Walmart to Help Associates Get College Degrees

[sanantone]

I laugh because my brother tried not to get hired at Walmart when called into an interview while on unemployment because he wanted a less big-corp more small business job. He wore crazy mismatched plaid suiting and provided a highly unprofessional email address. He got hired as a  department manager for lawn and garden. He actually enjoyed that position for the 18 months or so he worked there.

LOL, but he should have tried harder?  I think an unprofessional email address is common.

Glad he liked it.

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Then, there are people who work at Walmart because they don't want to go to college. I'm sure many, if not most, Walmart employees qualify for almost $6,000 a year in Pell Grant money. The average CC is about $3k per year. Many public, 4-year colleges are still under $9k per year.

From firsthand experience as an instructor at a for-profit college, I learned that many students elected to pay 10X the tuition they would have paid at a CC because CCs required too much of them. Imagine how many Walmart employees won't be accepted to UF or won't want to put in the effort to meet admissions requirements.

Yeah, I felt many companies only offer the Pell amount or a little less. Originally I thought it was because working would reduce the Pell amount, and the companies were trying to make up for it, but now it makes more sense. Many people don't realize that they can get Pell, but the companies can sell it as an added benefit.

Required too much for admission, or degree requirements? Just wondering if CCs are more challenging in some way.

CCs, generally, aren't as challenging as 4-year colleges. CCs, typically, require a placement exam if you didn't make a minimum score on the SAT or ACT. I know that, at least 10 years ago, 50% of the students at the Alamo Community Colleges were in remedial courses. Some get burned out on the remedial courses; some will never be able to pass the math and/or English requirement for their degree program. One of my former students at the for-profit college dropped out of a CC because he couldn't pass algebra; another student dropped out because she couldn't pass English. I had to spend hours upon hours tutoring this student because he kept failing this useless criminal justice certification exam the school required to graduate. He failed the state standardized tests multiple times in high school. He likely has no chance of becoming a cop; he wouldn't be able to pass the civil service exam. I'm sure he had a learning disability that wasn't being addressed.

[Ideas]

In the companies that my husband has had this benefit (2) he used it both times (BS at company 1 and MBA at company 2) and HR was very open at his first company to say that no employee had ever used it for a degree.  At his current company, people are doing it slowly, but that's because they've upped the requirement to master's degree.  But in the 3 years he worked on his MBA, only 2 other employees at his campus started their master's - that's out of a couple hundred eligible.  One more anecdote, I post various employee reimbursement or employee tuition funding programs on my blog / FB page from time to time, and it never even creates a mild buzz.  People just don't seem to get excited about it - something that seriously blows my mind.

I'm sort of surprised that very few do it when it's optional. But most people are so busy and can't see fitting it in, I guess. It seems like people who have a larger, more stable income are the ones who would go for it. Otherwise, the younger ones who don't have as many responsibilities.

I feel that a lot of people avoid school because of math and/or writing. Bad experiences in high school / grade school. They think college will be the same, only even harder to pass.

[MNomadic]

I agree but the way I see I see it, there are no longer any excuses for not getting a college degree anymore. Between grants, scholarships, ultra cheap/free credits, pierpont BOG aas, and companies like Walmart and Starbucks paying for virtually a whole degree, I can't think of a single situation where a healthy person in the US can't get something.

Most people don't research things. Most people don't even know what CLEP is. They're definitely not going to know about West Virginia community colleges. Surprisingly, a lot of people don't find out about grants until after they apply for college. That's why for-profit colleges were so attractive. They advertised that they could help you find enough aid to cover tuition, and some help prospective students fill out the FAFSA. 

Then, you have those students who want the full college experience and don't like the idea of online schooling. Starbucks has a partnership with ASU; Walmart has a partnership with UF. I think the Starbucks benefit is only for ASU Online. The UF partnership covers in-person courses, but if you don't live in Florida, you will have to attend online.

BTW, I'm not suggesting that a college education is the only way. MANY GREAT careers can be had from vocational training or no training.

But What I've found in life is that if someone wants something, they will search for and find it. They will also find a way to make it happen. I have talked to many of my old highschool friends who're at dead ends in their lives and wanted my counsel. I've explained to them dozens of ways that they can improve their situation and they've responded with dozens of excuses as to why they couldn't (not saying this is a comprehensive sampling of everyone's situation throughout the population). Long story short, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. Employers and organizations in this country are bending over backwards to help people elevate their career who complain about not making $15 minimum wage. But many are not willing to work to earn a higher pay.


One friend I offered to personally help him with FREE classes that he personally expressed intense interest in(the Teex cyber security courses). His unemployed self somehow still had reasons he couldn't work on the class(he really explained to me multiple times how interested he was in cyber security, but didn't seem to want to learn about it).

Another friend was continually complaining about how hungry he is cuz he can't afford much food but when I tried to explain to him about his VA benefits and how he could probably get training for a better job, he immediately said school wasn't for him.

