Does anyone work for a college partly for tuition benefits?

[StephMK]

Just curious, does anyone do office work at a college and get tuition benefits for their kids? Do you like it, is it worth it, do your or your kids plan/attend there or go elsewhere?

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

I wish.

I work for Clemson University and they only allow us (the employees) to take up to 4 credits a semester. Nothing for children.

I would love to go to school at Clemson but at 4 credits a semester can you imagine how long it would take to get a degree? That's why I'm planning on starting school at the local community college in the evenings for the first 2 years this way I can keep working and still get the basic classes that will transfer.

Also, Clemson doesn't really cater to working adults. Classes are 99% in the day even for those 4 credits you can take. So you have to clear the classes with your boss/work schedule and in most cases you have to take from your vacation time at 1, 2 or 3 hours at a time for the class.

My boss and I were just discussing this yesterday as her son is a freshman in highschool (I don't have children) and she was saying how she wished they would allow employees' children to go to school for free but then she followed it up with but with all of the people Clemson employs can you imagine how much tuition that would be?

 

[StephMK]

I keep meaning to post to you because I went to Clemson & have seen your paw!

Wow, those benes aren't great for schooling. There is a good private school here that offers full for dependents after x years. I have no idea how hard to get a job there but there are a few I could do. Tempting because we'll eventually have 3 going & though we have 529s for them, I worry it won't cover everything we want for them.

 

[PenguinWaiters]

I work for a University which has pretty good benefits. I have used them to take one class myself and my DH also took one class. Employees, spouses and dependents can take undergrad classes tuition-free. Children also have some options to attend other schools either tuition-free or with partial scholarships. My co-workers who have used this found it to be a great deal!

We also serve traditional students and offer mainly day-time classes, but these benefits can extend to out satellite campuses which also have evening/online/weekend classes.

To qualify, I think you have to have worked here for at least one year, and all use of tuition benefits (even for spouse or kids) has to be approved by your boss. Both my boss and I thought it was weird that he had to clear my DH to take a class

 

[pigget74]

My dad worked for the University here for 36 years. When he started a benefit was that his kids would get to go 100% free. About 15 years ago it got changed to any new hires their children got to go for 50%. Out of four children--I was the only one to get a degree. His thought was if you want to go to school for free then go here--if not you have to pay for it.

 

[mlraabe]

Dh is a reasearch engineer at Penn State. Our kids can go for 75% off. I went for my Masters with that discount and dh has taken some classes. We have already told our kids that they can go to any PSU campus in the state and we will pay. If they choose somewhere else we still contribute but student loans will be needed.

DH is not very happy in his position right now and the debate is does he leave that benefit along with some other great benefits for a lot more money or does he stay. We go back and forth on this all the time. But the good news is that he can retire with 25 years of service (7 more to go) and lock in all those benefits and then find something he enjoys more.

 

[toledo13]

I work for a private college in Central Ohio, and we get 8 semesters free Undergrad tuition at that school or through the 'tuition exchange' program, and my husband and I can get our Masters (8 semesters) for free through the school. Pretty good trade-off for the amount I'm paid . To get these benefits, you have to be 3/4 to Full time and have worked there for a year. SOOOOO- DH will be getting his MBA next year for free! I may consider getting mine, too.

 

[Conway733]

My mom worked for a local university here and both my brother and I came out of school with no loans to pay. We only had to pay for the "student" fees every semester. Good deal!

 

[mandysbus]

My friend's mom worked at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa and put her 3 son's through school there for free (and its a bit of a pricey school) so I'd say it was worth it. I worked there in Dining services Full time and I got awesome benefits and after 3 years of working full time, would have had the option to take free classes (the catch was you must continue working full time to do this, so they had it figured out that it would take 10 years of school part time while you are working to graduate) or you could put your kids through.

But for me, after a year working there I got pregnate (they gave 3 months full pay maternity leave) and after DS was born I moved out of the area (over an hour away so not worth the drive)

So I'd say, depending on the school....it might be worth it.

