Bellevue University's Human Capital Lab℠ Funds Most Comprehensive Study of Tuition Assistance Programs
Bersin & Associates Report Finds that the $16.5B Spent Annually on Corporate Tuition Assistance Programs is not Effectively Deployed or Aligned
March 24, 2009 - Bellevue University's Human Capital Lab℠, a world leader in researching the business impact of learning interventions, is pleased to announce that its corporate tuition assistance research and "best practices" from two of Bellevue University's corporate learning partners have been featured in Bersin & Associates report "Tuition Assistance Programs: Best Practices for Maximizing a Key Talent Investment."
Bellevue University's Human Capital Lab sponsored the research study that analyzed tuition assistance programs at more than 400 companies across all industry segments, including Bellevue University corporate learning partners Verizon Wireless and CACI International.
Key findings show that the vast majority (87 percent) of companies today have some kind of tuition assistance program in place and U.S. organizations spend $16.5B annually supporting this benefit. In fact, 40 percent of large companies (10,000 employees or more) spend more than $10 million annually on tuition assistance.
Tuition assistance is a major source of spending in corporate HR and too few companies are deriving great benefit from the investments they're making in Tuition Assistance Programs. The billions of dollars being spent on tuition assistance is not strategically aligned with business and talent development goals.
"Tuition Assistance Programs have the potential to be used as an investment to fund strategic talent or human capital management and learning and development initiatives but to do so will take innovation and leadership within HR organizations," said Michael E. Echols, Ph.D., Director of Bellevue University's Human Capital Lab and Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Bellevue University.
"Verizon Wireless and CACI International are two great examples of companies that are strategically leveraging Tuition Assistance Programs to have a greater impact in addressing a plethora of business challenges, such as talent recruitment and retention, effective performance management, career development, and employee satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty," Echols continued.
The research focused on identifying spending patterns and best practices in tuition reimbursement strategies. In-depth interviews resulted in four case studies highlighting companies successfully aligning Tuition Assistance Programs with strategic talent management and business goals. Verizon Wireless and CACI International are two organizations pioneering the way to maximizing the investment of a Tuition Assistance Program.
"We were startled to find that such huge sums of money are allocated to corporate benefits with little or no measurement of impact or effectiveness," said Josh Bersin, President of Bersin & Associates. "While the intangible, personal value of higher education is clearly very high, we see a tremendous opportunity for companies to more effectively align and manage these dollars toward strategic talent needs."
The report includes nine best practices for increasing the effectiveness of tuition assistance programs, case studies, and detailed examples. The report covers these and other topics:
Michael Echols, Ph.D., and Chris Howard, Principal Analyst at Bersin & Associates, will discuss findings at Bersin & Associates' upcoming research conference, IMPACT 2009: The Business of Talent®, April 14-16, in St. Petersburg, FL. Learn more and register.
Tuition assistance programs came into practice in the 1950s and 1960s, based on the success of the GI Bill. Soon, they became viewed as a standard employee benefit, much like healthcare. While most companies have general guidelines for the types of classes and degrees covered, programs are generally administered from a transactional, not a strategic, perspective.
About Bellevue University's Human Capital Lab℠
Bellevue University's Human Capital Lab is the think tank devoted to giving business and academic leaders meeting ground to work together to measure the impact of learning and development investments. The mission of the Human Capital Lab is to develop innovative and valuable approaches to unlocking the long-term potential of human capital investments. The Lab currently works with Fortune 1000 companies to evaluate the productivity of learning interventions.
The Human Capital Lab is an entity developed and supported by Bellevue University, a regionally accredited university. A leader in adult learning nationwide, Bellevue University offers learning opportunities for human capital and learning professionals who are intent on leading this industry into the next century, including a Master of Science degree in Human Capital Management and a Ph.D. in Human Capital Management. For more information, go to www.HumanCapitalLab.org or call 877-234-8720.
About Bersin & Associates
Bersin & Associates is the only research and advisory consulting firm focused solely on research in enterprise learning and talent management. Bersin & Associates' WhatWorks® research and research-based services are designed to deliver actionable direction and to help improve operational effectiveness and business impact.
Bersin & Associates research members gain access to a comprehensive library of best practices, case studies, benchmarks, and in-depth market analyses designed to guide professionals in making fast and confident decisions. Research areas include planning and strategy, learning programs and delivery, talent management, technology and infrastructure, and measurement and analytics. Member benefits include in-depth advisory services, access to proprietary webcasts, on-site analyst visits, and strategic workshops. For more information, go to www.bersin.com or call 561-455-0622, ext. 223.
