Any reason to pass on unlimited free degrees from Strayer??

Hey guys, been a few years. Finished my BMS from UTEP a while back. I work for a Chrysler dealer, and a deal has just been struck offering Chrysler dealership employees free, unlimited, no-catch, free school. We have access to every program other than the Jack Welch MBA (which, frankly, is a little cute for my tastes anyways). There are several good MSACC options, as well as MBA's with concentrations in accounting, finance, etc. The school is for profit, which is a bit of a downer, but appears to be legitimately RA. My career is solid, my resume is quite full (on professional certifications, not academic, those mean very little in my industry), but I can't think of a single reason not to jump into every advanced program I can handle. Thoughts?

 

Is Strayer University the only option?

 

You would have to be borderline crazy to not take advantage of free degrees. The only thing you'll lose is time. Whether you're willing to give that time and if it's worth it is completely up to you. If for some reason in the future you don't want to be affiliated with them...take them off your resume.

 

I think you'd be crazy not to do this. Since the crystal ball hasn't been invented yet, having extra education paid for by someone else is a no-brainer! Go for it!

Get a handle on the fine print before you enroll. Who pays what and when? What is your obligation to the company and for how long? What happens if you fail a class?

My husband earned 1 degree on his employer's dime (his bachelor's) that required a return service of 1:1. Since his degree only took him 2 years, he returned 2 years of service to that company. Had he quit, we would have had to repay the $. That degree qualified him for his current position which has MAJOR educational benefits. In fact, our entire family is eligible for free education (there are plenty of caveats) that could be worth nearly a million dollars- seriously. Currently, he's finishing his first year of his MBA on their dime (90% if he were butt in seat, but he's online so only 75%). In this program, he must earn a B or better and we are reimbursed (the first company paid for us). So, we did have an up-front cost that we had to pay. When we get the reimbursement, we roll it forward into the next tuition- so it's not a huge deal, but find out how billing works with your employer. Lastly, you'll probably have to pay books and possibly fees like "technology fee" or other silliness In our case, we pay out of pocket about $500 per class for books, fees, and our portion of the tuition per term for him. All in, it will be about $5,000 total, which will return to us in 2 years when he gets his pay bump that comes with holding a master's.

Way to go, I think this is great!

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One of the biggest disadvantages to a for-profit school is the price. And the current conflict over them surrounds federal financial aid. Some schools have, unfortunately, taken a significant hit to their reputations.

UofP is expensive but it isn't a "diploma mill" and its coursework is not something you can breeze through. I'd even argue that their high attrition rates may be due, in part, to the number of people who sign up thinking it's a gimme and then drop out disappointed (I've had at least two employees come to me, personally, and get angry that UofP gave them failing grades simply because they failed to actually do anything in the course. They thought that paying the course fee got them the credit a la diploma mill).

Anyway, a lot of those concerns are set aside here because you aren't paying for it. You're not going to get saddled with insurmountable debt. Will Strayer's reputation take a dive in three, five or ten years? I dunno, as noted, no crystal ball can tell us if next year we'll find out that Strayer makes money on the side by throwing puppies into a wood chipper and selling them to third world countries as malaria vaccine. But, there's no immediate concern with them, either.

What I would say is jump in. Take a few classes. If you start to get nervous about the whole for-profit thing, then take as many courses as will transfer to Excelsior and finish it out there (at much greater expense). Otherwise, I would suggest knocking through a Masters and, if you still feel like you need some prestige, add a grad cert.

But, yeah, free education? I'd take it in a heartbeat, even if it was through UofP.

 

Done the research. No catches, other than the Jack Welch mba isn't included. The dealer pays a flat monthly fee to enroll (which is surprisingly small) and that's it, regardless of the number of employees that register for classes. The fee is such that if 1 person signed up, it's pretty much equivalent to what the degree would cost. If 2 sign up, well, mathematically, it's about half price. It started getting really neat when I found about 10 people eager to jump in with me. Pitched it and sold it to my dealer principal today. This is a thing, and it's happening. If I can get transcripts in place in the next week or so, I start my mba in Jan. Wish me luck!!

 

Good luck! Let us know how you find the program.

 

Good job! What a great Christmas gift (or whatever it is you celebrate). :smile:

 

Congratulations! That's wonderful!! Also, thanks to your post, I shared it with my Facebook homeschool community- it's really fantastic. I hope a ton of people enroll.