The City of San Antonio Tuition Assistance Program encourages employees to continue their educational and professional development. The program is open to all full-time, regular City employees, excluding those covered by collective bargaining agreements.

Administrative Directive 4.77, Tuition Assistance

Tuition Assistance Application (This link can only be viewed by City of San Antonio employees on the internal City of San Antonio network.)

For more information, call Human Resources Customer Service at (210) 207-8705.


General Provisions

1. All courses eligible for reimbursement under this program fall into one of the below categories. For any combination of Category A, B or C courses, no more than six (6) total semester hours or the equivalent are eligible for reimbursement for any one semester or equivalent time period.

1. Category A: Undergraduate and graduate courses for which a non-pass/fail letter grade is awarded and which leads to a degree from an accredited college and university. Tuition assistance applications for Category A courses must be accompanied by a letter from the employee’s undergraduate or graduate advisor certifying that the course is part of a degree program.
2. Category B: Undergraduate and graduate courses taken from an accredited college or university not as part of a degree program or for which a non-pass/fail letter grade is not awarded. Such courses must be related to the employee’s job.
3. Category C: Correspondence courses. Such courses must be related to the employee’s job.
4. Category D: Job-related seminars and conferences.

2. Reimbursement for tuition for each course will be accomplished in accordance with the below listed criteria for each category of course. Only tuition will be reimbursed in accordance with the following criteria, not expenses for books, fees or other school-related expenses.

Category A: Tuition reimbursement will be based on the grade earned by the employee for the course for which reimbursement is sought. The maximum reimbursement for a given semester hour earned at any accredited college or university will be up to, but no greater than, the undergraduate semester hour tuition rate set by the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) in effect for the same semester time period during which the employee earned the semester hour. The level of reimbursement by grade is as follows:

1. Course completed with grade of A – 100% of UTSA tuition rate only.
2. Course completed with grade of B – 75% of UTSA tuition rate only.
3. Course completed with grade of C – 50% of UTSA tuition rate only.

Category B: Up to $100 maximum reimbursement for tuition only.

Category C: 50% of costs reimbursed up to $100.

Category D: 50% of registration fee reimbursed up to $100.

Eligibility and Application Requirements

1. The employee is not eligible for aid from the City Tuition Assistance Program for Category A, B or C courses if he or she is eligible for tuition assistance from other programs (i.e., LEEP, GI Bill).
2. The employee remains eligible for the City Tuition Assistance Program, if he or she is utilizing a Student Loan.
3. The employee must apply for reimbursement under the Tuition Assistance Program after completion of the course within 60 calendar days of the postmark on the course grade report issued by the school for a Category A course or within 60 calendar days of the date on the invoice or bill rendered for a non-Category A course.
4. The employee must make the application for reimbursement through the employee’s immediate supervisor, Division Head and Department Director, in that order, before submitting the application to the Human Resources Department. A separate form must be submitted for each course for which tuition assistance is requested.
5. The employee must submit proof of course completion as part of the application.
   1. For a Category A course, proof of course completion must indicate the grade earned.
   2. For a non-Category A course, proof of course completion must consist of either a letter attesting to course completion from an official of the institution offering the course, or an invoice/bill issued on a date no earlier than the day of course completion.
6. The employee must attend courses on his or her own time. Written authorization must be obtained from the employee’s Department Director to take courses during normal working hours for which administrative leave will be granted.
7. The employee must understand that participation in this program in no way obligates the City to promote, transfer or otherwise compensate the employee beyond his or her current job classification.