Have you come across an interesting course or conference that you know would help you grow in your career but aren’t sure how to pay for the registration fees? Remember, if you’re an MSU support staff employee, you have access to Educational Assistance. This benefit offers financial assistance (up to $800) to receive reimbursement for registration fees for credit or non-credit courses that are job-related and from an approved institution/program. Non-credit courses include opportunities such as conferences, workshops, seminars, or trainings. Find more details about your Educational Assistance benefit here.

In order to use the benefit, you must submit an application and be approved prior to the course start date. To make sure you or your department gets reimbursed for the registration fees, you should apply and be approved for educational assistance before you pay any registration fees up front.

Process to Apply for Educational Assistance

1. Find and Discuss the Course with Your Supervisor: If you find a non-credit or credit course that you’re interested in taking, talk to your supervisor about how it will help you grow in your career. Consider tying the course to one of your Performance Excellence goals.
2. Submit an Educational Assistance Application Early: If your supervisor agrees that you should take the course, submit an Educational Assistance application via the EBS Portal. Login to the portal, click on My Career and Training, click the Educational Assistance System tile, then select the correct application type from the Apply tab in the top navigation. Please note the following:
   • Credit Courses: submit an application 60 days prior to the first day of the course for MSU credit courses or 30 days prior to the first day for all other credit courses.
   • Non-Credit Courses (training, conferences, etc.): submit an application 30 days prior to the first day of the course.
3. Supervisor Reviews Application: Your application will be sent to your supervisor for approval. You will receive a confirmation email after they approve your application. The application is then sent to MSU Human Resources (HR).
4. MSU HR Reviews Application: Your application will be reviewed for final approval. You will be notified within 15 days (after receipt of application to MSU HR) if the request has been approved or denied. 

How to Receive Reimbursement

After your application is approved, you’re all set to attend your course! After you finish your course, you’ll need to submit documents to receive reimbursement. You can find more details about Educational Assistance reimbursement for a credit course or non-credit course on the HR website.

Please note: you do not need to submit an Educational Assistance application for courses offered by HR Organization and Professional Development.

Questions? Find more Educational Assistance information on the HR website. Contact the Solutions Center at SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu or 517-353-4434 with any further questions.