11 votes

Walmart to pay 100% of college tuition and books for associates

8 comments

  1. [2]
    vord
    Link
    Free college! And because it's run by the private sector it's obviously better than anything the government could do! If only there was some way we could obtain 1 dollar a day from the entirety of...

    Free college! And because it's run by the private sector it's obviously better than anything the government could do!

    If only there was some way we could obtain 1 dollar a day from the entirety of the workforce, we could give all of them free college! And they wouldn't even need to stay with one employer! But we obviously have never had any system in place which does that, therefore it is impossible.

    Felt like writing some big fat sarcasm after seeing this.

    14 votes
    1. timo
      Link Parent
      It’s so ridiculous once you’re aware that a lot of what the US does wrong is done a lot better in most of Europe (imo). I could go on and on about it, but I don’t see most of it changing for the...

      It’s so ridiculous once you’re aware that a lot of what the US does wrong is done a lot better in most of Europe (imo). I could go on and on about it, but I don’t see most of it changing for the better anytime soon.

      3 votes
  2. [2]
    skybrian
    Link
    Caveats according to this article: US employees only Only at certain colleges. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. It might make sense to offer free college to everyone, but only at certain...

    Caveats according to this article:

    • US employees only
    • Only at certain colleges.

    Employees can choose from a variety of institutions, including: Johnson & Wales University, the University of Arizona, the University of Denver and Pathstream — complementing its existing "academic partners": Brandman University, Penn Foster, Purdue University Global, Southern New Hampshire University, Wilmington University and Voxy EnGen.

    But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. It might make sense to offer free college to everyone, but only at certain schools that keep the costs down.

    5 votes
    1. moocow1452
      Link Parent
      I'm taking classes right now for a union deal, it's a specific out of state community college, but that's the deal that they have because they are using pre-written coursework with open standards...

      I'm taking classes right now for a union deal, it's a specific out of state community college, but that's the deal that they have because they are using pre-written coursework with open standards and resources, so they can have a better handle on costs.

      3 votes
  3. [4]
    AugustusFerdinand
    Link
    I'm curious if there are any other strings. I've had previous jobs where they'd pay for your education so long as it was directly related to your current job or another within the company and the...

    I'm curious if there are any other strings. I've had previous jobs where they'd pay for your education so long as it was directly related to your current job or another within the company and the state/local government run programs I've come across do a 1:1 exchange of time for paying for your education (meaning if it takes you 4 years to get a degree while you work for them, then you are contractually obligated to work for them for another 4 years after you have the degree).

    5 votes
    1. [3]
      fifthecho
      Link Parent
      Depends on where you sit in the company. Without outing myself too much, I'm at a place in the org where I do have some of these strings (I can only go for a MBA or a handful of other advanced...

      Depends on where you sit in the company. Without outing myself too much, I'm at a place in the org where I do have some of these strings (I can only go for a MBA or a handful of other advanced degrees), but for the majority of Walmart employees (read: anyone working in a store), to my understanding, no. There aren't strings of continued employment or restrictions on what your degree could be (other than you're only funded attending a handful of colleges).

      5 votes
      1. arghdos
        Link Parent
        Is still a pretty damn good deal, even if I might prefer the government do something similar for everyone.

        There aren't strings of continued employment or restrictions on what your degree could be (other than you're only funded attending a handful of colleges).

        Is still a pretty damn good deal, even if I might prefer the government do something similar for everyone.

        2 votes