Offices Faculty & Staff Benefits

• Faculty Handbook
• Staff Handbook
• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Health Benefit Continuation (COBRA)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Short-Term Disability
  
• Long-Term Disability
• Term Life Insurance
• Retirement Plan 403(b) (TIAA-CREF)
• Retirement Healthcare Benefit Program (Emeriti)
• Marlboro College Course Credit or Class Audit
• Marlboro College Free Tuition Benefit for Family Members
• Tuition Exchange Program
• Meals and Dining Hall Duty
• Professional Development Opportunities
• Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Maternity Leave Policy
• Adoption Leave Policy
• Leave of Absence (beyond FMLA)
• Faculty Leaves of Absence & Sabbaticals
• Paid Time Off (vacation, personal, sick holiday)
• Bookstore

Health Insurance

Marlboro College has two health insurance plans for you to choose from: a high deductible plan with a health savings account (HSA) and a preferred provider plan (PPO). These plans cover both your basic and major medical health insurance. All regular staff members who work 20 hours or more per week on an ongoing basis are eligible to join one of these plans. Temporary and student employees are not eligible for health insurance. Premiums are paid by the College with a contribution from the employee for individual, two-person and family coverage; dependents (lawful spouses, unmarried children under the age of 19, unmarried children between the ages of 19 and 24 who are enrolled as full-time students and domestic partners) may be covered. Please contact the human resources office for current employee/employer contribution rates. Eligible employees may join a health insurance plan 30 days after date of hire. After that, employees may only switch plans, enroll in, drop from a plan, or make changes to their plans during open enrollment or because of "qualifying events" (please contact the human resources office for information on qualifying events). Open enrollment will take place each year prior to the January 1 effective date for the health insurance renewal.

Information & Forms

• Login to the Blue Cross Blue Shield website. From the Blue Cross Blue Shield website you can access your coverage history, find providers and order prescriptions.
  1. Once on the BCBSVT website, click Member at the top of the page.
  2. Then click LOGIN or REGISTER at the bottom of the page.
  3. Using your ID card and personal information you can setup an account for access to all BCBSVT services.
• Go to the IRS website list of eligible medical expenses.
• Go to the IRS Health Savings Account Publication 969.
• Health Savings Account Information
• HD/HSA Compatible Insurance Plan Summary
• VFP Insurance Plan Summary
• Get insurance forms.

Dental Insurance

A basic dental insurance plan is available after 30 days from date of hire for single, 2-person and families, including domestic partners. The employee pays the full premium at a discounted group rate. Contact human resources for current group rates.

• Visit Northeast Delta Dental Insurance website
• Dental Insurance Information
• Get insurance forms.

Health Benefit Continuation (COBRA)

The Federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) gives employees and their qualified dependents the option to continue health insurance coverage under the College's health plan when a "qualifying event" would normally result in the loss of eligibility. Employees must be enrolled in the College's heath plan before the qualifying event occurs. Some common qualifying events are resignation, employment termination for a reason other than gross misconduct, death of the employee, a reduction in an employee's hours, a leave of absence, divorce or a dependent child no longer meeting eligibility requirements as a result of age or full-time student status.

Under COBRA, the employee or dependent pays the full cost of coverage at the College's group rate plus a two percent administration fee. Employees must notify the human resources office that a qualifying event occurred. The College provides each eligible employee with a written notice describing their rights and obligations under COBRA when the employee or dependent becomes eligible for coverage.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

The employee assistance program from EAP Network is a voluntary program available to you as a College employee. It is designed to allow you or your family members to seek confidential, professional counseling or assistance for help in resolving life problems, including marital problems, adolescence issues, drug and alcohol issues, elder care needs and financial or legal consulting. EAP Network will provide one to five sessions at no cost to you or your family members. Using the EAP program will not, in anyway, jeopardize your job security or promotional opportunities. It is a resource to offer anonymous assistance in resolving problems, which might otherwise have a detrimental effect on your job performance. The request for help may be initiated by any employee or family member by calling EAP Network at 800-333-6624, available 24 hours a day. Marlboro College does not learn of individual employees utilizing the service; however, the College does receive statistical information on the overall usage.

Short-Term Disability

Short-term disability is available to eligible employees if you are temporarily unable to work because of sickness or injury as documented by a qualified health care provider. All regular and academic calendar staff members working at least 20 hours per week are eligible for a short-term disability income benefit after 30 days from date of hire. This benefit is fully funded by the College, not by an insurance company. All accumulated sick time must be used first. Following the use of all available sick time, employees will receive full basic earnings for up to 20 working days or until the employee is eligible to return to work, whichever comes first. Thereafter, a benefit equal to ⅔ (or 66.67%) of basic earnings will be paid until the employee is either eligible to return to work or until 90 calendar days from the first day of a qualifying sickness or injury. The maximum monthly benefit will not exceed $5,000.00. For more details, consult the plan documents.

