Benefits

Clark University offers eligible employees whose standard hours are 30 hours or more four choices of health plans through Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and makes contributions towards both individual and family plans.

Eligibility starts on the first of the month following the date of hire unless the date of hire is the first of the month or the first work day of the month, in which case eligibility is immediate.

Employee cost per month effective January 1 of the year to December 31  varies depending on the plan and coverage selected.

The health insurance plan year follows the calendar year and provides employees the opportunity to enroll or make changes to their existing coverage during the annual open enrollment period in the fall.

Employees are not able to enroll off-anniversary unless they experience a qualifying life event, i.e. birth, marriage, divorce, death, etc.

Health insurance options for new employees will be covered in a Benefit Orientation the first week of employment. Current employees may view the forms and comparison rate chart in the Perks Showcase portal, in the Clark University Human Resources tile.

Clark University offers eligible employees whose standard schedules are 30 hours or more dental insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Eligibility starts on the first of the month following the date of hire unless the date of hire is the first of the month or the first work day of the month in which case eligibility is immediate.

Employee cost per month effective January 1 of the year to December 31 is listed in the comparison and rate chart located under Benefit Information and Forms in the Documents and Forms section on the Human Resources home page. cost varies depending on the plan and coverage selected.

The dental insurance plan year follows the calendar year and provides employees the opportunity to enroll or make changes to their existing coverage during the annual open enrollment period in the fall.

Employees are not able to enroll off-anniversary unless they experience a qualifying life event, i.e. birth, marriage, divorce, death, etc.

The University provides eligible employees whose standard schedule hours are 17.5 hours or more (at no cost to the employee) the opportunity to set aside a portion of their salary on a pre-tax basis to be used to pay for qualified health care and/or dependent care expenses.

Eligibility starts on the first of the month following the date of hire unless the date of hire is the first of the month or the first work day of the month, in which case eligibility is immediate.

A debit card with the annual amount elected will be provided by the vendor. Employees may set aside anywhere from $100 to the IRS allowable maximum for the health care account and/or $100 to $5,000 for the dependent care accounts* thus lowering your taxable income.

New employees have until the first of the month following their date of hire to elect this benefit or may wait until the annual open enrollment period.

The FSA plan year follows the calendar year. Each year employees must reenroll in the plan during the annual open enrollment period in the fall.

Employees are not able to make changes off-anniversary unless they experience a qualifying life event, i.e. birth, marriage, divorce, death, etc.

The Summary Plan Description can be found in the Documents and Forms section, under Disclosures and notices on the Human Resources home page.

*The IRS limits dependent care account elections to $5,000 per family.

This is a voluntary tax-deferred retirement plan. Employees may join the first of any month and must contribute 5% of their salary.

There is a two-year wait before employees working 1000 hours or more are eligible for the University’s contribution to this plan. However, the mandatory two-year waiting period for new employees to enroll in Clark University’s retirement plan is waived for those with two years of continuous service in a non-student, benefit eligible, position at any institution of higher education. Documentation on the dates of employment from the previous employer is required.

Effective January 1, 2025, the University’s contribution to the 403(b) Defined Contribution Plan for new hires or rehires with an effective start date on or after this date will be 8%.

To contribute more than 5% of the salary, employees may enroll in Clark’s Supplemental Tax-Deferred Retirement Plan (SRA). Detailed information is available in the HR Office.

Universal availability allows employees that are not eligible to participate in the Defined Contribution Plan (RA) and receive the University’s 10% contribution to participate in the Supplemental Tax-Deferred Retirement Plan (SRA).

Full time employees are covered by the University’s group life insurance valued at two times their base annual salary, rounded to the next highest thousand and the University assumes the entire cost of this benefit.  For additional details, please refer to the Life Insurance Summary of Benefits

Eligibility starts on the first of the month following the date of hire unless the date of hire is the first of the month or the first work day of the month in which case eligibility is immediate.

Full time employees are covered by the University’s LTD benefit that pays approximately 60% of the employee’s monthly base salary if the employee is totally disabled for a continuous period of six months or longer (less any amount received from Social Security or Worker’s Compensation) and is provided, at no cost, to the employee.

Eligibility starts on the first of the month following the date of hire unless the date of hire is the first of the month or the first work day of the month in which case eligibility is immediate.

If the employee is participating in the University’s retirement plan at the time of total disability, they will continue to receive a contribution by the University while collecting disability income (up to age 65).

For additional details please refer to the Long-Term Disability Long Term disability summary of benefits.

SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES
Staff Member: Effective the semester following employment, full- time employees may take two undergraduate courses per semester, or one graduate course per semester in the School of Professional Studies, full tuition waived. Spouse/Child: In addition, after one year of employment, either the spouse or one child may take one undergraduate or one graduate course per semester with Clark paying $500 toward tuition.

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT (SOM)
Staff Member: Effective the semester following employment, full time employees may take two (2) courses per semester, pending acceptance through the SOM admissions process.
Spouse/Child: After one year of full-time employment, either the spouse or one child may take one course per semester with a $1,000 waiver ($500 waiver for 7-week course), pending acceptance through the admissions process.

