Walgreens to cover 35% of employees’ tuition with new benefit

Health and wellness retail giant Walgreens has debuted a new education benefit for its more than 300,000 employees.

Because the cost of pursuing a college degree can be prohibitive, Walgreens has teamed up with the online school University of Arizona Global Campus to cover 35% of worker’s tuition for bachelor's and master's programs. The benefit will also grant five full-tuition scholarships for qualifying Walgreens’ employees. The program is being managed by Zovio Employer Services, an organization that works with over 1,300 organizations across the country to provide higher education benefits.

Read More: Employees are demanding tuition-free education benefits

“Education benefits not only show employees that you are investing in their future, but shows you’re also investing in the future of the company they work for,” says Vickie Schray, executive vice president and chief external affairs officer at Zovio. “Offering reskilling or furthering education keeps individuals at pace to stay competitive within your company, prepares them for the quickly changing job market and allows companies to grow and evolve with their current employees.”

Education benefits are in high demand among employees. Indeed, 75% of employees surveyed by Bright Horizons said they would feel more motivated if they had access to education opportunities through their employer, while 74% say they would feel more secure in their current job if offered education opportunities. Seventy-three percent of employees say education benefits would make them feel more confident in their ability to do their current job.

Read More: Goodly sees growing trend in student loan benefits among veterinarians

Walgreens’ employees will be able to utilize this employer-sponsored tuition program to start or finish a degree through courses that last up to six weeks, giving busy working adults the flexibility to complete their education at their own pace. Walgreens team members must have worked at the company for a minimum of one year and be in good standing in order to be eligible for scholarship consideration.

“Seventy percent of employees would leave their current company to take a job with an employer that is known to invest in development and continued education,” Schray says. “That percentage would be even higher if the employer who puts stake in their employees also considered the futures of their employee’s families.”