Long-Term Disability

If you are unable to work after 90 days of recovery from sickness or injury, long-term disability insurance benefits are available to eligible employees. You are eligible after 30 days from date of hire as a regular or academic-calendar staff member working at least 20 hours per week. This premium is paid in full by the College; the eligible employee does not contribute to the plan. The policy provides an amount equal to 60% of basic earnings, not to exceed a maximum monthly benefit of $6,500.00, in the event of a long-term disability. The benefit is payable after 90 days of continuous absence from work due to a disability that results from a qualifying sickness or injury. Special terms and restrictions apply. Please contact the human resources office to enroll in the plan or for more information. For more details, consult the plan documents.

Term Life Insurance

If you are a regular or academic-calendar staff member working at least 20 hours per week, you are also eligible for group term life insurance benefits after 30 days from date of hire. This benefit is paid in full by the College. The policy provides an amount equal to 100% of your annual earnings, rounded to the next higher $1,000, if not already a multiple thereof, plus $10,000 to a maximum of $200,000. It is your responsibility as an employee to be sure that your beneficiary information is current. Special terms and restrictions apply. Please contact the human resources office to enroll in the plan or for more information. For more details, consult the plan documents.

Retirement Plan 403(b) (TIAA-CREF)

The College sponsors both a supplemental retirement account (SRA) plan and a defined contribution retirement plan. Participation in both plans is voluntary. Eligible employees may begin participation in and contributing to the SRA after 30 days from the date of hire. The College does not match your contributions to the SRA, but you may contribute to your SRA on a tax-deferred basis under Internal Revenue Service Code 403(b). Tax deferral means that you do not pay current income taxes on the contributions. However, you should expect to pay income taxes on benefits when those are paid to you.

You are eligible to participate in the defined-contribution plan after you complete one year of continuous service. For plan purposes, a year of service is defined as a 12-month period in which you work at least 1,000 hours. You must continue working at least 1,000 hours per year to maintain your eligibility for the defined-contribution plan. Contributions to the defined contribution plan are made by you and the College. If you contribute at least 1% but not more than 5% of salary, the College will equally match your contribution. Both your and the College's contributions to the defined contribution plan are made on a tax-deferred basis.

You become immediately vested in both the SRA and defined-contribution plans. This means that your accumulation cannot revert to the College. This vesting entitles you to the contributions provided by the College, and to your contributions. The two retirement plans offer a variety of benefit payment options ranging from a lifetime pension income to lump sum payment of the accumulation attributable to your contributions.

The Plan is funded through Retirement Annuity contracts issued by TIAA and CREF. You select the investments for the College's contributions as well as your own. You may change your investment allocation at any time through use of TIAA-CREF's Automated Telephone Service or the internet at www.tiaa-cref.org.

More information about the retirement plan will be made available to you when the College first determines you are eligible to begin participation in the Plan. For further information regarding either plan or if you are already a participant in TIAA-CREF, you may request additional information or a copy of the Summary Plan Description from the human resources office.

Retirement Healthcare Benefit Program (Emeriti)

Marlboro College offers a retirement healthcare program for qualified employees. You must be a regular or academic-calendar staff member working at least 20 hours per week. The program offers an alternative or additional way for you to accumulate and invest funds during your working years in preparation for future medical costs and provides access to group health insurance in retirement. Marlboro College contributes a fixed dollar amount for employees 40 years of age or older that have worked for the College for at least one year. Eligible staff members at least 21 years of age may make voluntary contributions to the plan. Contributions by the College are tax free to the employee; however, voluntary contributions are made after-tax. All assets including earnings are paid out tax-free for retiree health benefits, including health insurance premiums. There are no contribution limits. Please contact the human resources office to enroll in the plan or for more information.

Marlboro College Course Credit or Class Audit

If you are a full-time, regular staff member, after three months of employment you are eligible to enroll in two undergraduate or graduate courses for credit or audit, excluding tutorials, each term without charge. Enrollment in those courses is based on the following provisions:

• Your enrollment is contingent upon permission from the dean of faculty for undergraduate courses and the permission from the director of academic programs for courses at the Graduate School.
• You may enroll in only one academic course per semester that is scheduled to meet during the course of your standard work schedule. The amount of scheduled work time missed is not to exceed three hours per week and any amount of work time missed must be made up during the same pay period.
• The aggregate number of courses that will be supported each term by the College will be limited according to the amount budgeted each term for this benefit. In the event that the cost of the total number of courses in which staff members are seeking enrollment exceeds the budget for that term, enrollment in courses will be first limited to one course per person and authorized on the basis of staff seniority as determined by date of hire. If funding remains after all interested staff members have enrolled in one class, on the basis of seniority, staff may enroll in a second course until funding for this benefit for that term is exhausted.

