Why Big Companies Have Started to Send Their Employees to College
The college degree is becoming a more common employee perk
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Two years ago, Starann Freitas had no college degree. “I’d always wanted one, but life responsibilities got in the way,” says Freitas, 52. She worked as an administrative assistant for health insurer Anthem, answering phone calls and scheduling meetings.
Eight months later, that had changed. Freitas enrolled in an online associate’s degree program at Southern New Hampshire University’s College for America in May 2013 and graduated the following spring. With her degree, she was promoted to corporate communications specialist. “My supervisor sat me down,” Freitas says, “and said it was time for me to move on and use my skills in a better position.” The cost of her degree: nothing. Anthem picked up the tab.