Colorado State University-Global
Colorado State University-Pueblo
University of Northern Colorado
The Employee Study Privilege Program includes reciprocal provisions that allow employees to take courses at Colorado
State University-Global Campus, Colorado State University-Pueblo, and the University of Northern Colorado.
Enrollment requires the agreement to fulfill financial obligations and abide by the policies of the reciprocal educational
institution in which student status is obtained. Program eligibility shall be defined and determined by the Employee
Study Privilege Program of Colorado State University.
General Provisions, Page 15
Section 1: Общие положения
Contact Human Resources at (970) 491-MyHR (6947) or review reciprocal program information at
www.hrs.colostate.edu/benefits/study-privilege.html.
Additional forms are required to gain pre-approval under the reciprocal provisions of the Employee Study Privilege
Program. The required forms are located at www.hrs.colostate.edu/benefits/study-privilege.html and are submitted to
Human Resources.
3. Retirement Plans
All employees of the University, except for those student employees who qualify for exemption under federal law, are
required to participate, according to their employment status, in one of the retirement plans summarized below. CSU
employees are not covered by Social Security.
a. Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA)
PERA covers all state classified and non-student hourly employees, and certain faculty and
administrative professional employees eligible for membership under PERA rules. Only those
eligible newly appointed faculty, administrative professional and other non-classified employees
with qualifying prior service in Colorado’s PERA retirement system may be eligible to elect to
continue membership in that retirement plan. All other newly eligible faculty, administrative
professional or non-classified appointee must enroll in the Defined Contribution Plan for Retirement
(DCP).
Enrollment in PERA for Academic Faculty, Administrative Professionals and other non-classified staff
is restricted to those employees meeting PERA’s eligibility criteria which includes, but is not limited to
being an active PERA participant with at least 12 months of service credit, an in-active member with
that amount of service credit or a current PERA retiree. However, unless you are a PERA retiree, you
may not elect PERA as your retirement plan if you have previously been employed by a pubic college
or university in Colorado offering an Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) if during that employment you
made an election to participate in that institution’s ORP. In addition, if your election at that time was
to participate in PERA, you may not now elect the ORP. Such elections are by law irrevocable.
Effective January 1, 2011, present PERA retirees may elect either PERA or the ORP (Defined
Contribution Plan) as their retirement plan each time they are reappointed. Any election to
participate in PERA will require you to make the required employee or working retiree contribution to
that Plan. Note: PERA is a separate and independent entity and has the authority to make
determinations regarding eligibility for membership. CSU cannot mandate, nor is it responsible for,
PERA’s determination regarding eligibility.
Coverage begins as of the date of employment. Thereafter, 8.0% (current rate) of the employee's
salary is deducted from the employee's monthly pay. The University also makes a contribution,
which is a percentage of the participant’s salaries and wages.
Effective July 1, 1984, the 8% employee contribution to PERA will be subject to tax-deferral. All
PERA benefits (retirement, survivor benefits, etc.) will be calculated on full pay.
The amount deducted from the employee's salary and the University's contribution is used to
establish a retirement annuity fund for the employee. If requested, the employee's contribution is
refunded upon termination. The employee is eligible for a retirement annuity after five or more years
of service and may apply for a deferred annuity rather than a refund. Contact PERA for additional
information at (800) 759-7372.
Employees wishing to apply to receive monthly retirement benefits should contact the Benefits Unit in
the Human Resources Department, between 60 and 90 days prior to their planned retirement date.
PERA required forms can be obtained and processed at that time.
b. Defined Contribution Plan (DCP)
General Provisions, Page 16
Section 1: Общие положения
Academic Faculty, Administrative Professionals, Post doctoral Fellows, Veterinary Interns and Clinical
Psychology Interns hired on or after April 1, 1993, are covered under the DCP unless they have an existing
PERA account and request coverage under that retirement plan instead of the DCP and PERA permits
such coverage. The DCP also covers those Academic Faculty, Administrative Professionals, Post doctoral
Fellows, Veterinary Interns and Clinical Psychology Interns who elected between April 2 and May 31,
1993, to transfer from PERA to the DCP. Coverage begins as of the date of employment.
All DCP participants contribute 8.0% of their covered earnings to the plan. The University also makes a
contribution, which is a percentage of the participant’s covered monthly salary, toward the DCP retirement
accounts of Academic Faculty with regular, special, or senior teaching appointments of half-time or greater
and Administrative Professionals with regular or special appointments of half-time or greater and Academic
Faculty and Administrative Professionals with temporary appointments and Post doctoral Fellows,
Veterinary Interns and Clinical Psychology Interns after one year of continuous half-time or greater service.
Effective July 1, 2005, the University is required to make the employer match payments to PERA on all
employees receiving an annuity from PERA. PERA annuitants newly hired or reappointed on or after July
1, 2005, and tenured faculty members going on Transitional Appointments on or after January 5, 2006 will
be subject to a reduction in the employer match to the DCP by any amount the University is required to pay
PERA on behalf of such annuitant. The University also contributes a percentage of covered earnings
toward the cost of employee benefits and post-retirement health care for those Academic Faculty and
Administrative Professional DCP participants who qualify for participation in the CSU Cost Share Faculty
and Admin Pro Privileges and Benefits as defined in the Summary Plan (SPD) booklet.
Participant and University contributions, plus earnings on those contributions, are available for distribution
to the participant upon termination of employment with the University and attainment of age 55, or can be
rolled over to another employer's IRS qualified retirement plan or to an Individual Retirement Account
(IRA).
