Thread: Starbucks to give workers full ride for college

It is generous of Starbucks but seriously $15,000/year for an online degree?

Originally Posted by chromium

No it is not. For one thing you don't have to get off your ass.

There are certain elements of classroom learning that is very difficult to replicate online. Foreign language for instance can't really be matched except for study/travel abroad. Various group projects and presentations, physical lab work, networking, actual interaction with professors, test taking - some of that doesn't exist at all, and the rest isn't widely respected by industry or grad schools when done online only.

As far as I know, Universities do not offer online degrees that require lab work. For instance, I don't know of a single university that offers a bachelor degree in chemistry. You just can't do it.

But, for the majors that they offer online bachelor degrees in, the curriculum is certainly the same as if you physically go into the classroom.

Originally Posted by RabidAlpaca

I generally have a negative opinion of Starbucks, mostly because I think it's inane to pay $5 for a cup of coffee, but I have to admit that's incredibly generous of them and it does make me think a whole lot more of them. I really hope that this catches on with more companies so that upward mobility becomes a lot easier for more people.

This isn't necessarily as altruistic as it appears on the surface:

"employees who drop out or leave the company will be responsible for paying tuition for that semester."

The risk of enrolling and failing might explain why only 2000 / 150,000 starbucks workers are in the 2 year program currently. Tying in ongoing employment with tuition reimbursement is likely a way to keep them on the leash too.

Originally Posted by tres borrachos

Yes, I saw that the college kicks in 42%, and that's why I said 58% (which is Starbucks share). That's a generous offering from Starbucks. And yes, they don't have a strings attached except for the obvious reimbursement after the semester to make sure that the employee doesn't bail mid-term. I think this is a good thing.

It is a good thing, and it is how 'free college' should be handled, by private sector organizations who wish to provide it, not by our federal government.

Originally Posted by Carjosse

It is generous of Starbucks but seriously $15,000/year for an online degree?

Online degrees aren't any cheaper than physically going to the classroom, minus the room and board, and the degree that you earn just says Arizona State University, not Arizona State Online University.

Originally Posted by The Man

Online degrees aren't any cheaper than physically going to the classroom, minus the room and board, and the degree that you earn just says Arizona State University, not Arizona State Online University.

I feel that they should be less but that still seems insane to me, I pay 8000$/year in tuition to physically attend my university and in province people pay less than I do.

What?!? No car? I'm outraged.