What is an Education Reimbursement?

An education reimbursement is a financial reimbursement that can be made by a company to one of its employees. This typically takes the form of tuition reimbursement in which a person pays for his or her own tuition and school costs, then submits a receipt for the tuition and other necessary information to receive pay for those costs from the company for whom he or she works. An education reimbursement will typically have a number of stipulations set by a company for qualification and can cover a number of different school expenses.

Sometimes called employee tuition reimbursement, education reimbursement usually takes the form of a person paying for his or her own education and then being repaid that cost by a company that employs him or her. This is in contrast to something like a corporate scholarship that would provide funding prior to a person’s education, paying for his or her costs while attending classes. Many different companies offer education reimbursement programs, and different companies will often set a variety of stipulations and requirements a person must meet for reimbursement. The costs covered by this type of reimbursement can also often vary among different companies.

Many companies will require that a person submit copies of receipts and official grade transcripts from a school to receive an education reimbursement. This is done to prove that the person attended classes, paid the stated amount, and met other requirements that may be set by a company. If the company will only reimburse tuition, which is quite often the case, then a receipt from the school’s bursar will typically be needed. In a case where education reimbursement can be issued for the cost of books or other school supplies, then these receipts would also be needed.

There are different requirements and stipulations companies often set for education reimbursements. Most companies will only pay for classes that have a direct relevance to the work a company performs; retail businesses might pay for business or management classes, while an architectural firm may reimburse someone the expense of learning new drafting software. Companies will often set grade requirements as well, so an employee must meet certain academic standards to have his or her tuition reimbursed. Someone who wishes to receive education reimbursement from his or her company should always be aware of these requirements for attending school. Otherwise he or she may end up with unpaid school expenses.