Disney Changed the Aspire Program for their employees

[reverend johnnyb]

Disney has changed and, to some degree, got rid of the Aspire program. This program would pay for college while they worked for Disney. They made promises to the young adults in the program. They will now only pay for two classes a year. They outright canceled the program for people getting a Master's. If you are already in the program, you can finish your master's, but in the case of the one cast member I talked to, she was going to finish in the fall of 2025. Under the program, starting Nov 27, it will take 4 more years. It is a real blow to the Cast members. They should let the students already in the program finish the way it was promised.

 

[BaybeeYoda]

That’s awful. I wonder who drove this change in policy and the reason behind it.

 

[CarolynFH]

I’m sorry about this, too.

 

[kitkat4622]

https://allears.net/2024/09/06/disney-is-cutting-cast-member-college-tuition-benefits/

 

[kitkat4622]

They are not eliminating the program but they are definitely changing it

 

[SL6827]

Must have had a good bit of use out of it, so it got downgraded. Sad.

 

[OKW Lover]

I wonder how much use this program got. Perhaps it was just not a high priority for most CMs.

 

[Bree]

I just read the article. There’s some tax implications for the employee over a certain amount. Anything over $5250 is considered taxable income.

It appears this specific change could be due to tax implications. The IRS websitestates the following about educational assistance programs: “Taxpayers do not have to pay tax on the amount of benefits up to $5,250 per calendar year and their employer should not include the benefits in their wages, tips and other compensation shown in box 1 of their Form W-2.” Other major companies have similar tuition assistance limits, including Home Depot, Starbucks, and Apple.

I don’t understand the reasoning behind not reimbursing for Masters degrees though.

 

[irlandaise]

Disney has changed and, to some degree, got rid of the Aspire program. This program would pay for college while they worked for Disney. They made promises to the young adults in the program. They will now only pay for two classes a year.

Where are you seeing that the new rules would only cover two classes a year?

According to the AllEars article cited by kitkat, there's going to be a $5,250 annual cap. In-state cost per credit hour (including tuition and fees) at UCF is $212.28. I checked several hospitality classes (just for a random test) and they were all 3 units each. That's $636.84 per class. So with $5,250, a CM could pay for eight classes (24 units) a year. Or, as the article notes, a CM could take, say, 18 units and use the rest of the Disney stipend for books and related expenses.

Are your friends taking classes that "cost" 9-12 units each instead of 3?

 

[focusondisney]

All employers myself & my family members have worked for have had some kind of cap for their tuition reimbursement programs. I assume most employers do. As for the Masters program, maybe there just aren’t enough positions in the company that require one, so they aren’t getting sufficient benefit back to justify money spent.

 

[OKW Lover]

I'm curious as to how they can change this benefit for the front line CM's without negotiating with the union.

 

[marikujawa]

I'm curious as to how they can change this benefit for the front line CM's without negotiating with the union.

It’s probably a voluntary benefit rather than a negotiated one.

 

[HopperFan]

I think this just wasn't a good return on investment for Disney. Employees were getting their education then leaving. I think still giving them the IRS maximum is still a great benefit.

My DH worked for a top company known for their "sales program". So many people went to work there as "entry level sales" (including nephew) to go through their intensive training program. Then after a year of experience they'd move on because having that was huge on resume. They finally realized they were getting no return on the investment and dropped the whole program, and just looked to hire experienced successful salespersons.

I just read the article. There’s some tax implications for the employee over a certain amount. Anything over $5250 is considered taxable income.

It appears this specific change could be due to tax implications. The IRS websitestates the following about educational assistance programs: “Taxpayers do not have to pay tax on the amount of benefits up to $5,250 per calendar year and their employer should not include the benefits in their wages, tips and other compensation shown in box 1 of their Form W-2.” Other major companies have similar tuition assistance limits, including Home Depot, Starbucks, and Apple.

Yes I believe this has been the cap for years. From how it was explained in a few articles anything Disney reimbursed over that in the past ~ they covered the taxes on it for the employee. If that is correct Disney was spending quite a bit for the program. Nice benefit.

I don’t understand the reasoning behind not reimbursing for Masters degrees though.

All employers myself & my family members have worked for have had some kind of cap for their tuition reimbursement programs. I assume most employers do. As for the Masters program, maybe there just aren’t enough positions in the company that require one, so they aren’t getting sufficient benefit back to justify money spent.

Probably because employees were getting their Masters then leaving. I saw quite a few videos of folks saying Disney paid their way through Grad school then they quit, and got a new job.

I agree there are likely fewer jobs that needed a Masters, and the ones that do they probably get plenty of highly qualified people applying from outside.

Gone are the days to work your way up at Disney. My DD went there after college graduation hoping to stay, and all her managers (all degreed) told her not to stay. Some had been there 10 years and still just lead CM at an attraction. All of them finally left after she did.

 

[New Mouse]

If they paid a decent wage they'd have a chance at keeping these people who get their education paid for. My guess is it's not worth it to the company when they'd rather pay less overall.

 

[rdaky]

I can understand it from a business perspective. However, it was a really great benefit for Disney employees and it wasn't just something used by 18-22 year olds. People in their 30s, 40s going back to school to get a degree. Disney also could have handled it a lot better, by either grandfathering in or giving a better warning, as in beginning next year. Not beginning in 2 months after most colleges have already begun fall semester.