Nursing Education & Professional Development - Education Assistance

Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center offers a variety of tuition programs intended to enhance the recruitment, retention and advancement of those employees interested in attaining a nursing degree, as well as advancing their nursing career.  Employees interested in becoming nurses may benefit from the tuition reimbursement program and the nursing scholarship program.  The nursing educational assistance program (SEIU, Article 34) and educational privileges at Penn State can assist current nurses with advancing their nursing careers.

Tuition Reimbursement Program

All full-time employees of Penn State Hershey have the option of attending a college or university of their choice (other than Penn State) and working toward a degree or certificate program, which is mutually beneficial to both the employee and PSHMC.  The employee is reimbursed 85 percent of their tuition up to $2,100 per calendar year for an undergraduate or certificate program and $2,500 per calendar year for a graduate program.  Employees must submit grades and proof of payment at the end of each course for reimbursement.  Many of our current PSHMC employees who are interested in pursuing a nursing degree use this program to complete their pre-requisite course.  The policy explaining this can be found under Human Resources, Policy HR32.

Nursing Scholarship Program

This is a unique program which assists employees in becoming registered nurses, covering the cost of the clinical portion of nursing school and including tuition, books and fees up to $5,250 per year, with a commitment to work three years at PSHMC after graduation.  This program has some restrictions and students interested will need to contact Human Resources at 717-531-3831 to request a copy of the policy and schedule a meeting with the tuition coordinator.

Nursing Tuition Program

Administered through the Department of Nursing, this program allows both part-time and full-time nurses working towards an advanced nursing degree to be reimbursed 100 percent of tuition.  Full-time nurses qualify for up to $2,500 reimbursement in a calendar year, and part-time employees qualify for up to $1,500.  Employees must submit grades and proof of payment at the end of the course for reimbursement. For information regarding this program is located in the SEIU Handbook, page 71, article 34, Educational Assistance.

Educational Privileges

Educational Privileges allow all full-time PSHMC employees to attend any Penn State campus and receive a 75 percent tuition discount.  Classes are offered locally and current BSNs utilize this program to pursue master’s level programs.  The policy explaining this can be found under Human Resources, Policy HR35

Programs may be subject to certain levels of taxation.

The tuition application process has been reorganized to allow easy access to all education benefits and opportunities with a single contact in Human Resources to guide you.  For additional information or questions regarding any of these programs, contact Lori Miller, Tuition Coordinator, at 717-531-3831.