Back to school
So you like the idea of going back to school without giving up your day job or spending a dime. Depending on the company you work for, you might be able to do just that. At the very least, your employer will most likely reimburse part of your tuition expenses. Gather information from colleagues, the employee handbook, the benefits section of your company's website, and university department websites which list distance learning partnerships with corporations. Notify the HR department of your interest and request a sample list of programs funded by your organization.
Types of Tuition Reimbursement Plans (TRPs)
Sweet deal from jam maker Smuckers
Full TRPs: Some companies pay all educational expenses including tuition, fees and books. For example, Conn.-based United Technologies Corp. funds any degree, full-time or part-time, job-related or not, worldwide. Additionally, UTC offers paid leave during exams and up to $10,000 in company stock upon graduation. Ohio-based jam maker J.M. Smucker also has a sweet deal, reimbursing all educational expenses of full-time and part-time employees.
Partial TRPs: Several companies have a spending cap on tuition reimbursements. For example, Google reimburses up to S12,000 per employee per calendar year and American Express funds up to $5,000 each year. UPS provides a total of up to $23,000 in college education assistance.
Program Value: In 2009, Chicago-based Boeing Co. stopped reimbursing the cost of educational programs that are not of strategic value to the company.
Some Strings
Some strings attached to free education
If you have an opportunity to further your career through education paid for by your employer, you should go for it. But almost all TRPs come with strings attached.
Work contract: So you now have an MBA from a topnotch university, fully paid for by your company. The grass may start looking greener over at the competitor's, who's wooing you with extra cash and a promotion. In all fairness, your employer will most likely have you sign a contract to stay on until up to a year or so after graduation.
Minimum acceptable grades: Pull up your socks and get some good grades. Your company expects you to perform on the job and get a minimum stipulated grade. Else, you might have to pay from your own pocket. Most of the time, expectations are reasonable. For example, Google expects employees to receive grades of "B" or higher.
Quality of Education
Companies have e-learning partnerships with some of the best educational institutions in the world, which bring real-time, live classes to the workplace.
Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon: United Technologies, Goldman Sachs, and Lockheed Martin.
Stern School of Business at New York University: The school is collaborating with rating agency Standard & Poor's to develop a custom in-house credit analyst certification program.
CALTECH: IBM, Intel Corp., and Jet Propulsion Laboratory are just a partial list of companies for whom CALTECH has developed custom courses.
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