Tuition Refund Program

PG&E offers employees the opportunity to be reimbursed for approved courses through the Tuition Refund Program. These approved courses are designed to assist you in performing your current duties in the most productive manner possible and to help enable you to assume new duties in the future.

The Tuition Refund Program is a company practice and is not subject to employee benefits regulations including, but not limited to, ERISA.

Eligibility

Management and Administrative and Technical (A&T) Employees:

  • All full-time, active employees are eligible for the full tuition allowance of $8,000.
  • All part-time, active employees are eligible for a pro-rated portion of tuition allowance based on the employee’s scheduled percentage of full-time employment.
  • Employee must not be under any active discipline or performance action plan.

Represented Employees:

  • Full-time, active payroll employees are eligible for full tuition allowance after attaining regular status.
Employee Group IBEW Union SEIU Union ESC Union
Full-time Annual Allowance Cap $5,250 $5,250 $6,000
  • Part-time employees and employees who have not attained regular status are not eligible for the program.

Ineligible Employees:

  • Employees on leave of absence, non-employee workers (contractors, agency employees, leased employees), hiring hall employees, outage employees, summer hires, interns, retired employees, and employees currently participating in an apprenticeship are not eligible for the program.

See the Summary of Benefits Handbook for potential tax implications and additional information.

Application

Employees interested in applying for tuition reimbursement should discuss their academic plans with their direct supervisor (or appropriate next-level manager) prior to application submission. Courses must be either work-related or career-related as deemed by supervisor.

Several resources are available to assist employees with the application process. Employees are encouraged to read through these documents prior to application submission.

* Note, you will need network access to view these documents.

Once you’ve read through the Tuition Refund Program resources, visit the TAMS online portal to submit your application.

Deadlines:

  • Submit your application by course start date for program eligibility
  • Direct supervisor approval is required for reimbursement
  • Grades and supporting documents are due within 90 days after course end date
FAQs

Are PMP/PE/GRE/GMAT exam preparation courses reimbursable?

It depends. If the exam preparation course is offered by a school that meets TRP accreditation requirements, the course is covered by the program. Generally, traditional 2- and 4-year colleges meet accreditation requirements. Exam fees are not eligible for tuition refund.

My school bundles various program fees into my registration/enrollment fee. Will TRP pay all these fees?

Fees not directly related to tuition or direct instruction are not eligible for tuition reimbursement. If your school bundles fees, you will be asked to submit an itemized invoice detailing the breakout of these fees. Please work with your school to make sure you have this information in advance of document submission to avoid payment delay.

My department requires me (or my team) to take a training course through a non-accredited agency to meet job requirement(s). Will TRP pay for these training costs?

Specialized training courses offered at non-accredited agencies are not eligible for TRP reimbursement. If these courses are job-related expenses, and sanctioned by your department, a P-card may be used to pay for these courses if the course is $2,500 or less per person. Employees may not use their PG&E corporate or purchasing credit card to pay for tuition program related costs.

I am enrolled in a program that allows me to take unlimited courses for a flat tuition fee. How should these courses be listed on my application?

Flat-fee tuition programs and self-paced programs require special handling. Please contact EdAssist for guidance on how to complete applications related to these types of programs.

What happens if I submit an application, the company pays the school, and I don’t enroll or take the class?

It is the employee’s responsibility to repay PG&E or to work with the school to send a refund check back to EdAssist. If EdAssist does not receive the refund, the employee is held responsible for repayment.

CONTACT US

EdAssist is PG&E’s authorized third party program administrator. EdAssist acts on behalf of Human Resources in administering PG&E’s Tuition Refund Program.

If your question is related to:

  • Tuition Refund Program Policy
  • School verification
  • A submitted application

Contact EdAssist:

  1. By phone at 1-888-718-2235 – Monday–Friday, 5 a.m.–5 p.m.
  2. Help Ticket via TAMS online portal
  3. Application Comment via TAMS online portal

If your question is related to:

  • Payroll deduction
  • Change in approver
  • Program eligibility verification
  • Topics not addressed in Program Standard

Contact PG&E Tuition Refund Program Office:
PGETuition@pge.com