Tuition Reimbursement Programs
Your Company May Provide 100% Funding for Your College Degree
Today’s costs of a higher education have not gone unnoticed. In fact among business and industry, the fact has been underscored many times over. Where once in-service training sufficed, there are now incentives designed to send employees back to college. One of the more costly, but effective incentives is a tuition reimbursement program, a.k.a. employer reimbursement program (ERP).
Costly as far as monetary short-term expense for a business, but the long-term value of more highly educated personnel cannot be overstated. In fact a tuition reimbursement program goes both ways: it increases the quality of a career-life for an individual, at the same time it adds investment value to a company’s human resources.
Program Coverage and Criteria
Exactly how each ERP works depends on the criteria of the company or sponsor organization. Typically you are required to be employed full-time and may only become eligible for reimbursement after you’ve been with a company for a year or so. There may be percentages of tuition reimbursement and consider yourself blessed for the 100% plan; a considerable number allow this.
Extra Costs
Sponsors often do not include textbook and other auxiliary college or program costs as part of a tuition reimbursement plan. For example, many colleges and universities charge a student activity fee as part of their tuitions; not a reimbursable expense. So you can expect out-of-pocket charges to be a potential few hundred dollars depending on the nature of your studies. Of course you should always shop for discount or used textbooks before you pay for brand new, we’re talking about savings in the hundreds of dollars.
Degrees of Reimbursement
Some companies and ERPs stipulate the types of degrees eligible for reimbursement. You may be eligible only for reimbursement of programs related to an undergraduate or graduate degree, up to a certain amount, often between $1,000 and $2,000. More companies now include certificate programs, but some do not and you may have to clear it with the HR department just to make sure. Which means you’ll still pay out of pocket for any programs you require that are not covered by your TR plan. In some cases you may be able to pursue a course or program unrelated to your job, but some companies will only repay you for courses, degrees or programs directly related to your job description.
Does Performance Count?
Your ERP may refuse to pay if you flunk out, so to speak, or are unable to maintain a certain GPA. Part of your role in this corporate investment program is to suck it up and perform both in work and in class.
Reimbursement Applications
The purpose of the reimbursement application you turn into the Human Resources department is to make sure you are "reimbursed," which means you’ve already paid for something. So, guess what? You will likely have a short-term out of pocket expense for your semester tuition before you see expense reimbursement. Expect to be required to submit copies of your tuition bill and method of payment. And, yes, since performance does count, you may also need to include official copies of course grades and overall GPA.
Opportunities for Non-Traditional Students
Yes, tuition reimbursement programs benefit everyone, but one more area of life in which they are of consequence is among working adults. One argument posited by working adults is their general lack of available funds for higher education. Now that many ERPs remove that obstacle some experts say savvy workers are making their move into more lucrative fields or more experienced positions. According to Smart Business:
"More and more working adults are seeking out educational services designed for the working adult. Seminar-style learning environments, evening courses and e-learning are becoming increasingly popular choices for busy professionals seeking to enrich themselves with education."
Tuition Reimbursement Management Services
Like many scholarship programs, a large-scale tuition reimbursement program may be completely unmanageable for a company or organization. Companies like Scholarship America, InterplX and ACT provide scalable services for companies with tuition reimbursement programs. Services cover everything from plan advertisement, to application process and design, selection and sorting of reimbursement applications, and remittance of funds. For many organizations management of programs like these involve a complex information system both in hardcopy and online that falls outside the core functions of a typical HR department.
