CVS Health Assists Workers in Earning College Degrees (Completely Free)
CVS Health's tuition assistance program is making waves in the corporate world, offering a fresh approach to employee education and development. The program, designed in collaboration with EdAssist, is more successful than traditional tuition reimbursement programs due to several key distinctions.
Many traditional tuition reimbursement programs require employees to pay upfront for tuition and related expenses, and then wait several months for reimbursement. This can be financially burdensome, especially for lower-wage and frontline workers. These programs also often require in-person attendance and courses that may not fit employees’ diverse schedules, limiting participation mainly to higher-paid, white-collar workers pursuing advanced degrees.
In contrast, CVS Health’s innovative tuition assistance program removes these typical barriers. The program provides prepaid tuition assistance, meaning employees do not have to front the costs out of pocket, thus minimizing financial strain. The program is designed to be flexible, accommodating online and hybrid course formats, which better suit employees’ schedules. CVS also extends benefits more broadly to frontline workers who may need certificates or associate degrees, not just advanced degrees. These features increase accessibility and participation among a wider employee base.
Cece Smith, a senior manager at CVS Health, is a textbook example of how tuition assistance programs can transform careers. Through the CVS Health program, Cece earned her bachelor's degree in health administration with a specialization in healthcare informatics and her master's degree in less than three years. Cece advocates for the program and encourages other employees to take advantage of it.
The program has no limit to the number of courses employees can take, and it is helping to fill critical skills gaps, such as in advanced data analytics roles. The goal of the program is to help employees take the next step in their personal and career journeys, while also helping the company fill hard-to-staff roles.
CVS Health has created special tuition assistance programs for pharmacy interns to complete their education. The CVS Health PharmD tuition assistance program offers up to $20,000 per year for the last two years of pharmacy school. Diane Bartoli, SVP of EdAssist, believes a key barrier for most employees is that typical programs require employees to pay for and complete courses before they are reimbursed. CVS Health's reimagined tuition assistance program eliminates the need for employees to enroll and pay for courses upfront.
The CVS Health Tuition Assistance Program has a higher utilization rate than typical programs, with 4% of employees taking advantage of it compared to 2%. Carmilla Tan, head of benefits at CVS Health, attributes this success to the program's flexibility and accessibility. Employees can take classes at their convenience, including early in the morning or at night after putting their children to bed.
The program is also helping employees like Cece Smith balance full-time work and motherhood. Cece took classes at her convenience and was able to earn consecutive degrees while maintaining her career at CVS Health. Her promotions at the company are linked to her participation in the tuition assistance program.
In an era where skills gaps are a significant challenge for many industries, CVS Health's tuition assistance program is filling a vital role. By investing in its employees' education and development, CVS Health is not only helping individuals transform their careers but also addressing the practical challenges that limit traditional tuition reimbursement programs, resulting in higher utilization and greater employee development impact.
- The success of CVS Health's innovative tuition assistance program is attributed to its strategic partnership with EdAssist, as it implements leadership strategies that cater to both the employees' education-and-self-development needs and the company's career-development goals, particularly in filling critical skills gaps, such as advanced data analytics roles.
- In the realm of health-and-wellness and science, Cece Smith, a senior manager at CVS Health, demonstrates the transformative power of leadership, leveraging the strategic partnership's collaboration features to ensure a balanced approach between her full-time role, motherhood, and pursuit of degrees in health administration and healthcare informatics, ultimately leading to her career advancement within the company.
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