Walmart Will Now Cover 100% Of Employee's Books And College Tuition, But There's A Catch
If you're not very familiar with Walmart's benefits, then you likely didn't realize that the retailer started a policy in 2018 that allowed its employees to improve their education (via CNN). For $1 per day, employees at Walmart could earn a college degree or, for free, complete their high school education or learn a new language (via Walmart). High school students working at Walmart could even get free ACT and SAT prep help for free. These offers were all due to the company's partnership with Guild Education, and while they seemed pretty good over the past few years, Walmart just leveled up its educational benefits.
According to CNN, the huge budget-friendly retailer and grocery store just announced that it will cover the full cost of college tuition and the cost of books for its employees. "We feel that eliminating the dollar a day investment removes the financial barriers to enrollment, and it will increase access," said Lorraine Stomski, Walmart's senior vice president of learning and leadership. However, there are a couple of catches.
The new program only covers 10 colleges
The first being the same requirement for the $1 per day policy, which is only U.S. employees can participate (via CNN). The other catch is that Walmart will only provide this program through 10 colleges including the University of Arizona and Southern New Hampshire University. Of course, those who participate will also have to continue working at Walmart either part-time or full-time to be included in the program.
This could be a huge benefit for tons of potential students seeking higher education. Given the popularity of the previous benefits program, it's likely that this paid college tuition initiative will also be quite popular. Walmart employs 1.5 million people and around 28,000 people had participated in the $1 per day program. Only time will tell how many will take advantage of this new benefit. Hopefully, those who participate will feel alleviated from the cost of college tuition, as well as the high-priced course materials and textbooks that are required.