Bellevue University's Human Capital Lab sponsored the research study that analyzed tuition assistance programs at more than 400 companies across all industry segments, including Bellevue University corporate learning partners Verizon Wireless and CACI International.
Key findings show that the vast majority (87 percent) of companies today have some kind of tuition assistance program in place and U.S. organizations spend $16.5B annually supporting this benefit. In fact, 40 percent of large companies (10,000 employees or more) spend more than $10 million annually on tuition assistance.
Tuition assistance is a major source of spending in corporate HR and too few companies are deriving great benefit from the investments they're making in Tuition Assistance Programs. The billions of dollars being spent on tuition assistance is not strategically aligned with business and talent development goals.
"Tuition Assistance Programs have the potential to be used as an investment to fund strategic talent or human capital management and learning and development initiatives but to do so will take innovation and leadership within HR organizations," said Michael E. Echols, Ph.D., Director of Bellevue University's Human Capital Lab and Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Bellevue University.
"Verizon Wireless and CACI International are two great examples of companies that are strategically leveraging Tuition Assistance Programs to have a greater impact in addressing a plethora of business challenges, such as talent recruitment and retention, effective performance management, career development, and employee satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty," Echols continued.
The research focused on identifying spending patterns and best practices in tuition reimbursement strategies. In-depth interviews resulted in four case studies highlighting companies successfully aligning Tuition Assistance Programs with strategic talent management and business goals. Verizon Wireless and CACI International are two organizations pioneering the way to maximizing the investment of a Tuition Assistance Program.
"We were startled to find that such huge sums of money are allocated to corporate benefits with little or no measurement of impact or effectiveness," said Josh Bersin, President of Bersin & Associates. "While the intangible, personal value of higher education is clearly very high, we see a tremendous opportunity for companies to more effectively align and manage these dollars toward strategic talent needs."
The report includes nine best practices for increasing the effectiveness of tuition assistance programs, case studies, and detailed examples. The report covers these and other topics:
- The impact of tuition assistance programs on employee retention.
- Factors that influence employee participation.
- The value of strategic partnerships and alliances with educational institutions.
- Key metrics for gauging effectiveness and business impact.
Michael Echols, Ph.D., and Chris Howard, Principal Analyst at Bersin & Associates, will discuss findings at Bersin & Associates' upcoming research conference, IMPACT 2009: The Business of Talent®, April 14-16, in St. Petersburg, FL. Learn more and register.
Tuition assistance programs came into practice in the 1950s and 1960s, based on the success of the GI Bill. Soon, they became viewed as a standard employee benefit, much like healthcare. While most companies have general guidelines for the types of classes and degrees covered, programs are generally administered from a transactional, not a strategic, perspective.
About Bellevue University's Human Capital Lab℠
Bellevue University's Human Capital Lab is the think tank devoted to giving business and academic leaders meeting ground to work together to measure the impact of learning and development investments. The mission of the Human Capital Lab is to develop innovative and valuable approaches to unlocking the long-term potential of human capital investments. The Lab currently works with Fortune 1000 companies to evaluate the productivity of learning interventions.
The Human Capital Lab is an entity developed and supported by Bellevue University, a regionally accredited university. A leader in adult learning nationwide, Bellevue University offers learning opportunities for human capital and learning professionals who are intent on leading this industry into the next century, including a Master of Science degree in Human Capital Management and a Ph.D. in Human Capital Management. For more information, go to www.HumanCapitalLab.org or call 877-234-8720.
About Bersin & Associates
Bersin & Associates is the only research and advisory consulting firm focused solely on research in enterprise learning and talent management. Bersin & Associates' WhatWorks® research and research-based services are designed to deliver actionable direction and to help improve operational effectiveness and business impact.
Bersin & Associates research members gain access to a comprehensive library of best practices, case studies, benchmarks, and in-depth market analyses designed to guide professionals in making fast and confident decisions. Research areas include planning and strategy, learning programs and delivery, talent management, technology and infrastructure, and measurement and analytics. Member benefits include in-depth advisory services, access to proprietary webcasts, on-site analyst visits, and strategic workshops. For more information, go to www.bersin.com or call 561-455-0622, ext. 223.