Marlboro College Free Tuition Benefit for Family Members

As a member of the Marlboro College community, you understand the value of a Marlboro education and may also want to share this unique academic opportunity with your family. Subject to the admissions process, immediate family members of regular staff members are eligible to enroll in as many as 18 credits each semester or trimester without charge, except for special course fees stipulated in the catalog. Immediate family members of regular staff may also enroll in individual classes, without charge, subject to space availability in the class and approval of the dean of faculty for undergraduate courses and the associate dean of the Graduate School for graduate courses.

Tuition Exchange Program

Preamble

Marlboro is a member of The Tuition Exchange, Inc., a non-profit association of colleges and universities across the country. The Tuition Exchange (TE) was founded with the purpose to make careers in higher education more attractive. TE strives to achieve this through a reciprocal scholarship program, which finances college tuition for the children and other family members of staff and faculty employed at participating institutions.

Scholarships

Each year, thousands of awards are provided through TE across the country at full tuition or a set rate. Remitted tuition exchanges are an extension of tuition waivers at the home institution. All exchanges are accomplished through trading - no tuition money changes hands and no reconciliation of differences in tuition is made between sending and receiving institutions. Eligible undergraduate students may receive TE for a maximum of eight semesters or four years of study. Eligible graduate students may receive TE for a maximum of four semesters or two years of study.

The Tuition Exchange, Inc. Home Office

The national office for TE (effective July 1, 2011) is located at 3 Bethesda Metro Center, Suite 700, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. The phone number is 301-941-1827. See www.tuitionexchange.org for more information.

Importing students into Marlboro College (undergraduates only)

The following information is applicable to students who wish to attend Marlboro College as a TE scholarship student (import).

Eligibility

• TE scholarships are for undergraduate students who are enrolling full-time on the Marlboro campus as a first-time first-year freshman, transfer student or currently enrolled student. Graduate students, non-degree or non-matriculated students are not eligible to apply.
• To be considered, the student must be accepted to Marlboro College by April 1st.
• A TE online application from the home institution certifying a student’s eligibility must be submitted to Marlboro College by April 1st.
• Recipients must meet satisfactory academic progress in order to maintain scholarship from year to year.
• Students who are approved for TE scholarships will relinquish any merit based or admissions scholarship awarded at the time of acceptance.
• TE scholarships may not be applied to student abroad programs.
• TE scholarships will be held for an approved period of time for students on a medical or other approved leave of absence. If a student’s leave is for one semester then the scholarship is held for one semester. If the leave is approved for one year then the scholarship is held for one year. If the student does not return full-time at the end of the approved leave period the scholarship will be forfeited.
• Students who are dismissed or withdrawn from the college (voluntarily or involuntarily) will forfeit their scholarship.
• An eligible student who is readmitted to Marlboro College must reapply for TE.

Selection Process and Notification

• Applications will be reviewed and decisions made on or before April 15th of each year.
• Notification will be via TE online to certifying official at the student’s home institution as well by letter to the student with a copy to the certifying official.

Maximum Scholarship

• The TE scholarship will be equal to the yearly tuition amount at Marlboro College. Student’s attending for one semester will receive the amount equal to one semester’s tuition.
• The scholarship will not exceed a maximum of 8 semesters per applicant. Transfer and currently enrolled students will receive the minimum number of terms remaining to complete their degree.

Exporting students to another institution (undergraduate and graduate)

The following Marlboro College employees are eligible to apply by submitting the college’s internal application:

• Full-time and part-time staff and faculty members (benefits eligible) and their dependent children (including adopted or stepchildren of staff or faculty through age 23).
• Faculty members granted emeritus status by the President and Board of Trustees can apply for tuition exchange for their dependent children.

Eligibility

• Staff and faculty members must have been employed for a minimum of two consecutive years.
• If an applicant is accepted into TE before the age of 24 but turns 24 before the number of terms expire, the student will be allowed to complete the program (provided this is allowed by the host institution).