UNDERGRADUATE TUITION FOR DEPENDENT CHILDREN
After three years of full-time employment, full-time employees’ dependent children under age 24 who are matriculating toward an undergraduate degree, may attend the University’s day undergraduate college (pending acceptance through the admissions process) or School of Professional Studies, full or part-time, with tuition cost waived for up to 36 courses or an earned degree, whichever comes first.

Overview

Clark University is a member of the Tuition Exchange (TE) Program, which provides the opportunity for dependent children of eligible Clark faculty and staff to receive undergraduate scholarships at other participating TE member institutions. A list of 600+ colleges and universities that participate in the TE program can be viewed at www.tuitionexchange.org.

The TE program is a scholarship opportunity and not a fringe benefit provided by Clark University. Only full time faculty and staff who have completed five (5) years of full time employment at Clark (as of September 1st of the year of application), are eligible to apply on behalf of their dependent children. Application for the TE program does not guarantee acceptance at a TE member institution, nor does it insure a TE scholarship. It is highly likely that not all of the eligible faculty and staff who seek a TE scholarship will be certified by Clark. This is because TE is a reciprocal program, and we are required to balance the number of individuals we send out on the exchange (exports) by an equal number of admits (imports) over the most current five-year period.

The university uses a seniority lottery system based on your years of service at Clark and your eligibility for Clark’s off-campus tuition benefits. Faculty and staff with 5-9 years of service will receive one chance in the lottery; those with 10+ years of service will receive 2 chances unless that faculty or staff member is also eligible for the University’s Off Campus Tuition benefit, in which case they will only receive one chance.

Due to the TE application process as well as the timing of admissions decisions, TE scholarship applications are due in the HR Office no later than the last workday in October each year.

Because of the multi step process of this scholarship opportunity, faculty and staff who intend to apply are strongly encourage to attend the annual TE Information Session with representatives of financial aid, and human resources held each September.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the Tuition Exchange (TE) Program?

A. The Tuition Exchange is a reciprocal scholarship program where participating member schools are required to offer a minimum “set rate” value scholarship to students they admit with a TE scholarship award. The scholarship amount will be provided on the TE Scholarship application each year. Participating schools are also required to balance the number of individuals they certify for the exchange (export), by an equal number of individuals they admit to their school (import) with a TE scholarship.

Q. Who is eligible to apply for a Tuition Exchange Scholarship Certification from Clark?

A. You are eligible to apply if you are a regular full-time Clark faculty or staff member who has completed five years of full-time employment as of September 1st of the year of application; are actively working; and are on Clark’s payroll.

If you applied last year and did not receive a TE scholarship, you must apply for certification from Clark again this year.

Q. What are my chances of being certified eligible by Clark University for TE consideration?

A. There is no guarantee. The TE program is not a Clark University benefit, so you are not automatically eligible to receive certification. We anticipate that we will have interest levels that require a lottery system, but that will depend on the number of “imports” who are admitted to Clark each Fall, as well as the number of Clark faculty and staff who apply to participate each Fall (“exports”).

If there is a greater demand for scholarships then available certification slots, Clark will use a lottery system to randomly rank eligible applicants each year. The number of chances a faculty/staff member has in the lottery is based on your years of full-time employment at Clark, and whether you are also eligible for the University’s Off-campus tuition benefit.

TE certifications will be determined by lottery ranking equal to the number of TE “export” slots available. The remaining applicants are placed on a wait list for that year and will move up, if slots become available during the year.

Q. How does my dependent c*student become eligible for a TE Scholarship?

A. There are three steps in the process, simply winning Clark’s lottery will not guarantee you a TE Scholarship:

1. The faculty/staff member must submit a “TE Application to Participate” form to the Clark HR Office for initial determination of the faculty/staff member’s eligibility to participate. If the faculty/staff member is eligible AND successfully receives a slot via the lottery, the employee will be notified by HR.
2. Once the employee is notified that their student has received the opportunity to participate in the TE scholarship program it is the employee’s responsibility to notify Tuition Exchange by completing the EZ Online Application on the TE portal.
3. When your student is admitted to one or more of the colleges they have identified on the TE EZ Online Application the admitting college determines whether or not to award a TE Scholarship to your student.

Please note:  It is possible for you to be eligible at Clark; to win a lottery slot; to be certified by Clark; and still not receive a TE scholarship from the school of choice that your student is admitted to.  Being certified by Clark is not a guarantee that your student will receive a TE scholarship from the admitting school.

Q. What are my chances that the TE College will award my dependent child a scholarship once eligible?

A. It depends on the participating TE colleges’ policies and procedures, and the number of scholarships it has available. Last year, TE colleges that were new to TE, or were very large TE institutions, were more likely to offer a TE scholarship. Also, if the number of TE applicants to a particular TE college is small, chances will be better to get an award.

