March 9, 2010
Employer Funded College Degree
Working students may not realize this, but their biggest source of financial aid could be their 9 to 5…and by that we don’t mean their weekly paycheck either. There are many employers out there who will gladly help their personnel advance their education, and pay them a regular salary while they’re at it.
A very common example is a law firm who pays their young attorneys tuition to get their Doctorate of Jurisprudence and the fees for their Bar Exams. Believe it or not, another good example is the military, who encourage their junior officers and non-comms to go to online college for anything from advanced technological certification to even going to MIT. Hospitals and clinics also support their staff to continue their education just so they can stay on top of the latest ailments, cures and other procedures. If you need more information about accredited degree online it is available on the internet.
What a student/employee should first do is go to their human resources office and find out if their company does offer such programs. You’d be surprised at the range of companies that offer them. They include fast food operations like McDonald’s and Chick Fil-A, Humana, the Queens (NY) Public Library and pharmaceutical giant Glaxo SmithKline. Many a Wall Street bank or investment house also likes it if their employees go to online schools to get their MBA’s. If they do, the assistance primarily comes in four forms:
Direct pay tuition assistance – in this case, the employer pays for the course, certificate, or degree program up front. The employee doesn’t have to pay anything. In turn, the employee is required to fill a specified course load, usually with a short list of online schools, within a prerequisite amount of time.
Reimbursed tuition assistance – The employee must first complete the program, then the employer pays for the course, certificate, or degree program. The employer may pay after each course or only after the certificate or degree is completed. This method is a surefire way the company sees its personnel fulfill their course load before paying out. For varied information on grants for college, go to the web.
Educational/Professional Development travel assistance - the employer may pay for travel expenses related to educational programs including courses at distant institutions or conferences/conventions. The medical, political and financial worlds are particularly known for these.
529 College Savings Program – One could call this a kind of savings program. As part of an employee benefits package, the employer may match contributions made by the employee into the program. It’s a good way to insure employee loyalty and longevity. For an abumdance of information about degree on line, check out the web.
The one important tip is the online school itself might not be aware of the company’s program, so it’s up to the prospective student to do that bit of homework. This financial aid can range anywhere from $500 to full tuition and fees, so they are definitely worth it. The side perks from getting that degree can also be quite beneficial. After all, the better the employee’s education, the better said employee’s chances of climbing up his/her corporate ladder, too.
Filed under Hispanic Scholarships by Rose