tuition reimbursement or assistance through your employer

Has/is anyone here used a tuition benefit through your employer? Care to share your experiences? It is not the same at every company/job and I would love to hear what the requirements were, if you had obligations once your degree was complete, what was covered and what wasn't, etc. Did you have any negative feedback based on the fact that you are doing distance learning? Did managers have concerns about you spending time at work doing schoolwork?

 

In my company the basic policy is this:
If the coursework/degree program is directly related to your job (and this is defined very tightly) then the company will reimburse 100% of the cost up to a maximum per year. If the coursework is not directly related to your job they will reimburse 50% up to a maximum per year. The school must be RA. Your grades must be >3.0. No one cares if it's DL. Fees/books are not reimbursed, only tuition. The whole thing goes through HR and AFAIK managers do not know who is and who is not taking advantage of this benefit. You are required to remain with the company for a year for every year of study. It's a great benefit and many take advantage of it. Some for career advancement, some for career change, some just for fun.

 

At the time I got my Master's Degree, my school district paid the tuition for a Master's Degree up to the amount of tuition at the local State University. I was able to find a distance learning program in that $$ range, though it was not "online" (we had to organize a local study group, and had some group assignments). All assignments were mailed to our professors. Nobody cared how I got my Master's degree as long as it was regionally accredited. In fact, every time this topic comes up, I think about the fact that, at least in my life, nobody has ever seemed to care whether somebody got their education by distance learning or not. It is not a topic of conversation in the circles I travel. Even when I worked at a B&M State university in 2010/11, nobody cared that I earned my Doctorate online. They did not ask me any questions about that when they interviewed me, though having a doctorate was a requirement for the position, and I had recently earned mine when interviewed.

 

Kizmet, that is so cool. I have been reluctant to use the benefit because of bad experiences in the past. But I took a good look at the policy and it looks like I should be covered. I love the way your firm treats it as a regular benefit that has nothing to do with your managers - just HR. I hope my boss is receptive, but I will stick with the wording in the handbook and go for it anyway.

My old job had a stipulation about only paying for education that would help you in your current position - not to move up to a new one. The job before that allowed people to get a graduate degree in any subject as long as they committed to the company for two years after graduation. Kinda tough if your grad degree was intended to move you into a new career. But a couple of MFA's made it work for them - doing creative writing and theater while working at an investment management firm.

 

@ suelaine, this is very good to hear. After my conversation with an HR generalist, I concluded that she is out of touch. To her distance learning=UofP. Also, when she interviewed me she had the recruiter ask me to put any classes or volunteer work I had done on my resume since I didn't have a degree. She wanted to make sure the team that would be hiring me would see my revised resume. None of them asked or cared about anything beyond my experience and expertise in areas that are needed in the job.

 

My husband's company set a tuition cap per year, and wouldn't pay for testing. They did pay for RA or NA, and for every year of benefit, he had to return a year of service. He also had to maintain a 3.0 GPA. Not completing his service requirement would mean having to repay tuition.

 

Hospital I work at offers it to full and part time employees who have been with the company at least 1 year.
Annually: $500/AA, $1500/BA/BS, $3000/Masters.....part timers receive 1/2 the benefit. You are obligated to 6 months of service after completing the class, if you leave prior to the 6 months they pro-rate the payback.

You have to make a "C" or better.

Must be degree seeking.

Must be accredited, This generally means RA, but they do pay for technical nurse and other health care provider education so long as that will lead to State Certification.

Works on the fiscal year, so you start in September and use the benefit till the next September then it can start again. No cap per se...but yearly maximums do apply.

Its an awesome benefit...If you leave early they will take what you owe them right out of your paycheck or accrued vacation pay.

