According to a new survey on education assistance plans, 94 percent of employers offer some type of education assistance to their employees, with 88 percent of these employers having a formal policy in place. Interestingly, most employees don’t take advantage of this valuable employee benefit: the survey found that 74 percent of employers offering education assistance have less than 15 percent of their employees participating. The survey was conducted by the International Foundation for Employee Benefit Plans.
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If you’re considering adopting an education assistance program or want to fine-tune your existing one, here are points your policy should address:
- Procedures to apply for assistance/reimbursement
- Employee eligibility requirements
- Courses and programs that qualify
- Covered expenses
- Programs, fees, and costs that are specifically excluded from coverage
- Grade requirements and corresponding reimbursement (for example, some employers reimburse 100 percent for an A grade, 75 percent for a B grade, and so on).
- Annual reimbursement limit
- Employee reimbursement to the company should the employment terminate within a certain time after receiving tuition reimbursement (some employers impose a one-year requirement).
Additional Resources:
International Foundation for Employee Benefit Plans
Education Assistance Plans survey