Course Credits

Educators may move across the salary scale by accumulating incremental credits for graduate level course work. Out-of-district graduate courses must be pre-approved by the Assistant Superintendent and may be reimbursed per the conditions outlined in the WTA Contract described below.

Please review this document to learn more about the district's guidelines for earning Course Credits and making Salary Lane Changes.

Forms

There are two forms required to receive incremental credit and reimbursement for out-of-district graduate level course work. Forms can now be accessed and submitted electronically through your TalentEd Records account. There are two relevant forms for seeking course credit and reimbursement:

- PD Course Credit Request: submitted prior to registering for a course; necessary for approval of incremental credits from the Assistant Superintendent
- PD Course Reimbursement Request: submitted at the conclusion of a course, along with proof of payment and transcript

Guidelines

Educators who take a course from an accredited college or university may apply for increment credit. To do so, a PD Course Credit Request form must be submitted through TalentEd for approval of the Assistant Superintendent prior to taking the course. Upon conclusion of the course, a copy of the transcript should be submitted through the PD Course Reimbursement form on TalentEd. If you do not require reimbursement, indicate $0 as the amount to be reimbursed.

Educators can confirm their accepted and earned credits for all courses taken by checking the "Course Work" tab on the "My Info" page in Aspen. Courses taken prior to 2017-2018 are displayed as a total number of credits carried over from the district's previous, paper-based system.

Educators who take a district-sponsored course offered through Westwood’s Professional Development program do not need to apply for increment credits. Credits for district-sponsored courses will be automatically applied to all participants at the conclusion of the course. Course instructors who teach a Professional Development course for Westwood Public Schools may also earn increment credits equivalent to the credits of the course for the first time they teach the course.

Reimbursement

Educators may be reimbursed for graduate course work as outlined by the WTA Contract (see language copied below). Educators should indicate that they will be seeking reimbursement on the PD Course Credit Request form submitted prior to registering for the course. The PD Course Reimbursement form along with proof of payment and course grade should be submitted following the conclusion of the course.

Language from WTA Collectively Bargained Contract re: Course Reimbursement (FY20-FY22) (p 44-45)
a. The Committee shall provide $60,000 for the reimbursement of tuition expenses incurred by teachers. Teachers shall be reimbursed for up to $600 per course for completing courses approved in advance by the Superintendent as being related to the educational mission of the Westwood Schools, provided they attain a grade of B or better. Teachers without a Master’s degree may be reimbursed for up to three (3) courses per year. Teachers with a Master’s degree or higher may be reimbursed for up to two (2) courses per year. The total funds available in each year shall be tentatively allocated 1⁄3 summer, 1⁄3 fall, 1⁄3 winter, subject to actual usage patterns, and distributed on a pro-rata basis as requests exceed $20,000 per reimbursement cycle.
b. Course approval forms must be submitted and accepted before the course begins. Copies of this form will go to the applicant, Central Office, and the WTA.
c. Course reimbursement forms must be submitted to Central Office, along with documentation of grade and payment, by:i. Summer: October 1ii. Fall: March 1iii. Spring: June 15

Lane Change Information

When you are anticipating that you may be earning enough credits to lead to an incremental salary increase (B+15, M+15, M+30, M+45, M+60, D), there are two forms on TalentEd that should be submitted in advance of the lane change:

Notice of Expected Lane Change (Next Year) - this form is to be completed by October 1 of the year prior to the year you expect to be making a lane change.
- - For example, any form completed prior to October 1 of 2024 would be for a lane change expected either in September or February of the 2025-2026 school year. If you don't earn the credits, there is no negative consequence to having completed this form.

Lane Change Request - this form is to be completed when you have earned the credits for the Lane Change you provided notification of using the above form. You don't need to wait until September or February to submit this form, you can submit it when the credits are earned (provided we have the advance notification) and we will make the horizontal lane change either September 1 or February 1.

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