Benefits

PNW is happy to offer health insurance options to students through United Health Care Student Resources. Coverage includes medical and prescription drug. Anyone that enrolls in the medical plan will automatically be enrolled in the dental plan. Dental coverage is through Delta Dental. Registered undergraduate and graduate domestic students taking six or more credit hours and degree seeking are eligible to enroll. Online-only students are not eligible for Purdue University student insurance.

All international undergraduate and graduate students who are registered, regardless of credit hours, or in an approved professional certificate program must enroll in the mandatory university health insurance plan unless you meet the criteria for a waiver.

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Purdue gives you a couple different medical options from which to choose so you can select the plan that is best for you and your family. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield administers the health plans and you have access to the same network on all plans. The primary differences between the plans are what you will pay in premiums as well as your deductible and out of pocket maximums.

Explore Health Plans

Purdue offers three dental insurance plans to choose from. Delta Dental is the insurance carrier and you may select dentists that participate in the Delta Dental PPO or Delta Dental Premier networks. There is a free preventive-only dental plan, or you can choose from two buy up plans to provide coverage when additional dental services are necessary.

Explore Dental Plans

Purdue offers vision coverage through Vision Service Plan as an option for all benefit eligible faculty and staff, spouses and dependents. The vision coverage is premium free. Simply elect during your enrollment period.

VSP benefits help you get the glasses or contacts you need to correct your vision. The program covers services from both VSP member and non-member doctors. In addition to glasses and contacts, the plan offers discounts on LASIK and PRK procedures.

Explore Vision Insurance

You are protected during life’s critical situations. Purdue offers a variety of insurance plans to help you and your family through the difficulties of a death in the family or significant dismemberment injury as a result of an accident.

Explore Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance

The university offers disability insurance administered by Guardian that provides income replacement in the event of an illness or injury that results in your inability to work for an extended period of time. All benefit eligible employees are enrolled in Long Term Disability Insurance. The premium is shared by Purdue and the employee. Short Term Disability insurance is available for certain classifications of employees and enrollment is optional.

Purdue offers several additional voluntary benefit insurance options. You pay 100% of the premium; however, you also experience the benefit of a group rate. Options include:

• Accident Insurance
• Auto and Home Insurance
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Legal Insurance
• Long-Term Care Insurance
• Pet Insurance
• Supplemental Hospital Insurance

Purdue offers a variety of retirement plans, depending upon the type of position you hold, to help you prepare for the financial aspects of retirement.

• University Funded Retirement Plans
• Voluntary Retirement Savings Plans
• Retirement Resources

Purdue offers a few different types of spending and savings accounts administered by HSABank, each with its own set of guidelines: Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (DCFSA), Limited Purpose Flexible Spending Accounts (LPFSA), Health Savings Accounts (HSA), and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA).

Explore HSA, HRA and FSA Options

Benefit-eligible employees have access to a variety of leaves, both paid and unpaid. Your employee classification determines the amount of leave available to you.

• Paid Time Off specific to Faculty, Executive, Management, Professional, Continuing Lecturers, Post Docs and Op Techs include Sick leave, Vacation accrual and Personal Business Days.
• Paid Time Off specific to Administrative and Operational Support, Police Fire and Skilled Trades include Sick leave and Vacation accrual.
• Paid Time Off available to all classifications include University Holidays, Bereavement, Paid Parental Leave, Jury and Witness Duty and Military Leave up to 15 calendar days.
• Unpaid Personal Leave and Paid and Unpaid Military Leave available to all classifications.

Employees may be eligible for job protected leaves under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  Leaves may be taken intermittently, on a reduced schedule or continuously with a medical provider certifying the need for leave.

If eligibility requirements are met, 12 weeks of unpaid leave may be available for the following reasons:

• The employee’s own serious health condition
• Birth of a child
• Adoption of a child or placement of a child for foster care
• Bonding with the child during the first 12 months following birth or placement
• Serious health condition of a parent, spouse, or child

Interested employees may review this website and submit an online request to be considered for FMLA.

PNW Human Resources – Benefits provides reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities who need time away from work — whether intermittent, on a reduced schedule or continuously — when other job protected leaves (such as FMLA) are not available due to ineligibility.

The Office of Civil Rights provides other types of reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities.

Employee Leave Accommodations

If you are an employee with a disability and would like to request leave as an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) , please complete the request form below. If you are unable to complete this form on your own, someone else may complete the form on your behalf.

COMPLETE THE FORM

You may also contact Colleen Robison, Director of Benefits and Employee Wellness at 219-989-2143 or cmrobiso@pnw.edu

What to Expect

1. Once you initiate the interactive process, you will be invited to meet with your campus ADA Administrator.  During this meeting:
   • The interactive process is explained
   • You will complete the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form (if this has not already been done)
   • You will complete the Authorization for Use, Disclosure or Release of Protected Health Information and Medical Records for Evaluation Under the Americans with Disabilities Act Form
2. The ADA Administrator will then:
   • Send your Authorization Form, Position Description and a Health Care Provider Evaluation Form to your health care provider.
   • Review the completed Health Care Provider Evaluation Form to determine whether you have a qualifying disability under the ADA.
3. Determination and Next Steps
   • If the information provided does not indicate a qualifying disability, the ADA Administrator will send you a letter explaining the decision, and no further action will be taken.
   • If you are determined to have a qualifying disability, the ADA Administrator will meet with you and your supervisor to discuss possible reasonable leave accommodations.
4. Once reasonable accommodations are determined, the ADA Administrator will confirm in writing to both you and your supervisor and the accommodations will be implemented.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employee’s with known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions — unless doing so would cause an undue hardship for the University.  This law works in addition to other federal, state, or local laws that may offer greater protections for employees affected by pregnancy or related conditions.

At PNW,

• Human Resources – Benefits manages PWFA leaves, and
• The Office of Civil Rights manages PWFA accommodations.

You can find key provisions of the PWFA and helpful resources for employees and supervisors on this website.

If you would like to request a PWFA leave (intermittent, reduced schedule or continuous) please complete the online request form.

If you are injured at work, you may need time away from your job — either on an intermittent, reduced schedule, or continuous leave basis.

In some cases, workers compensation leave may overlap with FMLA or ADA job protection.

Your leave case manager will review your situation and help you understand all of your available leave options.

If you haven’t reported your injury yet, it’s important to do so right away.  Please visit the Workers Compensation website to report your injury and find information on medical treatment when needed.

Purdue offers a tuition remission benefit for employees, their spouses and children. Additional criteria may be required for eligibility, and certain programs may not qualify. Please contact your benefit administrator for guidance.

Explore Education Benefits

Since 2008, Purdue University has been proud to join hundreds of employers across the United States in providing support for their employees and attending students who are breastfeeding mothers. Research has shown that employer-based lactation support programs decrease employee sick time and increase employee productivity, retention and satisfaction.

Purdue Northwest provides lactation spaces for breastfeeding mothers.  The following locations are designates spaces on each campus:

Hammond Campus

Nils K. Nelson Bioscience Innovation Building, Room 228 (The sign notes Mother’s Room and is on the second floor close to the restrooms.)

Westville Campus

Schwarz Hall, Room 25S (This room is on the lower level of Schwarz.  The sign outside this room indicates 25S.)

In addition to lactation support, Purdue prides itself on offering a host of family friendly resources.  Please visit the Family Friendly website to browse the host of programs and resources.