Other Benefits

Annual Party or Outing

Kenyon College sponsors at least one annual get-together for employees. Watch the all employee email for details.

Athletic Facilities

Employees and their families may use the Lowry Center facilities. A Kenyon I.D., or a fingerprint for community members, is required for entrance to the activity areas. Activity areas include racquetball courts, basketball courts, swimming pool, sauna and weight lifting rooms. A schedule will be published each semester indicating the hours all the athletic areas may be used. The Kenyon I.D. can also be used to admit the employee and their family to home athletic events. For information on family member eligibility please see the Kenyon College Athletic policies page: http://athletics.kenyon.edu/sports/2012/7/16/GEN_0716120709.aspx.

Please contact the Department of Physical Education and Athletics, ext. 5256 for information and advice on personal fitness, physical education classes or intra murals.

Bring Your Children to Work Day

Each year, during Spring Break for the local school districts, a day will be designated on the College Calendar as the "Bring Your Children to Work Day". Kenyon recognizes and endorses the family/work relationship and encourages employees to share their work environment with their children by taking advantage of this special day.

There may be certain positions or departments where it is not possible to have children work with their parents for liability, physical space constraints or other reasons. Please consult with your supervisor if you have questions about the availability of this benefit for your department.

Credit Union Membership

As an employee of Kenyon College we are able to offer you and your dependents membership in the CES Credit Union. www.cescu.com

Benefits of membership in a credit union can be substantial. Services include:

Share Account
Share Draft
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA)
Certificates of Deposit
Club Accounts (Christmas, Children's etc.)
Payroll deduction
Loans
Insurance Programs
Discount Travel & Buyer's Programs
Family membership
Auto Leasing
IRS Electronic Filing
US Savings Bonds
Sam's Club Membership
Safe Deposit Boxes
Visa Classic & Visa Gold
Mortgages

The employee must complete a membership card and submit a check for $6.00 to the CES Credit Union. This payment covers the $1.00 entrance fee charged by CES and the $5.00 initial deposit required to open an account. An employee may also elect to have payments or deposits made to the Credit Union by payroll deduction. Membership and payroll deduction cards are available from the Office of Human Resources.

Education/Training (Attending Seminars/Training Sessions)

From time to time, Kenyon College may arrange to have both formal and informal training programs to enable you to progress in your job related skills. You will receive a normal paycheck while attending these workshops or training programs. All or a portion of the expenses for off-premises training will be paid for by Kenyon College depending on the nature of the course. Check with your supervisor for details.

If you become aware of a particular seminar that you believe is appropriate for enhancing your skills (and/or those of other employees), please bring it to the attention of your supervisor. If the supervisor believes the seminar to be valuable, they will notify you if Kenyon is willing to pay for the seminar or training program. Since these seminars are usually offered only at specified times in a geographical area, please be sure to notify your supervisor as far in advance as possible. This way, they can attempt to schedule workloads to accommodate your (and/or other employees) desire to attend the seminar.

Employee Luncheon

The Kenyon College Employee Luncheon is normally held once per month or as announced during the academic year. There is typically a wide variety of excellent food served buffet style. The cost of this meal is subsidized by the College. Please check all employee email and bulletin boards for dates, menus, location and current cost.

Employee Purchases

Two days per year, the Bookstore offers an employee discount day. On those days only, any employee of Kenyon College may purchase most items sold at the Bookstore for a 30% discount. Watch all employee campus emails for details. There will be no substitutions for these employee discount days. If an employee does not make their purchase on the day advertised, they will have to wait until the following discount day to avail themselves of the 30% discount.

Employees may rent available Kenyon facilities for personal use only (weddings, family reunions, anniversaries, etc.) at a 50% discount from rates charged to the general public. The event cannot be a for-profit event or an event that would financially benefit the employee. The 50% discount applies only to the facility/room rental not to any other expenses associated with the event such as food or labor costs. This benefit pertains to dates only when students are not in residence.

Employees interested in renting Kenyon facilities may contact the Manager of Business Services at extension 5250. Kenyon College reserves the right to make decisions regarding the availability of the discount based upon the type of event held. These determinations will be made at the sole discretion of the Manager of Business Services.

Flexible Reimbursement Accounts (Flex Plan)

Flexible Reimbursement Accounts are managed by UMR.

Participation begins on the date of eligible employment and is optional. Employees can choose to reduce their gross salaries by a specified amount. The dollars are placed in one or both of the accounts mentioned below. Allocating dollars to the spending accounts results in a lower tax base.