 

[Gusteau]

I don't work for a college now, but thats my plan when I retire.

I'll be ready to retire from my current job at 47 (11 years from now) and I'm hoping to get a job at our local university. Its just one town away, so its nice and close. They give free tuition to all employees and dependents after one year. My kids will be a few years away from college by then and it would be a great benefit. I just hope they still offer by then

 

[luvsJack]

I work for a community college. One of our perks is that employees, spouses and thier dependent children can attend free. My sons were too old for this perk when i started working there, but hopefully I will still be here when my daughter gets ready to attend. I take classes also. I had completed one year of my associate's degree program before taking the job and will complete the second year free. I live close to the University of Southern Mississippi and they offer the same perk at 50% tuition for spouses and children. Its definintely worth it, and I love my job.

 

[Cindy B]

I used to work at a small private Christian university. I could after one year (I was part time) take classes for free, but it was limited to a certain amount of credits.

Full timers got a larger amount of schooling for free.

I did have the time in the position, but moved away before I could start any classes.

My former landlord was a cook at Villanova University. She put all of her kids (she had at least four if not five kids) at Villanova for free. Villanova is very expensive.. so that was tons of money saved. The only problem was making sure the kids got accepted!

DH interviewed for Penn State and University of Pennsylvania and they both had similar perks.

 

[PA Princess]

My friend's mom worked at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa and put her 3 son's through school there for free (and its a bit of a pricey school) so I'd say it was worth it.

Small world...I graduated from Dickinson! And believe me, it was FAR from free

I know they offered this perk to employees. I worked in the communcations office one year, and the director of communications bought his daughter a brand new expensive type car (forget what it was exactly) and parked it in the lot with a big bow when she graduated from college...a thank you for all of the college money she saved him by picking Dickinson he said We thought she was one lucky girl!

 

[girli565]

I have a coworker whose wife works at University of Miami and their son gets to go to school for a seriously discounted price. It's not free but it is darn close.

I wish I had that benefit, but I can't complain, I left school with no undergrad debt at all!

 

[babytrees]

My husband works as a janitor at Colorado School of Mines and while he has the benefit of free for himself and greatly reduced for the kids...neither is heading toward that type of degree.

The group/union is trying to get it so that janitorial staff gets state wide reduction of tuition. They've got a year and a half to do that for our first!!

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

I have a freshman in HS and had been thinking about going back to work to start a college fund for the kids. I didn't even think about getting hired at the local community college or state university in order to receive free or reduced tuition! I'm definitely going to check into it -- thanks for starting this thread.

 

[alicenwonder99]

I used to work at a univeristy that offered free tuition for the whole family. I only worked part time, so only I got the free tuition. I worked part time in the evenings at the library, and went to school full time during the day. I came out with a BA and no loans!!

The BEST part about working at the university was the time off (lol). Every year, I got off Spring Break, 2 weeks at Christmas, and the full month of August off!! Of course it wasn't paid time off, but at least I had a nice break.

I also got to use the university day care for my dd when I was going to classes during the day. It was very cheap, and I only had to put her in the times I needed it. Like MWF 8-noon, TR 11-3.

When I was working/going to school at that university, I had to fill out a FAFSA. Any grant money I received went straight to the school. But I was told that in previous years, any grant money a student received, they got to keep for themselves!!!

 

[bigbabyblues]

My SIL works at a local community college, and she can attend for free. She's finishing her degree now, she had stopped a couple years ago due to other issues. Her spouse and kids can go for $5 per credit hour, up to their bachelor's degree.

I have a friend who works for a university an hour or so from her, and her four kids will be able to go for free. I know several people who work there just for that reason. It's too far for me to drive, but if we lived closer, I'd consider it.

 

[Green Tea]

It is an unbelievable benefit. All added up, I expect it to be worth about $325,000-350,000 for my children. So yes, absolutely people work in higher ed for the benefits.

 

[crjack]

It seems like it can really vary from school to school. My BIL used to work for Boston College and the tuition benefit for children was only for the night program.