Award Process

The following process is in place at Marlboro:

• In order to be considered for eligibility through Marlboro College, students seeking TE awards must have already applied for admission at the college or university he or she wishes to attend.
• The college employee (staff or faculty) must complete and submit the college’s internal TE application (for new TE applicants) to the financial aid office on or before November 1st of the year prior to the first enrollment date. There is a maximum of up to five institutions per applicant.
• Determination of eligibility is based, in part, upon the following factors: the number of applicants applying each year, the number of continuing TE scholarships, years of service of the college employee. See “Priority in Award Decisions” below.
• Once internal decisions for eligibility have been made the financial aid office is responsible for completing the electronic Tuition Exchange, Inc. application. The applications are forwarded to the individual host institutions electronically.
• The response of acceptance, denial or waitlisted from the host institutions come back at unpredictable times. Some colleges will respond quickly while others wait until they have all TE candidates in hand to make final decisions in late spring or early summer. The Financial Aid Office will notify employees of each institution’s response once it is received. In turn, the employee should contact the financial aid office if they have received a response from the host institution.

Priority in Award Decisions

• In order to remain as a member institution in good standing, all colleges and universities are required to seek balance in the exporting and importing of TE participants. This is accomplished annually via a balance sheet completed electronically by the college liaison officer and submitted to the Tuition Exchange, Inc.
• In the case where the number of eligible Marlboro College employees seeking to utilize a TE benefit is greater than the limited number of spaces in the program TE scholarship will be awarded on the basis of length of continuous employment, irrespective of employment classification. There are a limited number of exports in one academic year.
• In a case where a staff/faculty member has applied to export a second TE candidate, the staff/faculty member’s application will be considered only if there is an opening after all other applications for first-time TE candidates are considered. The one exception to this policy is when reviewing for TE Co-op schools. Applications to TE Co-op schools will be considered. See “Exporting students to another cooperative member school”.
• For part-time staff members, if there is a tie in the number of years of employment, priority will be given to the employee with the greater number of work hours per week.

Continuing TE Scholarships

• Recipients must meet satisfactory academic progress in order to maintain scholarship from year to year.
• TE scholarships may not be applied to student abroad programs not supported by their institution.
• If a student takes a medical leave, the student will maintain eligibility in the college’s TE program for the subsequent year.
• Students who are dismissed or withdrawn from the host institution (voluntarily or involuntarily) will forfeit their scholarship.
• Students who withdraw from an approved host institution must reapply to the TE program.
• An eligible student who is readmitted to Marlboro College must reapply for TE.

Exporting students to another cooperative member school

A cooperative (co-op) school is a college or university with a small TE program; the student headcount must be no more than 3,000 students and fewer than 500 employees. Marlboro College is a co-op school. Exports from Marlboro to another co-op school are not charged in the college’s 5-year balance. Marlboro may, in a case where we are exporting a student to another co-op school, allow more than 7 exports in one year.

Policy on Replacing Schools When Denied

If the applicant is denied acceptance into a host institution’s TE program after submitting the maximum of five TE applications, the following is the policy for replacements:

• One non co-op school
• Two co-op schools

Meals and Dining Hall Duty

When you are on campus at mealtime in pursuit of your duties, you are entitled to that meal without charge. This privilege is extended to members of your family only at Community Dinners. Additional meals may be paid for in the dining hall. All members of the College community are expected to participate once per year in dining hall duty. This requires that you are present at the conclusion of lunch for about ten to fifteen minutes to tidy the dining hall, clear and wipe tables, transport compost to the farm, and put up chairs. Dining hall duty assignments are made by the crew chief, a community member hired by the Select Board to coordinate dining hall duty. The assignments are made at the beginning of the school year and are posted in the dining hall on a bulletin board as well as the daily Town Crier email. Exceptions to dining hall duty and rescheduling of dining hall duty may be made at the discretion of the dining hall crew chief. Failure to makeup a shift may subject you to a penalty of 10 hours of community service. Please read Article VI, Dining Hall, in the Community Constitution for more information on dining hall duty.

Professional Development Opportunities

Marlboro College appreciates that professional development can make you a more productive and engaged employee. You may request funds for enrollment in professional development courses, seminars and conferences that are relevant to your position. Participation in professional development is contingent upon approval, which is considered by your department head and according to scheduling constraints and the availability of funds. Please see your supervisor for more information on this benefit.

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

All regular employees who have worked for Marlboro College for at least 12 months and at least 1,000 hours during the previous 12 months you are eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave within a calendar year. This is in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) and the Vermont Parental and Family Leave Law of 1992 or other changes in the law. This leave will be granted:

• For the birth of a son or daughter and to care for the newborn child (leave for this purpose must conclude within 12 months after the birth);
• For the placement of a child for adoption or foster care with an employee and to care for the newly placed child (leave for this purpose must conclude within 12 months after the placement);
• To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child or parent) with a serious health condition as defined below; and
• When the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition as defined below.
• "Any qualifying exigency" arising out of the fact that the spouse, son, daughter or parent of the employee is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call to active duty status, in support of a contingency operation. By the terms of the statute, this provision requires the Secretary of Labor to issue regulations defining "any qualifying exigency." In the interim, employers are encouraged to provide this type of leave to qualifying employees.

A serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that involves:

• Any period of incapacity or treatment connected with inpatient care (i.e., an overnight stay) in a hospital, hospice or residential medical care facility; or
• A period of incapacity requiring absence of more than three calendar days from work that also involves continuing treatment by (or under the supervision of) a qualifying health care provider; or
• Any period of incapacity due to pregnancy or for prenatal care; or
• Any period of incapacity (or treatment therefore) due to a chronic serious health condition (e.g., asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, etc.); or
• Any absence to receive multiple treatments (including any period of recovery there from) by, or on referral by, a qualifying health care provider for a condition that likely would result in incapacity of more than three consecutive days if left untreated (e.g., chemotherapy, physical therapy, dialysis, etc.).
• Military Service: An eligible employee who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of a covered service member who is recovering from a serious illness or injury sustained in the line of duty on active duty is entitled to up to 26 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period to care for the service member. This military-caregiver leave is available during "a single 12-month period" during which an eligible employee is entitled to a combined total of 26 weeks of all types of FMLA leave.

Staff members may elect (but are not required) to use up all available paid time off while on leave. Use of paid leave does not extend the overall leave time to which the staff member is entitled. See below for information specific to maternity, paternity or adoption leaves.

During the Vermont and FMLA leave period, Marlboro College will maintain the employee's health insurance at the regular employee cost. The College reserves the right to seek recovery of health insurance premium payments in the event an employee fails to return to work at the end of the leave. Arrangements for payment of the employee contributions must be made in advance with the senior financial management officer. The College will also maintain and pay for long-term disability income insurance and group term life insurance during the leave period. Marlboro College may require some form of certification necessitating the leave.

Maternity Leave Policy

All regular staff members who qualify for leave under the provisions of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may also qualify for some or all of the leave to be paid in order to give birth to and care for a newborn child, as provided in the College's short-term disability plan. You may be eligible for leave if you work at least 20 hours a week, if you have been employed by the College for at least 12 consecutive months and if you have worked at least 1,000 cumulative hours prior to your maternity leave. In order to receive any pay for maternity leave, you must provide notice in writing to your department head and the human resources office at least 90 calendar days in advance of the first prospective day off. For details, consult the short-term disability plan documents.

Adoption Leave Policy

All regular staff members who qualify for leave under the provisions of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may also qualify for some of the leave to be paid in order to accommodate the adoption process. To qualify, you must also work at least 20 hours a week, have been employed by the College for at least 12 consecutive months and have worked at least 1,000 cumulative hours. In order to receive any pay for paternity or adoption leave, you must provide notice in writing to their department head and the human resources office at least 90 calendar days in advance of the first prospective day off.

Eligible staff members may receive one week of full base pay for adoption leave. They are also welcome to use available sick, vacation or personal days in order to receive additional days of full pay; the payroll department and human resources office must be notified in writing of this decision at least 90 calendar days before the leave begins. Remaining time off will be unpaid and subject to the maximum number of days allowed under FMLA. Extenuating circumstances that prevent a staff member from being able to provide 90 days' notice will be addressed on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration the reasons why notice could not have been given within 90 days and to what extent it was out of the staff member's control.

Leave of Absence (beyond FMLA)

If you are a staff member who has worked for the College for at least three years, you are eligible to apply for an unpaid leave of absence for a period of up to two years. Leave requests must be submitted in writing at least four months before the requested leave is to begin. Your immediate supervisor may grant the leave with approval of the president, and contingent upon finding an appropriate temporary replacement. The College will make every reasonable effort to find an adequate replacement. If the College cannot find a replacement, the leave of absence may be denied or postponed.
When a staff member is on leave, Marlboro College will continue contributions toward insurance at the regular employer cost. Arrangements for payment of the employee contributions must be made in advance with the senior financial management officer. The College will also maintain and pay for long-term disability income insurance and group term life insurance during the leave period.

Faculty Leaves of Absence

Please see the faculty handbook for details on faculty leaves of absence and sabbaticals.

Paid Time Off

Please see the staff handbook for details on various paid time off including vacation, personal, sick and holiday pay.

Bookstore

All employees are entitled to a 10 percent discount on campus bookstore purchases. Exceptions may be applied to certain items at the discretion of the bookstore manager.