Example: An employee, earning $25,000, allocates $2,000 to the Dependent Care Account and $1,000 to the Medical Expense Account. The employee pays Federal, State and Social Security taxes on $22,000. Dollars withdrawn from the accounts are distributed on a tax-free basis.

Some expenses payable from these accounts are the following:

Dependent Care Account: Expenses incurred in obtaining care for children under thirteen or a spouse or other dependent who is mentally or physically incapable of self-care and who lives with you.

Medical Expense Account: Dental Expenses, Eye exams, glasses or any expense not covered by a health insurance plan.

Employees must use caution in allocating dollars to these accounts since all monies must be used by the end of the plan year. The plan year begins July 1 and ends June 30. If there are funds left in the accounts, the employee forfeits the monies. Employee contributions for health insurance, dental insurance, and life insurance premiums are automatically deducted on a pre-tax basis. A new election form must be completed each year during the annual enrollment period in May.

Library Facilities

Employees and their families are permitted to use the facilities of the Chalmers Library and to borrow books. Employees and their family members must present their Kenyon I.D. card (which carries a bar code on the back specifically for library usage) when borrowing materials.

For more information about our library's collections, research assistance, facilities, and hours go to lbis.kenyon.edu

Moving Expense Reimbursement for Exempt Staff

Ombuds Services

The College ombudsperson is accessible to all members of the community and assists employees with conflict resolution in the workplace. The ombud's role is to hear and, if requested, to mediate incidents of conflict. The primary function of the ombudsperson is to listen to employee concerns as objectively as possible without passing judgement. Objectivity includes impartial attention to all available perspectives and may or may not include support for a particular perspective.

The Ombudsperson treats all matters brought to her/him confidentially unless the rights of others are at risk or there is a court ordered disclosure. Notwithstanding the above, action is normally not taken on a complaint without the complainant's written or verbal permission. Information obtained by the ombudsperson is kept secure.

If a complainant reports a serious problem, but is unwilling to be a participant in the resolution process, the ombudsperson will attempt to mediate the problem in a way that is acceptable to the complainant, or that does not compromise the identity of the complainant.

While it is the parties to a complaint that are ultimately responsible for choosing a particular resolution, the ombudsperson attempts to guide both parties toward options that are fair, conform with College policies (Work-place conflicts, discrimination, harassment, etc.), and are in his/her best interest.

You can reach the college Ombudsperson at extension 5867.

Opening Lunch and Dinner

Annually, the College provides an opening dinner for employees and their families. This event takes place near the beginning of each academic year and is an opportunity to announce new employees, and for the President to provide information about the upcoming year.

Personal Property and Liability Insurance

Employees are encouraged to insure their own personal property or valuables that are brought to the work site. If your personal property is lost or damaged because of loss or damage to a College building, the College's insurance may apply. Employees may be required to prove ownership of the item and give a reasonable explanation of the item's use on College premises. Theft is not covered and no payment will be paid on property covered by a policy held by the employee.

The College carries liability insurance that covers all employees against claims of injury or damage brought against them in the normal completion of their duties. Employees may wish to maintain their own personal liability insurance.

Please contact the Manager of Business Services at ext. 5250 for further information.

Summer Hours - Optional

See "Work Schedule", Summer Hours - Optional section.

Tuition Benefits

Kenyon College provides several programs in support of educational opportunities for benefit eligible employees, their spouse and/or domestic partner and dependents. All benefits described here also extend to retired members of the administration or staff who have worked in a benefits eligible position for the College for at least ten years. Conditions of eligibility are the same as for other employees and their dependents except that, in the case of deceased employees, eligibility conditions for dependents must have been met at the time of the employee's death.

The Controller will decide any disputed cases of employee eligibility for tuition benefits. All other questions about the tuition benefits policy should be addressed to the Controller.

Benefits are normally available for tuition charges only. Applied music fees and other fees for private lessons, like all non-tuition fees, are the responsibility of the student, except in the case of a College employee whose lessons are directly related to her or his work for the College, as determined by the employee's Senior Staff member.

Tuition Waivers at Kenyon for Eligible Employees

Eligible employees may enroll in courses at Kenyon College, with the instructor's permission and on a space available basis, for credit or for audit, without charge for tuition. No more than one course may be taken during working hours. Written prior approval by the supervisor and the responsible Senior Staff member is required. In such cases the supervisor must certify to the Senior Staff member that the employee may be spared during the working day and must specify the hours when the employee will make up the time lost while attending class and traveling to and from class. Neither class hours nor make-up hours should result in the elimination of a lunch break; at least one-half hour must be available each day for lunch.

