Employee Handbook

Section 7 — Employee Benefits

Tuition Reimbursement

The City of West Des Moines provides partial tuition reimbursement, leading towards a degree program, to employees who want to improve their skills and abilities. The Tuition Reimbursement Program is available to employees who have worked for the City as a full-time employee for at least six months prior to the date of submission of the Tuition Reimbursement Request form.

Employees who leave employment of the City shall reimburse the City for all educational expenses paid by the City in the previous 12-month period, except where termination is due to disability, death, retirement or layoff. Previous 12-month period will be calculated from the date of reimbursement.

Reimbursement is granted for courses that are beneficial to City employees and their job performance, and for areas of study that directly relate to their jobs or to positions in which employees have reasonable plans and interest to attain. Serious consideration is given to requests that clearly lead employees toward career growth and advancement with the City.  

Reimbursement is only given for courses that are taken at accredited educational institutions that are defined as colleges, universities, trade schools, business schools or other institutions that have met the minimum requirements and standards of an accrediting association as recognized by the United States Department of Education. To determine if an educational institution is accredited, please visit www.hlcommission.org or www.ed.gov.  CLEP testing fees are not eligible for reimbursement.   

Reimbursement Allotment

Reimbursements will be reduced by the amount of any government, college, or other program grants, scholarships, fellowships, etc. that are paid to or on the behalf of the employee for tuition reimbursement/assistance. The City will reimburse for tuition and books related to the approved coursework.

• High School Diploma/GED: Employees who have not earned high school diplomas are eligible for tuition reimbursement and a test reimbursement of 100 percent, with a maximum of $75 in any Fiscal Year for courses leading to high school equivalency certificates.  

• Associates Degree: Employees are eligible for tuition reimbursement of 50 percent for courses that are part of a program leading to an associates degree.  There is a maximum reimbursement of $3,200 in any Fiscal Year. The employee is only able to obtain one associate degree during their employment with the City.

• Bachelor/Graduate Degree: Employees are eligible for tuition reimbursement of 75 percent for courses that are part of a program leading to a bachelor or graduate's degree. There is a maximum reimbursement of $3,200 in any Fiscal Year. The employee is only able to obtain one bachelor degree and one graduate degree during their employment with the City.

Submission of Forms

All tuition reimbursement forms are available through the Employee Handbook. To begin the tuition reimbursement process, an Educational Plan Form  and a Tuition Reimbursement Agreement must be completed by the employee, routed for the appropriate department signatures, and sent to Human Resources. Human Resources will forward the documentation to the City Manager to complete the signature process. This form outlines the education description (degree, certification, and so forth), anticipated graduation date, and reason for pursuing the program of study.

Coursework toward a degree program will be reimbursed even if a course is not work related so long as the course is part of a curriculum leading to the completion of an approved degree.

Employees must request approval for reimbursement prior to enrollment in the course by completing the Tuition Reimbursement Request Form. The request must be signed by the interested employee’s supervisor with an indication that the course does or does not relate to the employee’s present position and a comment regarding the employee’s plans and interest in other positions. Approval or denial rests with the Human Resources Director, Department Director and the City Manager; communication will be given to the employee with the status of the request.

Course Completion

Employees must submit proof to Human Resources of course completion with a grade C or better before reimbursements will be issued. When an institution provides a course on a pass/fail option only, the City will honor a ”pass” grade.  

In order to receive a reimbursement, the course grade and proof of payment must be forwarded to Human Resources.

Certified Public Manager Program

A recommendation must come from the Department Director to the City Manager prior to an application being made for the CPM Program. The City Manager or Deputy City Manager must be the “Organization Director/Appointing Authority Signature” for all CPM Applications prior to the submission of the application.

The Iowa Certified Public Manager® Program (CPM) is the premium nationally accredited professional certification for public sector managers and directors.

CPM is offered by Drake University in partnership with the State of Iowa. CPM is pursued as a unified learning group (cohort) of 18-25 professionals who meet 2-3 days each month over 18 months on the Drake University Campus. A new "cohort" of learners is launched twice each calendar year (January and July).  

Admission to CPM is based on professional experience criteria that includes: 1) managing two or more people, or 2) involvement in a professional project, or 3) pursuing a graduate degree. Application for admission to the next available cohort occurs in January and July. (See: https://das.iowa.gov/human-resources/training-and-development/certified-public-manager)  

Besides the criteria used above other considerations that will be used to approve the CPM Program Application may include:

• Availability of funds

• The current structure of the department and any impending departures due to Retirements

• Applicability of the coursework to the job/or future positions in the organization.

• Whether there is an interest in the employee to obtain a Master’s Degree

• Potential of continued employment with the City of West Des Moines and/or length of service with the City of West Des Moines

• The ability of the department to insure efficient operations of the department with the periodic absence of the employee

• The commitment of the employee to attending and engage in the coursework and project(s)

• The general performance of the employee

Professional Certifications/Accreditation/Licenses

Professional certifications, accreditation, or licenses required as a minimum qualification for a position shall be the responsibility of the employee. Whenever the minimum qualifications of a position or the operation of a service are materially changed by legislation or the introduction of new machines or processes, the City shall permit the affected employee a reasonable opportunity to acquire the needed qualification. The employee, with the Department Director’s approval, shall receive paid time off from work to attend training as well as reimbursement for training, certification and license fees.

It is the employees’ responsibility to notify their immediate supervisors of any status change regarding professional certification, accreditation, or license required. This also includes suspension, revocation, denial, cancellation or expiration. In the event of a status change, employees should notify their immediate supervisors no later than the start of the workday following the status change. Loss of a license, certification or accreditation does not automatically trigger disciplinary action; all factors will be considered in determining the appropriate job action. However, failure to report any of these changes may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.  

Professional Development

The City encourages employees to continue their professional development by acquiring professional certifications, accreditation, or licenses that are not required of their positions, but that benefit them in enhancing job performance, skills and knowledge, and service to the community.

Regular employees who volunteer to acquire or maintain a professional certification, accreditation, or license that is not required, but directly relates to their positions with the City, may request paid time off to acquire the professional designation and reimbursement for any affiliated examination fees.