions about the programs described in the attachment, go to http://www.goer.state.ny.us/Training_Development/PEF/tuition/ . Or contact Kim Loccisano at the PEF Education and Training Department at 1-800-342-4306 ext. 240.