Civilian Tuition Assistance Program (CTAP), Civilian Tuition Assistance Policy (Revised 19 /Dec 98)

21 June 2001

MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA)
CONCERNING THE
CIVILIAN TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (CTAP)
CIVILIAN TUITION ASSISTANCE POLICY (REVISED 19 DEC 98)

1. The American Federation of Government Employees Council 214 (AFGE Council 214) and Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), agree that the Civilian Tuition Assistance Program (CTAP) policy is designed to ensure standardization and provide equity for all employees. The CTAP differs from training in that CTAP is for self development whereby the employee, rather than management, identifies the training, initiates requests for specific courses at institutions of his/her choice, shares in the cost and attends on a voluntary basis. Training identified and directed by management (e.g., training required by certification, training required for job performance, etc.) is not covered by CTAP, but is 100% funded by management.

2. The Parties agree that the following listed AFIs as referenced in the Civilian Tuition Assistance Policy (revised 19 Dec 1998) do not apply to the AFGE Council 214 bargaining unit members for the purposes of this MOA, until the AFIs have been negotiated and agreement reached by the Parties:

36-401 dated 1 Aug. 1994

36-602 dated 25 Jul. 1994

3. The Parties agree that the CTAP policy (revised 19 Dec 1998) does not cover the Civilian Intern Programs, which include Palace Acquires, Palace Knights and Copper Caps. The 19 Dec 1998 revision of the CTAP policy is the applicable revision of the policy for the purposes of this MOA as it applies to the AFGE Council 214 bargaining unit members. If management desires to make changes to the CTAP policy (revised 19 Dec 1998), it will provide notice to the union in accordance with the provisions of Article 33 of the Master Labor Agreement (MLA) between the Parties.

4. The Parties to this agreement acknowledge that courses funded under CTAP must be restricted to academic mission related courses to qualify for tuition assistance. Mission related education includes everything except the following: courses in religion, art, physical education, music, philosophy, literature, and history (except for Historian and Museum Career Program). Employees registered in Air Force civilian career programs and/or the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) must first make application on that basis. Should bargaining unit employees be ineligible for or otherwise denied financial assistance by the career program or DAWIA, these employees may then apply for CTAP assistance. Requests for tuition assistance will be handled in the order they were initially received (first-come, first-serve) until the funds are exhausted. Should additional funding become available at a later date, those employees who requested tuition assistance after funding was exhausted will be considered for assistance in the order in which they originally applied for tuition assistance.

5. Employees who desire to participate in CTAP will provide to the Education & Training Flight (E&TF) either a degree plan, Career Enhancement Plan, or Individual Development Plan containing the desired courses at the college or university they wish to attend. Except for shortage occupations, public law prohibits training civilians for the sole purpose of providing an academic degree. However, a degree may be an incidental by-product of training. The Employee Development Specialist (EDS) assigned to the E&TF will review the plan and notify the applicant of courses, which meet the "mission-related" criteria. The plan will only be used as a planning document by the EDS and employee for the purpose of determining academic mission-related course educational goals. No commitment or obligation of funds will occur at the time of review. Also, upon request, the applicant will be notified by the E&TF of the local governing provisions concerning taking courses during duty hours. Courses will normally be taken on a voluntary off-duty basis. However, courses may be taken during duty hours subject to approval by the employee's supervisor and local governing provisions.

6. Immediate supervisors will be involved in the CTAP process in consonance with Career Enhancement Plans and/or Individual Development Plans. Management will ensure that the DD Form 1556 is coordinated on and forwarded to the E&TF within five workdays. To ensure expediency, the employee may wish to hand carry the DD Form 1556 to the E&TF during on-duty time. The final approval authority for CTAP funding rests with the EDS assigned to the E&TF.

7. All remedies available under the MLA negotiated grievance procedure or the Labor Statute are available to the Parties, should either party believe there has been a violation, breech, or repudiation of this agreement. Likewise, bargaining unit member dissatisfactions such as CTAP denial of tuition assistance will also be resolved under the MLA negotiated grievance procedure.