Starbucks puts a degree on the menu for 135,000 employees: College achievement plan seeks to repair the fractured American dream

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to describe how coffeehouse chain Starbucks has teamed up with Arizona State University (ASU) to offer a big discount on online undergraduate education for 135,000 employees.

Design/methodology/approach

It outlines the origins of the Starbucks college achievement plan, the form it takes and the aims it seeks to achieve.

Findings

It explains that employees admitted to ASU as a junior or senior earn full tuition reimbursement for each semester of full-time coursework they complete toward a bachelor’s degree. Students already in their first or second years of study are eligible for a partial tuition scholarship and need-based financial help for two years of full-time study. Employees do not have to carry on working at Starbucks after graduation.

Practical implications

It reveals that the Starbucks investment is designed to support the nearly 50 per cent of college students in the USA today who fail to complete their degrees because of a mounting debt, a tenuous work-life balance and a lack of support.

Social implications

It claims that the scheme can help to repair the fractured American dream.

Originality/value

It demonstrates how the Starbucks college achievement plan will provide an academic foundation along with the flexibility, financing and support that working students need to complete their degree.

Citation

(2014), "Starbucks puts a degree on the menu for 135,000 employees: College achievement plan seeks to repair the fractured American dream", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 22 No. 6, pp. 21-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-08-2014-0117