Media Contact: Heather Nezich, Manager, Communications, ASE, 248.223.8040, [email protected]
Livonia, Mich. ---January 30, 2019 --- The American Society of Employers (ASE), one of the nation’s oldest and largest employer associations, released the organization’s 2018 Educational Assistance and Tuition Reimbursement Survey today. The last time this survey was conducted was 2015.
2018 Starting Salaries for Co-op Students and Recent College Graduates Survey Highlights:
- 71% of organizations reported that they provide tuition reimbursement/assistance to their employees. This is down slightly from data collected in 2015 when 76% of those companies surveyed offered tuition reimbursement.
- Nearly 60% of new hires become eligible within the first 180 days.
- Just 13% of organizations provide tuition assistance to part-time employees, down slightly from data collected in 2015 (16%). When offered, the benefit is most often equal to that of full-time employees.
- Most organizations determine the maximum amount of tuition reimbursement with a set dollar amount (79%) and the amount of reimbursement does not differ between undergraduate and graduate level courses (80%). The average maximum allowance per employee per for tuition reimbursement/assistance is approximately $4,600.
- 69% of organizations require employees to pay back the tuition reimbursement/assistance money if they leave voluntarily in a certain time frame. For the majority of organizations that time frame is one year (45%), but there was a 16% increase from 2015 in organizations requiring employees to stay for at least two years.
- To help attract top talent, nearly 20% of organizations will consider paying off tuition reimbursement balances that a job candidate has with a current employer.
- While it is a growing trend, only 2% of organizations offer a student loan repayment program to its employees.
Demographics
- 177 organizations from across Michigan participated.
- Organizations with one to 500 Michigan employees made up just over 83% of the survey sample, while organizations with 501 to 1,000 Michigan employees represented almost 8% of the sample. The remaining 9% of the sample comes from organizations with over 1,000 Michigan employees.
- A variety of industries are represented, with manufacturing organizations representing just over 60% of the survey sample.
Mary E. Corrado, ASE President and CEO, stated, “Despite a decrease in the number of companies offering the benefit, we still see tuition reimbursement as a low-cost benefit that employers can use to attract and retain talent. This is particularly true given the cost of education.”
To obtain a copy of the 2018 Educational Assistance and Tuition Reimbursement Survey, contact ASE Survey Services at [email protected]. ASE members can receive the survey for free; it’s available to non-members for $525.
About the American Society of Employers (ASE) – a Centennial Organization
Celebrating its 115th year of service, The American Society of Employers (ASE) is a not-for-profit trade association providing people-management information and services to Michigan employers. Since 1902, member organizations have relied on ASE to be their single, cost-effective source for information and support, helping to grow their bottom line by enhancing the effectiveness of their people. Learn more about ASE at www.aseonline.org.