As for online school, I agree. It is not ideal. I've spoke with many people that told me they were Impressed that I was finishing my education online because they didn't have the self discipline to do that without someone holding their hand. But beggars can't be choosers.

The "college experience": I found that I didn't need an expensive $10,000+ yearly tuition to party and experiment with alcohol/drugs/sex/etc. I also didn't need college to hangout at coffee shops or listen to great lectures. I didn't need a college to get political and go to protests.

I don't want to rant much longer so I'll close this with a quote:
. “You can have results or excuses, but not both.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

[sanantone]

I agree but the way I see I see it, there are no longer any excuses for not getting a college degree anymore. Between grants, scholarships, ultra cheap/free credits, pierpont BOG aas, and companies like Walmart and Starbucks paying for virtually a whole degree, I can't think of a single situation where a healthy person in the US can't get something.

Most people don't research things. Most people don't even know what CLEP is. They're definitely not going to know about West Virginia community colleges. Surprisingly, a lot of people don't find out about grants until after they apply for college. That's why for-profit colleges were so attractive. They advertised that they could help you find enough aid to cover tuition, and some help prospective students fill out the FAFSA. 

Then, you have those students who want the full college experience and don't like the idea of online schooling. Starbucks has a partnership with ASU; Walmart has a partnership with UF. I think the Starbucks benefit is only for ASU Online. The UF partnership covers in-person courses, but if you don't live in Florida, you will have to attend online.

BTW, I'm not suggesting that a college education is the only way. MANY GREAT careers can be had from vocational training or no training.

But What I've found in life is that if someone wants something, they will search for and find it. They will also find a way to make it happen. I have talked to many of my old highschool friends who're at dead ends in their lives and wanted my counsel. I've explained to them dozens of ways that they can improve their situation and they've responded with dozens of excuses as to why they couldn't (not saying this is a comprehensive sampling of everyone's situation throughout the population). Long story short, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. Employers and organizations in this country are bending over backwards to help people elevate their career who complain about not making $15 minimum wage. But many are not willing to work to earn a higher pay.


One friend I offered to personally help him with FREE classes that he personally expressed intense interest in(the Teex cyber security courses). His unemployed self somehow still had reasons he couldn't work on the class(he really explained to me multiple times how interested he was in cyber security, but didn't seem to want to learn about it).

Another friend was continually complaining about how hungry he is cuz he can't afford much food but when I tried to explain to him about his VA benefits and how he could probably get training for a better job, he immediately said school wasn't for him.

As for online school, I agree. It is not ideal. I've spoke with many people that told me they were Impressed that I was finishing my education online because they didn't have the self discipline to do that without someone holding their hand. But beggars can't be choosers.

The "college experience": I found that I didn't need an expensive $10,000+ yearly tuition to party and experiment with alcohol/drugs/sex/etc. I also didn't need college to hangout at coffee shops or listen to great lectures. I didn't need a college to get political and go to protests.

I don't want to rant much longer so I'll close this with a quote:
. “You can have results or excuses, but not both.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

I agree with you. I've given so many people so much advice over the years. Their reactions are usually, "That sounds great," and then they do nothing with the information. Some of it is laziness, and people don't realize that they're actually taking the harder route. A lot of people also have a hard time thinking outside the box. 

I'm an introvert, so I never cared about the college experience. I just wanted a degree so that I would be qualified for better jobs. I also like learning for the sake of learning. Lectures don't really do anything for me. 

With adult learners, they've found that online courses and traditional courses have the same outcomes. Younger students struggle with time management in online courses. Even though we're close to the year 2020, there are still some people who think that online degree programs are a scam, you won't learn anything, and employers will throw your resume in the trash.

[Ideas]

I think the quality of online education varies a lot. And depends on the student. Some online courses are well designed so that the student learns the material and retains it, and that the student basically cannot pass without at least learning a dozen of the main concepts.

Other courses seem set up in a way that if someone was less motivated, they could put little effort in and still pass. They could learn very little, like probably not even understanding some of the top concepts, and forget anything they learned.

[sanantone]

I think the quality of online education varies a lot. And depends on the student. Some online courses are well designed so that the student learns the material and retains it, and that the student basically cannot pass without at least learning a dozen of the main concepts.

Other courses seem set up in a way that if someone was less motivated, they could put little effort in and still pass. They could learn very little, like probably not even understanding some of the top concepts, and forget anything they learned.

I don't see how this differs from on-campus courses.

[Ideas]

But What I've found in life is that if someone wants something, they will search for and find it. They will also find a way to make it happen. I have talked to many of my old highschool friends who're at dead ends in their lives and wanted my counsel. I've explained to them dozens of ways that they can improve their situation and they've responded with dozens of excuses as to why they couldn't (not saying this is a comprehensive sampling of everyone's situation throughout the population). Long story short, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. Employers and organizations in this country are bending over backwards to help people elevate their career who complain about not making $15 minimum wage. But many are not willing to work to earn a higher pay.

