“Companies don’t do that anymore for the reason you lined out.”
No, employers still offer tuition assistance, both my current and former employer still offer it. However the IRS did impose limits on the amount that could be paid annually as a benefit, which means that employees can no longer receive enough to cover most full-time tuition costs.
So the employee either needs to pay some of the annual cost out of pocket, or take 8 years to earn a 4-year degree.
See how that works? The capitalist system provided a college degree benefit, and the government came in and messed it up.
Here is what I have seen.
Yes, Trump’s tax reform ended the rebates for tuition, but in the last four companies I have been with all have either ended tuition support or limited to only higher level managers.
Why? Because the accounts figured out that if you pay for a degree, that person will most likely end up leaving for a better paying higher level job. The current company will not hold open a position till that person gets their degree completed.
I remember getting almost through a masters, only to have my then company cancel my classes (with out telling me) because
“We no longer see the value in training our competition.”
Are there companies that provide tuition support? I suppose there is. But I also know that the majority have quietly ended it because the costs don’t justify the reward.