Walmart (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Walmart is fighting student loan debt with a bold new move: making college tuition-free for its associates.
Here’s what you need to know
Student Loans
With $1.7 trillion of student loans spread across 45 million borrowers, Walmart — the largest private employer in the U.S. — will now help its associates pay for college without the burden of student loan debt. Here are the details:
- Walmart will pay for 100% of tuition and books
- Available through Walmart’s Live Better U education program
- Approximately 1.5 million part-time and full-time Walmart and Sam’s Club associates in the U.S. can earn college degrees or learn trade skills without the burden of student loans
- Walmart will invest $1 billion over the next five years in career-driven training and development
“We are creating a path of opportunity for our associates to grow their careers at Walmart, so they can continue to build better lives for themselves and their families,” said Lorraine Stomski, senior vice president of learning and leadership at Walmart. “This investment is another way we can support our associates to pursue their passion and purpose while removing the barriers that too often keep adult working learners from obtaining degrees.”
Free college: how it works
Walmart associates can earn certificates and degrees online and debt-free at the following colleges and universities while working at Walmart:
- Brandman University
- Johnson & Wales University
- Pathstream
- Penn Foster
- Purdue University Global
- Southern New Hampshire University
- The University of Arizona
- The University of Denver
- Voxy EnGen
- Wilmington University
Previously, Walmart provided associates an opportunity to attend college for only $1 a day for the duration of their college program. Now, Walmart has removed this financial barrier so that more associates can pursue higher education without concern about cost. Practically, this means that Walmart associates won’t need to borrow student loans to pay for tuition or books for college. Think of tuition-free college as cancelling student loans before you even have to borrow student loans.
What this means for the future of student loans
Walmart’s program represents the ultimate education benefit: tuition-free college. If Walmart associates don’t need to borrow any student loans to pay for their degree, this reduces the aggregate amount of future student loan debt and provides a path to financial freedom for tens of thousands of people. More employers have committed to help their employees with education benefits ranging from tuition subsidies to paying student loans. Similarly, colleges have cancelled student loans too. As the federal government grapples with the prospect of wide-scale student loan cancellation, employers who help their employees manage student loan debt will attract and retain high quality employees for the long-term. This is especially important after the Covid-19 pandemic when millions of Americans are still struggling financially. While federal student loan payments have been paused since March 2020, student loan payments are due again starting October 1, 2021. This is despite concerns from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) that student loan servicers are not ready for student loan borrowers to restart student loan repayment. President Joe Biden has proposed tuition-free college at two-year and four-year public universities. While Congress may not pass that legislation today, perhaps more companies may be willing to help subsidize at least some of the cost of a college degree if they could recruit students upon graduation. Walmart has been instrumental in providing this groundbreaking education benefit and helping to reduce the amount of student loans. Let’s see if other companies follow in Walmart’s footsteps.
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