ERIC Number: ED200724
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1979-Sep
Pages: 60
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Polaroid Corporation's Tuition Assistance Plan: A Case Study. Worker Education and Training Policies Project.
Knox, Kathleen
A study was conducted to determine the factors that account for the sustained and unusually high rate of participation in tuition-assisted education by Polaroid employees. Information was gathered by interviews with Polaroid management officials in the Human Resources Development Group; staff of the Education and Career Planning Department; and employees who have participated in the program; review of internal policy; and library research. The study examines the structure, provisions, and administration of the company plan; the experience and motivations of plan managers and plan participants; and the corporate context in which the plan operates. Findings show that the company has a systematic and comprehensive series of courses and programs for its hourly and salaried employees, including internal and external programs, organizational development, and career and education counseling. The Tuition Assistance Plan is an integrated component of this overall employee development program. It pays 100 percent (for full-time employees) of tuition in advance for a broad range of company approved courses. Polaroid encourages employees to participate in the Plan by educational counseling, publicity in house organs, and word of mouth. According to Polaroid figures, approximately 6,000 (50 percent) of the corporation's domestic employees participated in an average of one-and-one-half internal or external education and training activities during 1977-78. Ten percent of the eligible domestic workforce participated in the Tuition Assistance Plan, and of these, 40 percent were from the hourly ranks. Factors contributing to this high rate of participation appear to be the paid tuition, supervisory encouragement of education and training, and an atmoshphere that emphasizes the rewards of education. (KC)
Descriptors: Adult Education, Case Studies, Educational Opportunities, Employer Attitudes, Enrollment, Higher Education, Industrial Training, Labor Education, Motivation Techniques, On the Job Training, Postsecondary Education, Professional Personnel, Professional Training, Skilled Workers, Supervisory Training, Technical Education, Trade and Industrial Education, Training Allowances, Tuition Grants
National Institute for Work and Learning, Suite 301, 1211 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036 (Order No.: CS3, $5.50).
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Inst. of Education (DHEW), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: National Inst. for Work and Learning, Washington, DC.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A