SEATTLE – Starbucks and Arizona State University (ASU) will announce today (Monday) the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, a powerful, first-of-its-kind program designed to unleash lifetime opportunity for thousands of eligible part-time and full-time U.S. partners (employees).
Starbucks chairman, president and ceo Howard Schultz will host the first Partner Family Forum in the U.S. in New York’s Times Center and will join ASU president Dr. Michael M. Crow and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to officially launch the Starbucks College Achievement Plan.
This significant investment will create an opportunity for eligible partners to finish a bachelor’s degree with full tuition reimbursement for juniors and seniors, through a unique collaboration with ASU’s research-driven, top-ranked degree program, delivered online.
Through this innovative collaboration, partners based in the U.S. working an average of 20 hours per week at any company-operated store may choose from more than 40 undergraduate degree programs taught by ASU’s award-winning faculty such as electrical engineering, education, business and retail management.
Partners admitted to ASU as a junior or senior will earn full tuition reimbursement for each semester of full-time coursework they complete toward a bachelor’s degree. Freshmen and sophomores will be eligible for a partial tuition scholarship and need-based financial aid for two years of full-time study.
Partners will have no commitment to remain at the company past graduation.
Starbucks investment is designed to support the nearly 50 percent of college students in the U.S. today who fail to complete their degrees due to mounting debt, a tenuous work-life balance and a lack of support.
The Starbucks College Achievement Plan is created specifically for the company’s partners and aims to provide an excellent academic foundation along with the flexibility, financing and comprehensive support that working students need to complete their degree.
In addition to financial support, Starbucks and ASU have developed an innovative retention model to support the unique needs of working students. Partners will have a dedicated enrollment coach, financial aid counselor and academic advisor to support them through graduation.
The program also will include adaptive learning services to help students progress at the right pace for them, networking and community-building opportunities and additional resources to help students plan their educations.
Source: press release
