When College Partnerships Aren’t the Best Option for Your Company

Some HR leaders feel that the easiest way is to funnel employees to a local university or a specific set of colleges, especially if there’s a discount to be had. However easy is not always effective and when you take a deeper look into a direct partnership with a single or even a handful of educational institutions – it reveals risks and inconveniences which can become a drain on resources and can actually make the education benefits less effective.  

    The Pitfalls of Direct Partnerships

The reality is that each of your employees have a unique set of interests, needs, goals and learning styles, even if they’re interested in the same degree program. Sure, you may get lucky and find a good enough program within your partner schools, but when was a “one-size-fits-all” approach ever really the best investment?

Most universities don’t have the interest or ability to modify their curriculum, degree path or expected level of participation for learners coming from a corporate partnership. This means there is pressure on your organization and your employees to meet their expectations in order to take advantage of their benefits.

  The good news is that in the world of online higher education you don’t have to settle. With over 30,000 online degree and certification programs there is literally a program out there that is a perfect fit for any individual employee (assuming they are a fit for online education).

You don’t have to subject an employee looking for valuable education benefits to a bait (a brand with a discount) and switch (a program that isn’t a fit).

There’s a Better, More Strategic Way to Approach Education Benefits

Working with an education concierge – an intermediary expert who not only knows the in-and-out of the online higher education world – can connect you with the right program to achieve your organization’s goals. For employees, education concierge services can make finding the right program at the right brand at the right price easier and more effective than they could ever do on their own by curating research that aligns to both your talent’s objectives and your business goals.

For an employee looking to finish their undergrad, an education concierge can even help assemble a path of study that combines courses from multiple sources to reduce time and cost. With a fully developed degree plan this can mean savings up 40% or more, meaning you don’t necessarily require a discount in order to save a lot of money on tuition – even before tuition assistance kicks in!

  The bottom line is that partnering with one or a handful of specific institutions for education benefits, no matter the size, cannot provide the customized degree programs and support your employees need and your business can use from education benefits. An education concierge only has your company as their client, not the school, so you know that they will have your organization’s best interests at heart.  

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ClearDegree is an education concierge partner that works with companies and their employees to tailor tuition assistance (TA) programs that benefit both the organization and the individual. We represent a smarter way to invest in education benefits by bringing degree programs to professionals and curating an ideal list of opportunities that are cost-effective and relative to corporate goals.

Contact us for more information about ClearDegree solutions that lead to higher completion rates of higher education degrees and increased ROI for companies.