Rec Rewards Program

UC Employee Rec Rewards Reimbursement Program

The UC Employee REC Rewards Reimbursement program is open to benefits-eligible UC employees who are Campus Recreation members. Through this program, UC employee members are eligible to receive a $26.66-per-month reimbursement for membership fees.

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Rec Rewards Eligibility

All of the following criteria are required for eligibility for the Campus Recreation Membership Reimbursement Program:

  • Complete an initial health assessment.
  • Utilize the facilities at least eight (8) days each month.
  • Be a benefits-eligible employee of the University of Cincinnati.
  • Be a current and the primary Campus Recreation member (family/dependent members are excluded).
  • Any UC Employee membership type is eligible for the program including annual paid in full or monthly, 9-month, and 3-month
  • Complete a follow-up health assessment when contacted to do so (6 months-to-a-year into the program).

Reimbursement Process

  1. Work out at the Campus Recreation Center (CRC) or Fitness Center at CARE/Crawley (FC) at least eight (8) days each month to receive reimbursement. Only one facility visit per day will count towards the total 8 days.
  2. Monthly $26.66 reimbursements will appear on qualifying members' paychecks. There is a month delay between when the facility visits take place and the month in which employee receives the reward. For example, members completing the required number of visits in February will have their paycheck credited in March (March 31 for monthly paid employees, and last March paycheck for biweekly paid employees).

Please note: The membership reimbursement ($26.66 per applicable month) constitutes taxable income, and will be subject to federal, state and local taxes applicable in each employee’s situation.

Membership Options & Reimbursement 

Any UC Employee membership type is eligible for the reimbursement, but the reimbursement amount will remain the same, $26.66/month. 

  • UC Employee annual: $36.66 - $26.66 = you'll end up paying about $10/month
  • UC Employee 9-month: $40 - $26.66 = you'll end up paying about $13.34/month
  • UC Employee 3-month: $125/3=$41.67-$26.66 = you'll end up paying about $15/month

Health Assessment Information

In order to receive Rec Rewards, all participants in the program will be required to do an initial health assessment upon sign-up and a follow-up health assessment at 6 months to a year into the program.  All assessments are provided for free by Campus Recreation staff. Assessments will continue on an annual basis.

Information collected during the health assessment will include: birth date, gender, exercise frequency, smoking status, height, weight, blood pressure, heart rate, body fat percentage and BMI. This information will be collected by Campus Recreation Staff and stored within the member management software. Individual data will not be shared with anyone outside of Campus Recreation staff. All participants agree to the release of this information to the university as stated above.

Schedule Your Health Assessment 

Please visit the Member Services desk to speak with a Fitness Lead about completing the assessment.  For any additional questions, please contact:

  • Campus Recreation Center (West Campus): 513-556-0604
  • Fitness Center at CARE/Crawley (East/Medical Campus): 513-558-0604

Please bring your UC ID. Anticipated time for completion of assessment is 15-30 minutes.

FAQ

Program Eligibility

Any benefits-eligible University of Cincinnati employees.

Spouse/domestic partner and legal dependent memberships may be added to your membership but only the primary UC Employee membership is eligible for the reimbursement.

The only way an individual can be recognized as eligible to receive a reimbursement is if they are signed up as a UC Employee member. Therefore, each of you must be signed up separately as UC Employee members in order for both to receive reimbursement, rather than linking your accounts.

Payment for Membership

No. You can pay your membership dues by any of our accepted methods of payment. This includes paid in full and the monthly options of payroll deduction, and credit card.  Your reimbursement will show up on your paycheck, regardless of your method of payment. 

We accept paid-in-full memberships via credit card, but all reimbursements will be processed monthly in your paycheck, as this is a university-sponsored program. This includes short term and annual memberships.

Reimbursement Process

You are welcome to come in multiple times per day, but only one swipe per day will count towards your monthly total of at least eight (8) days. 

Yes, you can check-in at both the Campus Recreation Center and Fitness Center at CARE/Crawley – keep in mind only one swipe per day counts for the program, even if you end up at both facilities!

No matter how you pay for your membership, all reimbursements will be processed through your paycheck. 

For example, 8 Visits in the month of February, tabulated and sent March 1.

Employee Paid:

  • Monthly - March 31 Paycheck
  • Bi-Weekly - Last March Paycheck

Reimbursement for the first month of membership is pro-rated based on how much you paid for that month. You will still be required to get an assessment and to check in and workout 8 different days of that month in order to see a reimbursement.

The reimbursement is considered a taxable benefit. The membership reimbursement ($26.66 per applicable month) provided by the university constitutes taxable income, and will be subject to federal, state and local taxes applicable in each employee’s situation.

This program is designed to explore opportunities for university employees to improve their health. It is currently only offered through Campus Recreation.

There are only two pieces of documentation that must be completed to start receiving reimbursement:

A follow-up assessment will also need to be completed after 6 months of membership in order to continue receiving reimbursement.

Assessments

The goal of this program is to improve the health of UC employees through increased physical fitness. The university benefits department is making a significant investment in this program and therefore would like to review results in order to ensure participation in the program produces improvement in the overall health of university employees. With this in mind, the benefits department will also be looking for reductions in the number of sick days used and medical claims.

Campus Recreation staff will be collecting and hosting the data. The information will be presented collectively, not individually, to HR.

Individuals who do not get the required assessments will not receive reimbursement.

Height, weight, resting heart rate, blood pressure, body composition (% body fat), and body mass index (BMI) will be measured.

No, the Rec Rewards Assessment is different from the Be Well UC Assessment. The Be Well UC assessment cannot be used for Rec Rewards.

Membership Cancellation/Freeze

Your membership will continue even if you do not get the follow-up assessment.

Memberships are not cancelled due to non-usage. A one-year contract is in effect and membership can be cancelled after one year by submitting an online membership cancellation form.

Memberships can be cancelled by submitting an online membership cancellation form.

A member can freeze their membership for $5/month by submitting a membership freeze form.