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Staff scholarships get warm welcome

Program gives staff up to $750 a semester for courses

By Jennifer Brzowski
The Daily Cougar

A student walks into E. Cullen, hands his paperwork to a staff member sitting behind the glass, then turns to leave. "Thanks. I'll see you in class next Tuesday."

It isn't the beginning of a bad joke, but rather a scenario likely to be played out with increasing frequency thanks to the recent approval of the Staff Tuition Scholarship program.

The program allows eligible, full-time staff employees at UH to apply for up to $750 a semester from a total pool of $300,000.

"Working at a university has many benefits, but high pay is not one of them," said Catherine Murphy, director of undergraduate programs in the University Studies Division and the Staff Council's Staff Affairs Committee chairwoman.

Murphy said the funding will allow staff to take advantage of an existing state program that gives employees three hours' release time per semester to attend classes.

"Most universities outside the state of Texas provide educational benefits to their employees as a standard fringe benefit," Assistant Vice President for Human Resources Robert Herrington said. 

"For many years, staff members have worked toward a policy whereby assistance for tuition and fees for UH staff members existed," Assistant Director of Admissions Jeff Fuller said. 

Staff Council officers brought up the idea when they met with UH President Jay Gogue on his first day in office last year, and Gogue supported it, Staff Council President Angie Shortt said.

"The most exciting aspect of this program is the speediness in which it was actually implemented," Shortt said. "In just a few months, this entire process successfully came together."

Not surprisingly, the program has received a warm welcome from employees.

"From the initial feedback we have received, (the program is) running a 100 percent approval rate from the staff employees across campus," Herrington said. "It has been a tremendous morale boost to the workers."

Additional information and an application form are available at www.uh.edu/hr.
 

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