Q. When should I apply to Clark to participate?

A. You should submit an “Application to Participate” to the Clark HR Office no later than October 31st of the year prior to the academic year that your dependent student is considering attending college. TE applications may be accepted after that date, but will be certified on a space available basis.

Q. What is the value of a TE Scholarship?

A. TE colleges are required to cover up to a minimum amount of their charged tuition (this is called minimum “set rate” value). Each year the Tuition Exchange Board of Directors establishes the set rate value amount based on a weighted average of all participating TE College tuitions. This means that the set rate value could change each year.

Q. What happens if too many students apply for TE at a particular TE college?

A. Each participating TE college determines whom they will accept for admission and how many students they will offer a TE Scholarship to. Each school’s criteria used could include but is not limited to SAT scores, class rank, teacher recommendations, activities, financial need, and employee length of service.

Q. Can my student receive a TE Scholarship and use Clark’s Off Campus tuition benefit at the same time?

A. No. Your student is eligible to receive either the TE scholarship or Clark University’s Off-campus tuition benefit (if eligible) within a given semester, but not both at the same time. There is a limit of eight total semesters, or the attainment of a bachelor’s degree, whichever comes first, of combined usage in both programs.

Q. Who administers Clark’s TE program?

A. Clark’s Director of Financial Assistance acts as the Tuition Exchange Liaison Officer responsible for the administration of the program. The Human Resources Office is responsible for the determination of your eligibility to participate, the lottery system, and for maintaining Clark’s TE policies.

Q. Is there anything else I should know about TE?

A. It is the employee’s responsibility to ensure applications have been submitted to the participating institutions of your choice. It is also a good idea to apply for financial aid at the same time your student applies for admission in case the participating TE College does not offer your student a TE Scholarship. If your student waits to find out if they have been awarded a TE scholarship before applying for financial aid, it may be too late to do so when they receive the decision about the TE scholarship. Also, even if a TE Scholarship is offered, your student may still be eligible for financial aid beyond the TE Scholarship. Please make sure you apply for financial aid when you apply for admissions to a participating TE school.

Q. Where can I get more information about TE?

A. Connect to the Internet www.tuitionexchange.org to review a current list of participating TE institutions. If you have questions about TE at another school, contact the Admissions Office at that specific school. If you have questions about your eligibility for participation in this program, please contact the HR office; or if you have questions about the TE certification process, please contact Clark’s Financial Aid Office.

*   The IRS definition of a qualified dependent is: a) they live with you for more than one-half of the taxable year; and (b) unless disabled, they are under age 19 if not a student, or under age 24 and is a full-time student at least 5 months out of the year; and (c) they do not provide more than one-half of their own support.

If you are a full or part-time employee with an appointment of at least one-year, you are eligible to earn vacation time based on your standard weekly scheduled hours.  The most common standard weekly scheduled hours are 35, 37.5, and 40.

Vacation balances are accrued on a monthly basis and are updated after the first pay cycle of each month.  Salaried employees vacation balances are reflected as days and hourly employees vacation balances are reflected as hours.

• Employees with 12-month appointments earn 20 days per fiscal year up to a maximum of 160 hours.
• Employees with11-month appointments earn 18 days per fiscal year up to a maximum of 144 hours.
• Employees with 10-month appointments earn 16.5 days per fiscal year up to a maximum of 132 hours.
• Employees with 9-month appointments earn 15 days per fiscal year up to a maximum of 120 hours.
• Part-time employees accrue vacation time based on their part-time schedule. For example, if you work 12-months per year, and your regular work week is 5 days/20 hours per week (4 hours per day), your yearly earned vacation hours will be 80 hours (or, 20 4-hour days).

Clark’s fiscal year begins on June 1^st.  As of July 1^st, each year, you may only have the maximum annual number of days allowed (20 days for 12-month positions; 18 days for 11-month positions, etc.) carried forward.   Any additional days will be forfeited.

Employees on a 9, 10 or 11-month appointments must use their vacation time during their regular appointment period and cannot extend their appointment periods and receive vacation pay during any period of time not regularly worked.

Disclaimer: Vacation accruals for hourly employees with less than 12-month appointments, whose pays are not distributed over 26 bi-weekly pay periods, accrue their time monthly as follows:

• Employees with 11-month appointments earn 1.64 days per fiscal year up to a maximum of 144 hours.
• Employees with 10-month appointments earn 1.65 days per fiscal year up to a maximum of 132 hours.
• Employees with 9-month appointments earn 1.67 days per fiscal year up to a maximum of 120 hours.

Your supervisor must approve all vacation time off requests.

Employees paid on grants must use their vacation time during the effective dates of the grant.

Eleven (11) per year as specified by the University with no waiting period. New employees earn an additional floating holiday after three months of employment. A floating holiday must be taken during the fiscal year, or it will be forfeited.

Sick leave is accrued at the rate of one (1) day for each calendar month worked; total days not to exceed sixty-five (65). Employees may use two (2) sick days per year for personal business. The “personal days” must be approved by your supervisor.