Starbucks To Offer Free College Tuition
By Hannah Ash, contributing writer
Starbucks, which has long held a reputation of treating its employees fairly, has announced it will be offering its employees two free years of online education in a partnership with Arizona State University. The program will allow qualifying employees the opportunity to complete their last two years of college with a degree from ASU without debt, obligation to pay monies back, or to continue working for Starbucks. This announcement, and initiative, stands as a way to brand the retailer as a fair trade employer worthy of customer loyalty.
Innovative chief executive officer Howard Schultz stated that workers who enroll in ASU’s online program as juniors or seniors, and who work 20 hours or more a week for the company, will receive free tuition to encompass up to two years of tuition, no strings attached. The program will be called the Starbucks College Achievement Plan; Schultz and U.S Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will be presenting the plan jointly in a New York appearance. Students enrolling in college as freshmen or sophomores will be eligible to apply for scholarships on average of $6,500 and will receive support from ASU advisors in getting their educational expenses met through grants and need-based aid.
On the partnership with the coffee giant, Arizona State University president Michael Crow stated, “Starbucks decided human capital is one of the most important things they can invest in. Everybody is concerned about what are the ways to get through college." In a press release, Schultz commented, “there's no doubt, the inequality within the country has created a situation where many Americans are being left behind. The question for all of us is, should we accept that, or should we try and do something about it." Though Starbucks is known for paying its employees what is considered a fair wage and providing both benefits and a stock sharing program, offering free education is a completely new direction, and hefty human resources investment for the successful retailer. In an interview, Schultz (who retook the corporate reigns in 2008), stated, "I feel so strongly this is the right thing to do, and Starbucks as a company is going to benefit in ways that probably we cannot identify today."