Important Enhancements to Tuition Benefits

Information on the Direct Pay program

We have expanded our direct pay partnerships for ALL benefited staff. See table below for participating partners. With direct pay, you won’t have to pay up front and then wait for reimbursement! Deadlines for direct pay signup can be found here.

Participating College	Eligible Employee Groups
Frederick Community College	Support staff ONLY
Frostburg State University (including the Hagerstown campus)	Support, Certificated, AS, AMT
Hood College	Support, Certificated, AS, AMT
McDaniel	Support, Certificated, AS, AMT
Mount St Mary’s	Support, Certificated, AS, AMT
Trinity Washington University	Support, Certificated, AS, AMT
University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC)	Support, Certificated, AS, AMT
University of Phoenix	Support, Certificated, AS, AMT
Walden University	Support, Certificated, AS, AMT

To participate:

You must be a benefited employee with tuition benefits available to you.

You must complete the direct pay approval form online by the direct pay deadline AND before you register for courses.

Courses that are longer than a traditional semester (i.e. admin internships and yearlong courses) are not eligible for direct pay.

How it works:

• You must sign up online for direct pay for each semester and course.
• There is a deadline for direct pay signup. See upcoming deadlines. If you miss the deadline, you may still use tuition reimbursement.
• HR evaluates your request. You will receive an email notification indicating whether your request has been approved or denied. If approved, the email will also indicate the amount FCPS will pay to the college.

Once approval is received, you can enroll in your course(s).

• FCPS Human Resources Department will notify the college of your participation. The college will adjust your bill accordingly.
• The college will bill you directly for any non-eligible expenses (tuition in excess of your benefit amount or availability, fees, etc.). You are responsible for making timely payment to the college for these non-eligible expenses.
• At the end of the semester, the college will bill FCPS and release transcripts to FCPS for participants.

FCPS will then pay the college eligible expenses and update your professional education.

NOTE: Direct Pay benefits count against your overall tuition benefit allotment for the fiscal year, and are treated the same as a tuition reimbursement.

Click here if you would like to request approval to participate in the Direct Pay program.