Tuition Reimbursement
Tuition Reimbursement through Employers
By far, one of your best grad school funding options is to get someone else to pay for your education. Tuition assistance, or tuition reimbursement, programs vary widely. Generally, the larger the company, the better the plan. General Electric, Hewlett Packard, Dell, Citigroup, and Motorola have very generous tuition assistance plans.
In an ideal world, the best tuition assistance would:
- Provide assistance for undergraduate level work, graduate level work, or continuing education
- Arrange for 100% payment up-front for each course
- Cover related expenses like textbooks and materials
Tuition assistance programs are based upon an employer’s objectives for recruiting, retention, and productivity. The benefits can vary from company to company, and even within various divisions of the same company. Make an appointment to speak with the human resources specialist about your employer’s caveats, rules and restrictions. For some reason, the benefits are often not widely, or enthusiastically, promoted. Unless you have a very proactive supervisor who truly takes an interest in your professional development, you may not be encouraged to take advantage of this benefit. Indeed, many employees toil away in call centers, branch offices, or sales offices for years without even knowing that a tuition assistance policy exists. According to the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, less than 15% of eligible employees actually use their tuition assistance benefits.
Tuition assistance may have been covered in a very general sense in the employee handbook you were given your first week on the job. Whether you read it then, or filed it away in your drawer, it is worth taking the time to review it before your meeting with HR. Still, policies and benefits may have changed. In order to make the best decisions about your education, you need precise, current information.
Your employer may require you to:
- Choose from a select group of colleges or universities
- Enroll in a course of study that is job-related
- Pay the tuition yourself and await reimbursement after the successful completion of the course*
- Pay any tuition that exceeds an annual cap of $5,250 or less
- Earn a “C” or better
- Pay back the tuition if you leave the company
*Some employers do not reimburse 100% of the tuition. Usually, they do reimburse at least up to 80%.
If you are fortunate enough to work for a Fortune 500 company with its own online course offerings, fitness center, and onsite daycare, there is a plan in place already, and all you have to do is follow it. But 38% of all employees work in firms with 100 employees or less (source: Bureau of Labor Statistics). If your company is so small it doesn’t even have an HR department, it’s a good bet there is no tuition assistance plan either. Depending on the state in which your company is located, your employer may be eligible to receive tax credits and tax deductions for providing training or tuition assistance programs to employees. Ask your HR team about the possibility of adding a plan in the future.