Participants can choose among three companies with which to invest their DCP accounts: Fidelity, TIAA-
CREF, and VALIC. Participants can be with only one company at a time, but can change annually as of
each January 1st. Participants can allocate their DCP accounts among the individual investment funds of
their selected company in whatever manner and as frequently as their selected company permits.
b. Student Employees Retirement Plan
The Student Employee Retirement Plan (SERP) has been established by the State of Colorado for eligible
student employees. This retirement plan is administered by TIAA-CREF and they may be reached at (877)
518-9161. The Student Employee Retirement Plan is a state-mandated plan in lieu of Social Security for
students of institutions of higher education. A retirement savings account will be established in the
student’s name at TIAA-CREF for contributions made to the SERP. The contribution amounts assessed
against wages are 7.5% for the SERP and 1.45% for Medicare. SERP account balances are available for
distribution to participants upon the expiration of period(s) of covered employment, subject to IRS
limitations. The plan requires that you end our student status with the institution before you have access to
the SERP account. Therefore, termination is equivalent to graduation or no longer being enrolled as
a student. Withdrawals prior to age 59½ are subject to ordinary income taxes and are generally subject to
a 10% early withdrawal penalty. Participation in the SERP/Medicare is mandatory if students do not meet
one of the following conditions for exemption:
Summer
1. Undergraduate and Graduate Students: Must be officially admitted as a degree-seeking student
and enrolled at least half-time (3 credits for summer) for a summer term running concurrently with your work schedule.
Fall and Spring
1. Undergraduate Students: Must be officially admitted as a degree-seeking student and enrolled
at least half-time (6 credits).
2. Graduate Students: Must be officially admitted as a degree-seeking student and enrolled at least
half-time (5 credits).
4. Tuition Scholarship Program for Spouses, Domestic Partners, and Children
General Provisions, Page 17
Section 1: Общие положения
The spouse, domestic partner, civil union partner, and Eligible Children of an Eligible Employee shall be qualified to
receive a Tuition Scholarship if admitted to Colorado State University, Colorado State University Global Campus,
or Colorado State University Pueblo and enrolled in a degree program or as a degree-seeking student with an
undeclared major. This Tuition Scholarship Program is also available to students in programs such as Professional
Veterinary Medicine, Teacher Certification, and Principal Licensure. The amount of this Tuition Scholarship shall be
a fixed percentage of the undergraduate or graduate tuition that would be assessed to the student for regular on-
campus courses at the in-state tuition rate, except for a student in the Professional Veterinary Medicine Program,
whose scholarship shall equal this same percentage of the tuition assessed to in-state graduate students. This
percentage shall be set by the President, but it shall be at least fifty (50) percent. Note that, in some cases, this
Tuition Scholarship may be taxable income. Applications for this Tuition Scholarship must be processed in
accordance with the requirements established by Student Financial Services and Human Resource Services for
this program.
If a person dies while an Eligible Employee, his or her spouse or domestic partner, or civil union partner shall
continue to be qualified for this Tuition Scholarship Program until six (6) years after the date of the death, and each
of his or her Eligible Children shall continue to be qualified for this Tuition Scholarship Program until the Eligible
Child reaches the age of twenty-six (26). For all cases of separation from employment of an Eligible Employee
other than death, the spouse, domestic partner, civil union partner, and Eligible Children of the Eligible Employee
shall cease to be qualified for this Tuition Scholarship Program at the end of the academic year in which the
separation from employment occurs.
In exceptional circumstances, the Vice President for University Operations has the authority to grant eligibility
to someone who might not qualify otherwise for eligibility.
a. Eligible Employee shall mean and refer to all:
1. faculty members with regular, special, senior teaching appointments of half-time (0.5) or
1.greater. Faculty transitional appointments are eligible for the same benefit available to full-
1.time academic faculty
2. administrative professionals with regular or special appointments of half-time (0.5) or
2.greater, and;
3. non-temporary state classified appointments of half-time(0.5) or greater.
b. "Eligible Child" shall mean and refer to biological children, adopted children, foster children,
stepchildren, and legal wards of either the Eligible Employee or the Eligible Employee’s
spouse or domestic partner, or civil union partner, as well as any person for whom either the
Eligible Employee or the Eligible Employee’s spouse or domestic partner, or civil union
partner is standing in loco parentis, provided that the “Eligible Child” is under twenty-six (26)
years of age.
c. "Spouse" means a person who is legally married to an Eligible Employee, including a
common-law spouse or same-gender spouse when the applicable jurisdiction's law recognizes
such marriages.
d. "Domestic partner" has the meaning described under the University's benefits plan.
e. "Civil union partner" has the meaning defined in C.R.S. §14-15-103.
d. UniversityRetirement Policy
Refer to the Human Resources Manual - Appendix 8 for the University’s retirement policy for
Academic Faculty, Administrative Professional and State Classified employees, as approved by the
CSU Board of Governors on May 5, 2005. It is also available on the Human Resources website at:
www.hrs.colostate.edu/university-retirees/definition.html.
e. Continuation of Medical Insurance Under COBRA
General Provisions, Page 18
Section 1: Общие положения
Effective March 1, 1987, provisions of the Federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation
Act of 1985 (COBRA) permit employees who would otherwise lose group medical and dental
coverage to extend this coverage for up to 18 months. Dependents who lose coverage due to end
of employment, divorce, attainment of the maximum age for dependent child eligibility, death of
employee or other specific events may continue group coverage under COBRA for up to 36
months. Enrollment forms for continuation of benefits under COBRA are available from the Benefits
Unit. Election for continuation must be made within 60 days of normal insurance termination date.
You may locate additional information regarding COBRA at the State of Colorado website for State
Classified staff at https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dhr/cobra. Academic Faculty and
Administrative Professionals may locate summarized COBRA information in the CSU Cost Share
Faculty and Admin Pro Privileges and Benefits Summary Plan (SPD) booklet located at:
www.hrs.colostate.edu/benefits/fap.html.