Yeah, I know people who talk about going back to school, and I try to encourage them to just enroll in one class at a time, because I think everyone can fit that in, if they want to. They would rather watch more TV, drink, etc. These are not lazy people either. They work a lot. But they can't seem to feel like it's an obtainable goal. They seem to know that they'd just end up dropping out.

Another friend was continually complaining about how hungry he is cuz he can't afford much food but when I tried to explain to him about his VA benefits and how he could probably get training for a better job, he immediately said school wasn't for him.

I can see why many people think school isn't for them. I think a lot of students had too many years of traditional education with too many lectures, too much emphasis on memorizing so you can just pass, etc. Even someone who loves learning can be really turned off by traditional schooling.

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I think the quality of online education varies a lot. And depends on the student. Some online courses are well designed so that the student learns the material and retains it, and that the student basically cannot pass without at least learning a dozen of the main concepts.

Other courses seem set up in a way that if someone was less motivated, they could put little effort in and still pass. They could learn very little, like probably not even understanding some of the top concepts, and forget anything they learned.

I don't see how this differs from on-campus courses.

Hm, yeah. I guess I feel like online has even more spread. And that the fact that some are so poor leads to them having a bad reputation. People not realizing that they just saw/heard of one of the worst examples and that there are some really well done courses too.

[dfrecore]

I can't tell you how many people I've told about the Big 3, and didn't even try to do anything with it. Dozens. Not a single one has come back with more questions, even these:
1) A friend's husband has VA benefits that will pay for retraining, needs a degree because he's in a dying industry (printing), got laid off, new job is nights that he hates
2) A good friend works at a company that is shifting all of their business to an overseas division over the next couple of years, knows that she is at the top of her pay for her job title, is the last one left in her department, knows that she'll be looking for a new job sooner rather than later, has looked and the only job offer has been for a 25% pay reduction, is single with no kids, has talked multiple times about starting in last 18 months
3) A friend who went to a state school, changed majors 4 times, has 140+ credits, is only 3 classes away from a BA in CJ from EC (English Comp II, Info Lit and the Capstone), and it will only cost her about $3000 to complete her degree (she's also single with no kids).

If I can't convince these 3 people that they need to do something, I don't know who can!! But there you have it.
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Also, the reason companies offer around $5000 (usually) for tuition reimbursement has absolutely nothing to do with Pell grants - they normally don't make you apply for FAFSA as part of the deal, so they're paying that money out. It's because the IRS limit on what they can deduct for tuition reimbursement is $5,250/yr. Has been for so many years it's not funny (I think it was that in the early 90's if I remember correctly).

[Ideas]

That's sad they didn't raise the amount. $5,250 would have been generous back then.

Wow. (Info Lit only needs an hour of studying, and Comp II can be tested out of with no studying.)

[cookderosa]

I can't tell you how many people I've told about the Big 3, and didn't even try to do anything with it. Dozens. Not a single one has come back with more questions, even these:
1) A friend's husband has VA benefits that will pay for retraining, needs a degree because he's in a dying industry (printing), got laid off, new job is nights that he hates
2) A good friend works at a company that is shifting all of their business to an overseas division over the next couple of years, knows that she is at the top of her pay for her job title, is the last one left in her department, knows that she'll be looking for a new job sooner rather than later, has looked and the only job offer has been for a 25% pay reduction, is single with no kids, has talked multiple times about starting in last 18 months
3) A friend who went to a state school, changed majors 4 times, has 140+ credits, is only 3 classes away from a BA in CJ from EC (English Comp II, Info Lit and the Capstone), and it will only cost her about $3000 to complete her degree (she's also single with no kids).

If I can't convince these 3 people that they need to do something, I don't know who can!! But there you have it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also, the reason companies offer around $5000 (usually) for tuition reimbursement has absolutely nothing to do with Pell grants - they normally don't make you apply for FAFSA as part of the deal, so they're paying that money out. It's because the IRS limit on what they can deduct for tuition reimbursement is $5,250/yr. Has been for so many years it's not funny (I think it was that in the early 90's if I remember correctly).

I think in 2006 or so when I read Accelerated Distance Learning it lt my fire and I ultimately found this board and began my CLEP journey. No question I was evangelical about testing out- probably because for *me* it knocked down the barriers that prevented me from earning a degree previously. Specifically, I couldn't go to class (had 4 babies), didn't have money, and needed to be able to start or stop if necessary. Indy study and testing one CLEP at a time, paid using coins I'd saved in a jar. It only took me 6 months to knock out my AA, but I don't think I knew I could do it when I started. I only remember taking Human Growth and Development as an experiment, to see how hard it was - I've never been great at testing and wasn't sure how hard "college" learning would even be.
That said, motivation has never been my brick wall. I enjoy scoring a goal - checking boxes, but I realize that other people have different needs and goals. It is what it is. This board's traffic is astounding- but I can't imagine the follow through percentage. Maybe 1 in 100, I don't know, but it's probably very low.