Staff Training Assistance Program (STAP) FAQ

• Tuition and registration fees
• Required course textbooks, CD's, e-books or tapes
• Stanford Technology Training courses
• Stanford Healthy Living courses (where designated as STAP approved)
• Stanford Continuing Studies Program (CSP) courses
• Stanford Talent Management & Workforce Strategy (TM&WS) courses
• Stanford Career Counseling Network (CCN) up to $500
• Stanford Children’s Health (LPCH) parenting and prenatal courses (only employee’s portion of course fee; not family members, if joint course)
• Courses, workshops, webinars (e.g. Coursera or SkillPath)

• Registration fees for seminars, professional conferences and symposiums may also be eligible

• Test preparation courses (i.e., GMAT, LSAT, GRE, and MCAT)
• Exams or testing
• Coaching services
• Courses or other education involving sports, games, or hobbies
• Health-related courses except those sponsored by Stanford Healthy Living
• Training to meet minimum educational requirements of the current job, or to qualify the employee for a new trade or business
• Professional membership fees or subscriptions
• Travel expenses, parking, lodging or meals
• Rosetta Stone Language CDs or similar programs
• Reference books

The Stanford fiscal year amount is $800.

$700 for employees covered by the SEIU Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), $100 of STAP funds is reallocated for the Apprenticeship Program.

You are eligible for STAP funds if you are a regular or fixed-term University employee, working 50% time or more. (Faculty, students, temporary employees, retirees, or other non-staff University affiliates are not eligible.) Check with HR administrator as to what your affiliation is noted in PeopleSoft (Affiliation University – Student – Affiliation: University – Staff other teaching).

Regular or fixed-term employees working 50 percent time or greater, including:

• Non-academic staff
• Academic staff
• Bargaining Unit staff

Faculty, students, temporary employees, retirees, and other non-staff University affiliates are not eligible for STAP assistance.

The current reimbursement is $800.00 per fiscal year (9/1 to 8/31).
Note: reimbursement is based upon start date of course; not the registration date and STAP funds do not roll over into the new fiscal year. Use it or lose it. 

STAP assistance is available on the first date of employment.

• $800 each fiscal year
• $700 for Bargaining Unit employees. $100 of BU employee’s annual grant is redirected to the apprenticeship program 

To see what STAP funds are available to you, login to Axess: http://axess.stanford.edu. Click the STARS (Training) tab. Click My STAP Balance from the left menu. The balance displayed is the amount of STAP funds still available for use during the current fiscal year (9/1 to 8/31). You can also see all STAP reimbursements made for internal and external courses during the current fiscal year. For overseas employees, check with your Human Resources Manager or home campus administrator for usage and balances.

As a regular University employee, you are eligible to be reimbursed if the course, seminar, conference, workshop, webinar meets one of the following criteria:

• The course, seminar, conference, or workshop is directly related to performance of your current job at Stanford.
• The course, seminar, conference, or workshop is part of a planned career development effort that you are undertaking with the approval of your supervisor and that will assist you in qualifying for a new position or advancement within your current trade or business at Stanford.

Note: Remember that you are eligible to be reimbursed for tuition fees, and required course text books, CD's or tapes. Seminars and workshops associated with professional conferences and symposium may also be eligible for reimbursement.

Your department administrator will process your reimbursement. You are to submit to your department administrator the following documents:

• First: Use STAP Request for Reimbursement Form
• Print form and complete in full
• Submit page 2 of this original form and receipt(s) to your department administrator within 20 days of the course end date or sooner; keep a copy for your records. 

The funds will be deposited to your account; where you receive your payroll check. Allow 3-5 business days from the Payment Date for funds to arrive in your account. 

On the average, it takes approximately 20 days to receive your reimbursement which includes up to 10 business days for STAP office approval. 

You can pay for the course with personal funds or request for your department to pay for the course. Departmental reimbursement is at the department’s discretion and is determined based on available department funds for training.

Unfortunately, this workshop cannot be paid. You are no longer an employee of Stanford University.

Yes, you are eligible to apply for reimbursement for required textbooks that you purchase in conjunction with the course.

First always speak with your DLS administrator, but in general “yes,” if the Leave is noted “Leave with Pay” and “no,” if it is noted as “Leave without pay."