Des Moines Register
09-09-06
Bosses chip in as workers go back to school
Family/job/class mixture is still hectic
By WILLIAM RYBERG
REGISTER BUSINESS WRITER
Life is hectic for Amy Williams.
She's 31, married, a mother of a 3-year-old and a 4-month-old and a full-time
employee in the human resources department for Iowa Health-Des Moines, the
umbrella organization for Iowa Methodist, Iowa Lutheran and Blank Children's
hospitals.
Williams also is a part-time college student, working on her master's degree
through Drake University.
"For survival, we really split the duties up," Amy said of the way she and her
husband, Murray, juggle home, school, family and work.
Williams is among thousands of Iowans who work full-time but go back to
colleges or business schools to get more education, with their employers footing
part or all of the bill.
Employer assistance for education has become a standard perk at many
companies, although the percentage of employers offering the benefit has
slipped in recent years, according to state and national surveys. As the job
market remains tight in central Iowa, employers can attract skilled workers with
education assistance, said John Challenger, chief executive of the Chicagobased job-placement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Full-time workers see additional education as a way to advance their careers with
their current employers and to make themselves more marketable if they look for
work elsewhere.
Many work toward getting bachelor's or master's degrees that they didn't get
when they were younger.
"So many tell the same kind of story,'' said Lee Bash, dean of William Penn
University's college for working adults in West Des Moines. "Until they get that
piece of paper, they're going to be held from moving ahead to get a promotion or
to get a better job somewhere else."
Enrollment has been growing by double-digit percentages each year for the past
several years, Bash said. Current enrollment is about 900.
Many employers are willing to pay at least some of the bill for tuition and fees,
seeing the benefit as a way to attract and retain employees and improve their
work force.
"It's a benefit for the individual and the company," said Mike Palmer, a
spokesman for Nationwide/Allied Insurance in Des Moines.
Nationwide employee Kischa Buford of West Des Moines is working toward a
master's degree in business administration by taking online classes from the
University of Phoenix, the nation's largest online institution.
Taking classes online worked best in balancing work, home life and school, said
Buford, 27, a commercial lines underwriter.
With Buford working toward her master's, her husband, Fred, helps more with
housework and often fixes dinner, Kischa Buford said.
Online work allows more flexibility, Kischa Buford added, because she doesn't
have to be at a certain place at a certain time for classes.
Nationwide has an educational assistance program, but Buford began her
classes before she became eligible.
Amy Williams, the Iowa Health-Des Moines employee, a 1998 graduate of Iowa
State University, is working on a master's degree in adult learning and human
performance at Drake University in Des Moines.
Husband Murray Williams is vice president of the Iowa Credit Union League. A
1996 Iowa State graduate, he went back to school, too, to get a master's in
business administration that he said has helped him advance in his career.
The Williamses, who live in Des Moines' Beaverdale area, rely on cell phones, emails and computerized personal planners to keep in touch.
Husband and wife work during the day. Kids must be picked up and dropped off
at child care. An on-site center near Amy's office helps.
"We try to eat together every night" as a family, Murray Williams said.
Williams gets tuition assistance from her employer, but that doesn't ease the
hectic pace required to balance work, school and family.
A national survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 66
percent of surveyed companies offered undergraduate educational assistance in
2006. Sixty-four percent offered graduate educational assistance.
Both figures were down from around 70 percent in 2003.
In a 2005 survey of about 200 businesses in Iowa and Nebraska, 78 percent
provided tuition reimbursement, according to the Iowa Association of Business &
Industry and the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
The figure dropped to 73 percent in 2006.
Mike Ralston, president of the Iowa association, said the drop could simply
reflect that different companies participated in the surveys.
He said he doubts that it's a sign of Iowa companies cutting back on benefits.
Educational assistance
Examples of educational assistance benefits offered by Des Moines-area
employers:
NATIONWIDE/ALLIED INSURANCE: Up to $5,250 a year for tuition and fees.
WELLS FARGO: Up to $5,000 a year for full-time workers; up to $2,500 a year
for part-timers. About 5 percent of Iowa employees received tuition
reimbursement in the past year, a spokesman said. That's about 600 out of an
Iowa work force of about 12,000.
IOWA HEALTH-DES MOINES: Up to $2,000 per year for tuition. About 500 Iowa
Health workers, or 10 percent of the work force, take advantage of the benefit
each year, said Sue Allyn, Iowa Health's human resources vice president.
IOWA CREDIT UNION LEAGUE AND SUBSIDIARIES: Up to $3,000 a year for
tuition and textbooks.
COMMON REQUIREMENTS
Programs at various employers generally cover a range of educational
opportunities, from high school equivalency degrees to doctorates.
Worker/students are usually required to maintain a "C" average or better in their
grades and must have worked for the employer for a minimum period, such as
six months or a year.