Will Your Employer Finance Your Education?
Having your company foot the tuition bill for your continued education program may sound too good to be true, but the reality is that this practice is becoming more and more common. In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics an incredible 21% of graduate students received some amount tuition aid from their employers for the 2003/2004 school year.
Types of Education Employers Will FinanceEmployers can choose to finance any educational program they see fit, however they usually only finance educational programs that will allow an employee to graduate and bring immediate and measurable increases in value to the company. Employers want to make sure they sill see a definite return from investing in an employee's education.
One common form of employer-financed education is for those employees that need additional education to obtain a license or certification that will allow them to perform more tasks. Employers usually see quick returns from helping employees obtain licensure. However, some employers will finance an entire graduate degree if they believe it is a good investment. For instance, a promising manager may aspire to move up in the company ranks but a company policy may stipulate that all top-level managers must hold MBAs. This company may pay for the promising manager to earn an MBA. This investment is one that the company will not see returns on for a few years, but one that will pay off eventually if the manager indeed stays with the company and does his or her job well.
How Employer Financing WorksEmployers may pay your tuition costs up front or they may reimburse you. Typically employers attach stipulations to their employee education financing programs, which is why some to choose to reimburse employees rather than pay tuition costs up front. Many employers mandate that student employees must maintain at least a B average or else they will not be reimbursed for their expenses. Also, some employers make financially backed employees sign contracts or other agreements stating they will stay with the company for a certain length of time after they graduate. This ensures the company will not lose out on the money it invested paying for an employee to attend school.
Some employers require employees to attend an online graduate school so that workers can attend classes on their own time and still put in a full day of work. Other employers will allow employees to leave in the middle of the workday to attend traditional campus based classes.
Employers may pay for part or all of your tuition and some employers may even pay to cover additional school related expenses such as textbooks. It simply depends on the individual arrangements of different employers. However, according the National Center for Education Statistics employers with tuition reimbursement programs contribute an average of $3,000 per student.
How to Get Your Employer to Finance Your EducationIf you want to go back to school and are working full time you should definitely check with your company about employer financing. If you work for a large corporation that has an established continued education financing program getting funding may be as simple as submitting a request through the proper channels.
However, if you work for a company that does not have an established program, you will have to make your case to your employer. It never hurts to propose contributing to your continued education to your employer if you do it in a professional manner.
First, ask for a meeting time with your boss or other key decision maker and come prepared to present your idea. Center your presentation on how continuing your education will allow you to deliver significantly more value to the company. Be specific and clear about where, how and when you could deliver this value if you pursue a continued education program. The more details you can provide the better. Prepare to present details like:
- Which school you will attend
- Which degree you will pursue
- What skills you will learn
- The value of those skills to your employer
- The length of time training will take
- Your workload throughout the education
Next, explain the many benefits to employers who choose to fund their employees continued education. Employers who finance their workers' educations typically see much lower turn over rates than employers who do not pay for college expenses. Also, there are substantial tax breaks for employers who choose to finance their employee's education. Currently, employer tuition reimbursement is tax-free up to $5,250.
Lastly, if your employer is unsure of the returns they will receive, offer to sign a contract stipulating that you will continue to work with the company for an agreed upon length of time after graduation. This can help allay company fears that you may leave after you have received your education.
Most of all remember that asking for employer financing is not unreasonable, but plan on working hard and paying your company back through putting your new skills and educational background to effective use.
Article ReferencesNational Center for Education Statistics
http://nces.ed.gov/
University of Connecticut, Center for Continuing Studies
http://continuingstudies.uconn.edu/bgs/handbook/financing.html#Employerreimbursement
US Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml
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