Margie Harvey knows firsthand the benefit of company-sponsored tuition reimbursement programs. She was once a student in Iowa, earning her undergraduate degree as well as MBA through such opportunities. “It’s made a world of difference for me,” she says.

Now, she helps others do the same via her role as vice president of human resources at Miles Kimball Co. of Oshkosh.

“From a company perspective, the people going to school or back to school through tuition reimbursement bring in ideas; they are sharpening the saw,” she explains.

Around Wisconsin, there is a collaborative effort underway to bring confidence to employees and strengthen workforces. It includes instructors willing to teach night classes, students staying up late studying after a long day at the office, and employers willing to foot the bill.

It’s encouraging people in a tough economy, bringing new ideas to company boardrooms, and resulting in a win-win situation for all involved.

Learning in all Directions
Craig Brenholt, director of Human Resources at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, says that as long as the course of study is relevant to the employee’s current position or one they aspire to within the system, it will be considered for the hospital’s tuition reimbursement program. The most popular classes employees take are in nursing and business.

At Miles Kimball Co., a variety of employees also look to continuing education to advance their career. It all depends on what they’re looking for, explains Harvey. “Sometimes it may be just a class because they have a four-year degree and want to learn about a new program, while others have completed a master’s degree or received a supervisory certificate with our reimbursement program.”

St. Mary’s Hospital offers a unique continuing education experience to some of its employees through a school-at-work program. It requires an application to be considered for placement and each class includes approximately 10 students, mainly from entry-level positions at the hospital. The group meets once a week for six months and is lead by two staff members.

“This program does a number of things,” says Brenholt. “It gives people an opportunity to brush up on some of their math and English skills. They also learn health care terminology, but it really gives them the confidence to know that they can learn again and go back to school.”

Many of the school-at-work participants wind up pursuing advanced degrees in health care vocations, in which case the tuition reimbursement program kicks in to help defray those costs.

Barry Hoopes, vice president of Human Resources at Mayville Engineering Co. in Mayville, explains that in addition to on-the-job training, continuous improvement training, specific technical training, the company also has an Educational Assistance Program available for all employees.

“Employees have utilized this to pursue specific educational opportunities such as electro-mechanical training, supervisory leadership degrees or certificates, as well as bachelor’s of business degrees and MBA programs,” explains Hoopes. “Tuition reimbursement fosters employee commitment and job satisfaction. It also compliments succession planning and talent development programs.”

Education for Adults
A great benefit to any organization, Harvey explains, is the benchmarking that happens in these adult student classrooms. While surrounded by other business professionals, a student’s ability to identify best practices of various organizations is significant to the overall experience.

“When our employees go into a class, they’re not only learning what’s in the books or whatever the professor says,” Harvey notes. “There’s a lot of learning going on within that class also. They are bringing back ideas, continuing to build their skills and that definitely benefits the organization.”

Adult education has a unique feel to it. Many people are working full time, have families, and busy schedules. Evening or online classes are a must, as well as professors that know how to engage and relate to this audience.

“I think the instructors that work with continuing ed adults do a much better job of understanding needs and are able to calibrate the classroom discussion to get the maximum benefit,” says Harvey.

Marty Preizler, the dean of the School of Business at Edgewood College in Madison, explains Edgewood offers an evening MBA program, which has been in existence for more than 20 years. The school also offers a returning adult accelerated degree program for those who at one time were in an undergrad program, didn’t finish and now would like to complete their undergraduate degree.

In addition to the popular MBA, Edgewood offers a Masters of Science in Accountancy, which prepares employees for upper-level management and for taking the CPA exam. Several certificate programs are available, which can standalone or be combined with graduate degrees.

By working with local companies, such as TDS Telecom, Edgewood instructors are able to understand and meet the needs of the employer and employees in the adult programs. One of the college’s adjunct faculty members is the manager of Training & Development at TDS. The CEO of TDS, Dave Wittwer, participates on Edgewood’s School of Business Advisory Board.

“These interconnections develop because TDS, represented by Dave, has a strong philosophical belief in the continuing education of employees,” explains Preizler. “He’s making that investment, and in turn is a good partner and advisor to us.”

