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Firefighter Tuition Voucher Program and History In 1985 the State Legislators created $285,000.00 funding for the Tuition Subsidy Program for firefighters. Laws of Minnesota 1985 1st Special Session", Chapter 11, Sec. 4, State Board of Vocational Technical Education, Subdiv. 1. Total Appropriations Subdiv. 3. Non Instructional Expenditures. This appropriation authorizes $212,500.00 for the first year and $250,000.00 for the second year for supporting up to 25 percent of the tuition costs of firefighter training programs. In the fall of 1998 at the direction of the Chancellor of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities the original subsidy program was modified to a Fire Fighter Tuition Voucher program. The old subsidy program paid the colleges directly and the new tuition voucher program held the credited funds for each fire department in a special dedicated account which the fire chief would control. The Fire/EMS/Safety Center office manages the Voucher program. Initial vouchers establishing accounts were sent to all fire departments in Minnesota in the Fall of 1998, based on the average number of hours of training the department participated in during the previous three years of the with the system colleges. Fire departments could apply their voucher amount for firefighter training at any state university, community college or technical college in Minnesota. For each student contact hour attended, the fire department earns $1.00. For example, if one firefighter attended a 50 hour course, the department would receive a credit of $50.00 for that semester. When a bill for a fire training course arrives at the fire station from a system college or university, the fire department chief, training officer or city administrator completes the block on the top of the voucher letter indicating the amount of money in the voucher account they wish to apply as payment towards their outstanding tuition bill. They then send the voucher letter, along with the initial tuition bill, to the appropriate system college or university for payment. DO NOT MAIL THE VOUCHER DIRECTLY TO THE FIRE/EMS/SAFETY CENTER. Minnesota State Colleges and Universities will allow voucher use for any course (not necessarily a seminar or workshop) that meets NFPA competencies. Any campus can submit for voucher dollars as long as the course they provided is a recognized fire related course. Example: Dakota County Technical College can accept vouchers from fire departments for their driving program and the Fire/EMS/Safety Center will honor them. Colleges can accept vouchers for the Firefighter I courses they have done if the course follows NFPA 1001. All 32 colleges/universities are allowed to send in vouchers. If your fire department plans on taking a course from one of the institutions you should verify that the college has been authorized to collect vouchers for the course and the course they are offering meets our guidelines. The system fire training colleges track the amount of voucher dollars used and earned by each fire department in Minnesota, and report these amounts semi-annually to the Fire/EMS/Safety Center. The Fire/EMS/Safety Center tracks this information. Updated vouchers are reissued to each Minnesota fire department at the end of the semester. The Fire/EMS/Safety Center also reimburses the colleges off of invoices submitted by the colleges to the Fire/EMS/Safety Center for voucher amounts used by each fire department. Changes as of October 2006 Procedure Changes to the Fire/EMS/Safety Center Fire Tuition Subsidy Voucher Program A financial process review of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities' Fire/EMS/Safety Center Fire Tuition Subsidy Voucher Program has been completed. In an effort to increase the effective management and assure program viability of the Center Voucher Program, it has been determined there is a need to implement certain changes in the voucher program. The changes have a short and long term component and are intended to allow fire departments sufficient lead time to minimize any financial impact. Changes being implemented are to meet system managerial and accounting standards, state finance guidelines insuring the programs continued success while addressing the need to allow adequate time for Minnesota fire departments to manage their training needs and voucher account effectively. The primary objective is to apply an expiration date to all issued vouchers and assign an expiration date to all newly issued vouchers. There are 3 points to the change, one short term and two long term (ongoing) program changes. Short term:
Long term:
If a city or fire department has a specific question on the use of tuition vouchers, please contact the Fire/EMS/Safety Center, Cathy Rajtar at 800-311-3143 or 651-649-5455, or e-mail her at cathy.rajtar@so.mnscu.edu Voucher Use
2. Minnesota State Colleges and Universities will allow voucher use for any course (not necessarily a seminar or workshop) that meets NFPA competencies. 3. Vouchers are to be used for "tuition costs only", not for books or equipment. 4. Vouchers can only be used at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities' institutions. 5. Voucher credits can only be generated while taking courses at system colleges or universities. 6. Voucher credits can only be generated and credited to the department after completing a course at system colleges or universities. Example: Voucher credits will only be earned after completing the entire Firefighter I course, not for individual units within the course. 7. Vouchers can only be acquired by a person who is on a Minnesota fire department. 8. A Minnesota fire department is not allowed to deficit spend with their voucher account. 9. Tuition vouchers CANNOT be used for emergency medical courses. These courses receive funding from the EMSRB (Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board). If the voucher balance on your letter is not enough to cover the entire cost of the outstanding training you have been billed for by the educational institution, please include a check payable to the institution for the difference owed. Please also include a copy of your authorized voucher letter with your check. The following Minnesota State Colleges and Universities have regular scheduled firefighter training programs. Link to our Firefighter Training contact webpage.
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