The Walt Disney Co. confirmed to HR Dive that the corporate will likely be setting an annual funding cap per worker for its Disney Aspire program, which pays for worker training at sure establishments by a partnership with Guild Schooling.
By Nov. 27, Disney Aspire in-network faculties can have an annual funding cap of $5,250, equal to the IRS restrict on tax-free advantages for instructional help packages. This system may also now not enable enrollment in grasp’s diploma packages; these at the moment enrolled will likely be topic to the funding cap, in line with different experiences.
Whereas “debt-free” school tuition advantages took off within the years across the pandemic, the IRS cap is a typical restrict for corporations to undertake in offering tuition help. Chipotle, for instance, which has provided school tuition help by Guild since 2019, sponsors sure packages that it pays for solely, whereas different undergraduate levels in Guild’s catalog are topic to the $5,250 restrict.
Goal, which adopted a Guild program in 2021, follows an identical sample, although it permits as much as $10,000 reimbursement for a grasp’s diploma program.
Response on-line from commenters who recognized themselves as Disney workers, often known as solid members, indicated disappointment and shock, with some commenting on Reddit that that they had moved throughout the U.S. partially due to the corporate’s funding of sure teaching programs.
“Since Disney Aspire was first launched, we have now continued to evolve this system to fulfill the wants of our solid members and workers, in addition to the wants of our enterprise,” a Disney spokesperson instructed HR Dive. “Disney Aspire continues to supply an evolving catalog of packages and diploma choices throughout varied fields of examine, expertise and professions, offering our eligible workers the chance to pursue disciplines and diplomas together with highschool equivalency, English language studying, and undergraduate levels.”
Disney additionally highlighted its in-house “hands-on studying, coaching, and profession improvement experiences that assist workers and solid members to get to the place they need to go professionally.”