Walmart to Help Associates Get College Degrees

[dfrecore]

I'd guess there will be a small percentage of Walmart employees that actually take advantage of this. At least that's my opinion based upon the makeup of my local Walmart. Most of the local employees here would fall into categories I don't think have internet in college. There are a bunch of seniors that are just working to have some extra retirement money. There are a bunch of what you could say don't have the mental capabilities for college. (I ment that in the nicest way possible, I think it's great that Walmart allows "slow" people to have a job) There are a lot of people that work there that are more worried about drugs and partying than their future. The rest, that I see taking advantage of it, are a very small percentage.
On why people don't take advantage of things like this, I'll throw in my opinion.
I can get tuition reimbursement for up to $5250 a year. $1,200 is from my union, the rest ($4,050) from the employer. There is also a grant/partnership with Ashford University where we can go to college there and it not cost us a dime. After Ashford gets the $5250 each year the rest of the fees are waived.
There are a few catches though. The $1,200 from the union can be used for any degree. To use tuition reimbursement from the company, it has to be for something that can be used at my place of employment.  Some sort of business related degree is what most go for. Business law isn't allowed. IT is acceptable also.
The company will only allow you to use the tuition reimbursement for an Associate's or Bachelor's degree.
They also have a 2 year expectation of continued service. If you voluntarily quit work within one year, you have to pay back 100% of what you used from the company. If you quit after a year but before two years you are required to pay back 50%.
I started going to Ashford but quit. Right now I am doing everything out of my own pocket and will continue to do so. At the beginning of next year I will use the unions tuition reimbursement. I don't want to be limited or obligated to my company.

I agree that only a small percentage will actually use this, but for someone who wants to, they'd be smart to do so.  I actually worked at a company that laid off an entire manufacturing department (they were closing a fabrication plant and moving it overseas).   The employees were told about it more than a YEAR in advance, given all kinds of help with re-education, including practically unlimited tuition reimbursement for 2 years.  Do you want to know how many of those 250+ people who KNEW they were getting laid off, working in a dying industry, took advantage of the tuition reimbursement?  TWO!  Yes, 2 people decided to go to school.  Not only did the company pay for their degrees, they rehired them at corporate HQ and gave them much better jobs then they'd had, and let them continue on with their degrees.  And of course, there was lots of grumbling by the other 248 employees on lay-off day about what a raw deal they'd gotten!

Also, yes, most companies have a continued service expectation of some sort.  They want to recoup the money they've spent.  I've been places where it's 1 year, and others where it's 2-3.

I've also known of companies where you have to get a degree related to your current job (if you work in accounting for instance, you can get a degree in accounting, finance, or business).  Others where it can be literally anything.  Still others where it has to be in a particular area (IT, business, etc.).