 

I am currently working on a Master's degree with the assistance of my employer (municipal government). The policy here basically states that the class(es) must be from an RA institution and relevant to employment (fairly loosely interpreted). My degree is 100% online and there is a checkbox for online or in person on the application paperwork, so obviously my employer accepts either. I have heard reports of them turning down a request involving American Military University. I'm not sure why, as I believe that they are RA, so perhaps they hold some prejudice towards some schools...regardless, my degree is from a nearby state university. I am reimbursed for books and tuition at the rate of 100% for grades of A or B and 50% for a grade of C (nada for lower). I must remain working for my employer for (I believe) 2 years after obtaining the degree or they will require that I repay them. I am limited to 7 credits per semester (defined as spring/summer/fall). Oh, and they will only reimburse up to the equivalent amount of a TN state school if you decide to attend a more expensive or out of state university.

I think that covers it all! It's a great benefit. Over a 2 year period they will spend over $20K on me.

Matt

 

forgot to mention

My company requires me to repay if I quit within 12 months of the last payment. They will pay for books but not testing.

Thanks for indulging me, everyone. It is really good to hear what companies are doing. I really wish my company was one that had a partnership with SNHU's competency-based degree program.

 

My employer paid for around 1/2 my remaining BS courses and for both my masters degree. Tuition reimbursment included text books, parking, and other fees. To be eligable I had to get a C minimum in BS courses and B minimum in masters courses. I did coursework in my office during lunch and after work. I used my work computer and work library for research during those hours. All my mastyers courses were work related so were not taxable. I had fellow employees studying things like religion and their tuition was taxed.

 

My company paid for most of both of my degrees. Basically they offer 100% tuition and books for A's, 80% tuition and books for B's and 50% tuition and books for C's. The courses individually needed to be job related. They did not pay for some of my general ed courses such as literature and history. Overall I am very happy with my company and what they paid.

They do put handcuffs on me a bit. If I resign within 3 years, then I have to pay back a prorated amount of the benefit. In year one I would have to pay back 100%, year two 60%, year three 30%.

One thing I find funny is that very few employees take advantage of this benefit. It is kind of an under the radar thing that most people never know about and if they hear about it they dismiss it. It has been very valuable for me.

 

I company I worked for paid for all my degrees with the exception of about $5K. Their policy was up to $5K per year as long as the degree was related to the business (no basket weaving or theater). If you left 12 months after getting the TA you owed a pro-rated amount back.

The hospital I work for now has a $3K cap per year.

They even have a partnership with the local college and will pay 100% for nursing degrees. The hospital group offers their own study groups to help with A&P and Stats classes.

 

Probably less than 1% of the folks at my work avail themselves of tuition assistance. I can't convince people to follow through with it.

 

My employer pays $4500 a year at a rate of up to $250 per credit. It covers one degree per level up to a master's as long as it is accredited (RA or NA). The major doesn't matter. There is zero negative issues with DL coursework and working on schoolwork while at work is left up to the individual workcenters and supervisors.

The program is used by a lot of people and my employer attempted to cut it earlier this year as a way to control spending. Congress was not amused.

 

My employer announced a revamp of the tuition assistance program... right after I paid ca$h for the PhD.

 

My company offers 100% tuition reimbursement for any course or degree associated with your current or future position with the organization. Only a passing grade is required. Up until last year, the program allowed for an employee to take unlimited degrees at any level and there was no commitment after completion. You only needed to still be employed on completion of the course.

Now, the policy will only cover a single BA/BS if you do not already have one, and a single Masters (they sponsored two for me prior to the change) and a 1 year commitment from course completion. PhD's are no longer included which is too bad for me.

Still, a very generous program which I encourage all my employees to take advantage of. From a management perspective, it ensures I retain smart, well educated employees longer than I may based on salary and job satisfaction alone.

Rob

 

At the high school where I worked we could get reimbursed for 70% of tuition costs for 3 courses per year. We had to get approval first, of course, and approval was based upon a ranking and need system. I took advantage of it for my MS, but not so much for my MA. The caveat was that for every year we got assistance, we had to guarantee a year of service.

At the college where I now work, we can get reimbursed for 3 courses at whatever the current tuition rate of Old Dominion University is. The courses have to be part of our individual development plans, and for each semester we get assistance, we have to stay another semester.

In both cases, the reimbursement applies to tuition only. Schools had to be RA. We have to get at least a C.

-Matt