Employees may enroll in a second class only if the class meeting time is outside of normal working hours for that employee. Again, approval of the instructor is required.

Tuition Waivers at Kenyon for the Spouses and/or Domestic Partners of Eligible Employees

Spouses and/or Domestic Partners (see Benefits, Health Insurance for a complete definition of Domestic Partner) of eligible employees may take up to two classes per semester without tuition charge, for credit or for audit, with the instructor's permission and on a space available basis. Those who are admitted to a regular degree candidacy may take more than two courses for credit on the same basis as other matriculants, without charge for tuition. Students desiring to matriculate at Kenyon must meet normal requirements for admission.

When the tuition benefit is used by the Domestic Partner of an employee, the value of the tuition benefit may be taxable income to the employee. According to current IRS regulations, if your Domestic Partner is not a dependent for income tax purposes, the pre-tax cost of the tuition benefit will be treated as imputed income and will be reported on the employee's W-2 as additional wages. Estimated taxes due on the imputed income will be withheld from the employee's paycheck automatically. Please notify the Controller and the Office of Human Resources as to the tax dependent status of your Domestic Partner.

Please refer to the section below "Tuition Waivers at Kenyon for the Children of Employees" for more complete information on qualified dependents.

Tuition Waivers at Kenyon for the Children of Employees

In order to be eligible the child must be: 1) eligible to be the employee's legal dependent for income tax purposes (see definition below), 2) the employee's biological or legally adopted child or the child of the employee's spouse or Domestic Partner (in which case the child must have lived in the employee's household during the four years prior to the child's enrollment at Kenyon).

Definition of a "dependent" for income tax purposes: The IRS applies five tests to determine if an individual qualifies as a taxpayer's dependent. All of these conditions must be met to qualify as a dependent:

(1) is a citizen of the United States, Mexico, Canada, the Canal Zone or the Republic of Panama,

(2) is a member of your household for the year, had his or her principal place of abode in your home for the year,

(3) if the person is married, they cannot file a joint return. But the person can file a joint return if the return is filed only as a claim for refund and no tax liability would exist for either spouse if they filed separate returns,

(4) receives over half of his or her support for the year from you. Support includes food, shelter, clothing, medical and dental care, and education, and,

(5) the dependent's gross income must be less than the Federal personal exemption amount unless the dependent is under age 19 OR a full-time student (enrolled as a full-time student for at least five months during the year), under age 24.

Tuition Exchange - Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA)

Children of eligible employees may participate in the GLCA Tuition Exchange if they are eligible for full tuition waivers at Kenyon. This program is not available to employee themselves, their spouses or domestic partners.

In addition to Kenyon, the following colleges and universities participate in the GLCA Tuition Exchange: Albion, Allegheny, Antioch, Beloit, Denison, DePauw, Earlham, Grinnell, Hope, Kalamazoo, Oberlin, Ohio Wesleyan, Wabash, Willamette, Wittenberg and Wooster. Application for the exchange must be made through the Kenyon Comptroller's office and the admissions office of the desired college. Applicants are admitted by the regular procedures used by each of the colleges.

Under this program, each participant's family will pay a fee equal to 15% of the GLCA mean tuition. This fee will be billed by and paid to the college the participating child is attending.

Tuition Subsidies at Undergraduate Colleges other than Kenyon

Children of employees who were hired before July 1, 1977, are eligible to receive subsidies of $1,000 per year, per child, at undergraduate colleges other than Kenyon. However, children currently receiving assistance under the GLCA Tuition Exchange are not eligible for the subsidy. The annual subsidy may not exceed the amount due for tuition only (excluding other fees) as documented by a bill or statement from the college attended. Subsidies are normally paid directly to the institution in which the child is enrolled, but may be paid to the parents if timing or other problems make direct payment impossible. Under current IRS regulations these payments are considered compensation to the employee and appropriate payroll taxes must be withheld. Subsidies will be provided for no more than four years for any child, and for no more than two children in any family. The dollar limit for each family is thus $8,000.

Tuition - Financial Aid from Outside Sources

Students eligible for financial aid awards from outside sources such as federal or state governments, service clubs, and foundations apply for these through normal procedures. Except in those cases where the award is specifically for educational expenses other than tuition, such aid will be deducted from any full tuition benefits granted by Kenyon, including benefits under the GLCA Tuition Exchange.