PS&T
Educational benefits improved
Educational benefits for PEF’s members in the PS&T
unit just got better.
The joint Professional Development Committee (PDC), which develops these
benefits under the PS&T contract, approved several changes in March,
effective April 1.
These changes include:
• Increased benefit amounts – In response to increased tuition rates for the
state University of New York (SUNY) system, PS&T Contract Article 15 will
now pay more for most college-credit courses. (See chart for details.)
• Name change – The Voucher Alternative Program (VALT) is now the “Workshop
and Seminar Reimbursement Program” (WSR) and the reimbursement amount has
increased from $600 to $1,000. It will continue to reimburse eligible
PS&T-Unit employees for attending non-credit professional development
courses, workshops, conferences, seminars and credit by examination, such as
CLEP and DANTES, given by accredited providers.
• Online registration – Article 15 educational program applications are
available online starting April 1. You can complete the application, submit
it, and check on its status without calling anyone.
If you don’t have Internet access, contact the PEF Education Department for
a paper application.
However, all members are encouraged to apply online since that process will
guide them through the application and is expected to reduce processing time
and improve tracking for the member. — Sherry Halbrook
Maximum PSTP
payments
Voucher Program; Nurses Enhanced Pilot Voucher Program; College
Tuition Reimbursement (CTR) Program; and Nurses Enhanced CTR Program:
| Course type |
Previous rate |
New rate |
| Undergraduate, up to 3
credits |
$600 |
$621 |
| Undergraduate, 4 credits or more |
$725 |
$828 |
| Graduate, up to 3 credits |
$1,200 |
$1,200 |
| Graduate, 4 credits or more |
$1,200 |
$1,396 |
Workshop & Seminar
Reimbursement (WSR) Program (formerly VALT)
and Nurses Enhanced WSR Program: |
| All non-credit courses, workshops and seminars |
$600 |
$1,000 |