I was sitting with friends the other day, lamenting the fact that we are not even mid-way through the college tuition years. Assuming that each of my kids takes only four years to finish undergraduate degrees, we anticipate paying tuition for 10 years straight, with two of those years at double because my girls are only two years apart.
One of my friends rolled her eyes and said, ‘Don’t even think about complaining because you have that cushy PSU discount.’
Here we go again.
Like many other employees of Penn State, I sometimes find myself in the position of having to defend our tuition benefit. With recent cuts at the university and the economy in a downturn, the grumbling about the tuition benefit again seems to increasing in volume.
Why do people go so honked off about the tuition benefit?
The majority of universities offer some form of tuition benefits for their employees and for their dependents. Data from the U.S. Department of Education suggests that more than 60 percent of public universities and more than 90 percent of private universities offer some form of tuition assistance as an employment benefit. A quick Internet search of random universities in support of this article found that Indiana University, Ohio State, University of Pennsylvania and even Yale all offer some form of tuition discount for employees who wish to take classes as well as for their dependents. In most cases, it also includes spouses.
There are also those universities that participate in the tuition exchange program. For example, a dependent of an employee at Susquehanna University can be offered a tuition discount at 64 other universities in Pennsylvania alone, including Bucknell and Villanova. Employees who are members of the State College and University Professional Association or SCUPA can receive a total tuition waiver for their dependents and spouses. SCUPA members include Lock Haven, Slippery Rock and others.
Most universities set criteria for eligibility for the tuition benefit, such as length of employment, full-time status and how each defines the word ‘dependent.’ At Ohio State, for example, a dependent of one employee is provided a 50 percent tuition discount. If two parents work there, it increases to 75 percent. Graduate and professional school classes (i.e. medical school, law school, MBA) are covered at some universities. At others, they are not. At some universities there are limits to the number of credits for which an employee or dependent can register as well as grade requirements for reimbursement.
From a university standpoint, the tuition benefit is a recruiting tool in bringing in high-quality staff and faculty. It’s the proverbial chicken-egg argument. To be a top university, we must have top faculty, top researchers, top staff and administration. To get the top people, we need to be able to compete with other universities. If other universities are offering tuition benefits, we also need to offer tuition benefits. If ‘the big employer on the hill’ starts to falter because we are losing good people, it will impact our whole community.
Similarly, if a staff position becomes available, an attractive benefits plan usually results in numerous applications for the position. This again allows Penn State to pick the best person for the job, thereby supporting quality services.
University salaries are sometimes below their industry counterparts. The benefits package, including the tuition discount, can serve to neutralize that difference and make it enticing for someone in industry to make the jump to the university setting.
Consider this. A new Ph.D. graduate is considering open faculty positions at a variety of universities and in industry. He or she has an interest in research in a specific area of science that has the potential to make significant contributions to that field of study as well as to society at large. Salary offers are comparable as are other fringe benefits, such as health insurance. Companies A, B and C offer higher salaries but no tuition benefit for dependents. University A offers tuition benefits and University B does not. Which will be the best option?
The complaints against the tuition benefit seem to fall in the same categories. Why should tax dollars in support of public education fund the education of the employees’ kids? Why should a faculty member coming in from out of state be offered a dependent discount when other taxpayers in that state don’t get the benefit? Doesn’t offering that benefit increase the price to attend college for other students?
Many industries offer specialized incentive plans as a recruitment tool. Employers sometimes offer the service or product that they provide at a discounted rate so as to recruit and keep good employees: from reduced-priced tickets to HersheyPark for Hershey employees to the AXZ automobile pricing plan for Ford employees to discounted – even free – airfares for airline employees. In many instances, these benefits extend to family members of the employees.
Like Ford or Hershey or US Airways, the university offers its ‘product’ at a discount to its employees.
Tuition benefits offer a greater societal benefit, too. Just think of how many people have had access to a college education through the tuition benefit who might not otherwise have had the opportunity. That benefits all of us.
I smile when people say, ‘You are so lucky to have that tuition discount.’ Luck had very little to do with my benefit status at Penn State. I started teaching classes as an adjunct instructor with no benefits (being paid per course credit), worked my way to part time and eventually into my full-time position. I started at a low salary with my eye on the end game. My plan was to hang around and do a good job with the payoff perhaps being a Penn State education for my children. It was, in a sense, one piece of our college savings plan.
The cool thing? There is nothing that prohibits anyone from applying for a position at Penn State or any other industry in which the benefits are attractive. In other words, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
I’ve decided my new response is going to be: ‘You are right. We made a really good decision a long time ago that is finally paying off.’ With three years of 10 under our belts, I do very much appreciate the tuition benefit for which I have worked the past 19 years. It is helping us to provide our children with a top-notch education and prepare for their future.
Thanks, Penn State. I appreciate having the opportunity to work in exchange for my salary, my health insurance and for the tuition benefit.