Recruit and Retain
“It’s costly, from an organizational standpoint, to go recruit someone,” explains Brenholt. “We’re very fortunate we have very low turnover,” he says. “I think people have a tendency to connect with this organization. It says a lot about the culture, of which tuition reimbursement is a piece.”

Harvey agrees. She explains that a typical business may have a turnover rate of five to 10 percent, which signifies they are bringing in new people and new ideas, but “that also means that they have a good 90 to 95 percent of the workforce that has been with them for a while. How are those people continuing to build their skills, get new ideas and do benchmarking?” 

Investing in education shows employees the company values them and their contributions. “Tuition reimbursement is just one way to make sure businesses are continuing to reinvest in their most critical asset, their people,” says Harvey. 

Harvey serves as the State Council Director of Workforce Readiness for the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). In that role, she works to create awareness and educate businesses on the importance of investing in employee learning and advancement.

“It makes for some pretty great success stories,” says Brenholt. “We have people that have started here as nurses’ aids, and have gone on and used tuition reimbursement to receive their nursing degrees.”

He explains that these opportunities connect people to the organization, making tuition reimbursement an important recruiting and retention tool.

“If we keep turnover low, that allows us to have a more stable workforce, which allows us to provide better care to patients,” Brenholt explains.

Hoopes says that Mayville Engineering’s program, “gives the company the opportunity to attract, retain and train employees, which in turn enhances the success of the organization in meeting the needs of the markets we serve.”

Paying the Bill
Harvey understands that tuition reimbursement may not be a reality for all companies, and says even Miles Kimball Co. had to cut back — but not eliminate — its program during the recession. The company pays up to $5,250 per year, and it’s paid upfront. This minimizes the barrier to students who may not continue because of having to pay the fees then wait for reimbursement.

St. Mary’s hospital pays up to $4,160 per year for continuing education. They reimburse after the semester, but make sure it’s easy for students to reclaim the funds.

In both programs, students must receive a C or better in the class to qualify for financial support.

In addition to tuition reimbursement, St. Mary’s also offers a loan forgiveness program for its employees. If someone has gone into debt for his or her education, even before employment at St. Mary’s, the organization will help repay that loan, up to $4,160 per year. The total dollars that the employer will pay toward loans is $12,480 per degree.

Many employees have found this to be a great resource, and for St. Mary’s, a great recruiting tool as well.

“TDS has been extremely generous to its employees over the years,” notes Preizler. He explains that up until a few years ago, the company would pay 100 percent of tuition for its employees. Now, they’ve cut back because of the economy, but Preizler says it’s still at around 80 percent.

“I applaud any company that does this because of the value of increasing the knowledge and skills of your workforce,” he says. “It’s also important at the graduate level because it’s rare to find scholarships or tuition assistance, especially in business.”

A Fresh Perspective
“I said to myself, ‘I will go back.’” These are the famous last words of many students who have been unable to complete an advanced degree at some point in their life.

For human resources manager Corrie Hearn, they weren’t the last, thanks to Miles Kimball Co.’s tuition reimbursement program.

When she started with Miles Kimball, the company was making it easy for people who wanted to go back to school. The company’s upfront payments meant no out-of-pocket expense.

She took classes over a total of three years at UW-Oshkosh, earning a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Administration. Many late nights and semesters later, she received the promotion to manager.

“I became the ‘ambassador’ for going back to school and working with other employees, helping them overcome the obstacles they would face,” she says. “I help them understand that they can make this happen.”


5 Tips for Successful Tuition Reimbursement Programs
Craig Brenholt, Director of Human Resources at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison offers these tips for businesses looking to improve on or add a tuition reimbursement program to their existing employee benefits.
Don’t be too focused on what programs to approve or not approve for tuition reimbursement.  “All learning is good,” he explains. He advises companies to not just offer reimbursement for the positions they want to fill the most.
Have a policy that the classes must apply to a current or future job aspiration.
Make it easy for people to apply to the program and then submit their receipts for reimbursement at the end of the semester.
Provide some kind of requirement to pass the class with a certain grade
Don’t get hung up on “they’re going to get their degree and leave” thoughts.
Some will, he explains, but others won’t and are loyal because of the opportunities they’ve received.

By Jen Bradley

Jen Bradley is a freelance writer living in East Troy.

More Featured Articles