When Daniela Del Carpio, a global HR operations associate at the Walt Disney Company, joined the House of Mouse in 2018 in a retail position at Disney Springs in Orlando, she didn’t expect her employer to invest in her education—but that’s just what it did.
At the time, Del Carpio was pursuing a business degree at the University of Central Florida and, like many college students, was stressed about finances. But Disney Aspire, a benefit for employees that covers 100% of their tuition, fees, and book costs, helped to alleviate that economic burden.
“This program literally takes you through college debt-free,” Del Carpio said. “It has impacted me personally because it allowed those doors of opportunity to open where I wouldn’t have to worry about having to take out a loan or paying costs and [could] really focus on growing myself on a professional and a personal level.”
The program is now in its fifth year, with over 14,000 students currently enrolled and over 3,000 graduates.
“We hear time and time again from our employees that without Disney Aspire, their dreams would not have been realized,” Disney Aspire wrote in a statement via PR rep Julia Mamoor. “From first-generation college students to parents pursuing a long-forgotten dream, it’s these success stories that remind us what we are doing and why.”
Clearing hurdles. Just under half of employers say they offer some kind of tuition reimbursement program, according to data from the Society for Human Resources Management, and some 43.5 million Americans have either federal student loan debt, according to Fed data cited by LendingTree. More than three-quarters of US adults say a college degree would be difficult for them to afford, according to data from Morning Consult Pro.
Disney says it started the Aspire program in August of 2018 as a way to invest in its “cast members”—the company term for employees at parks and stores—and remove the economic barriers that often keep people from seeking out educational opportunities.
“We know that finances can be a tremendous barrier for some employees, particularly those hourly employees,” Tonya Cornileus, SVP of learning and talent solutions at the Walt Disney Company, told HR Brew. “We wanted to remove those barriers and again, finances is just one hurdle that people have to address when they are looking to go back to school. We wanted to take that away, and so we fully committed...to provide educational programs for our employees with no cost to them.”
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The Aspire program does not require graduates to remain with the Disney company, gives students the chance to pursue a wide range of programs even if they are not related to their current role, and includes individual student success coaching from start to finish through Guild Education—an organization that helps employers offer their staff tuition-free education benefits.
Disney chose to work with Guild Education so employees would also be able to utilize the organization’s career coaching opportunities and other supportive resources.
“Guild will set up quarterly or monthly calls with you, and there will be a different specialist that calls me and checks up on me, asking how are your classes, what do you need help with, are you mentally okay, are you emotionally okay,” Del Carpio said. “So, not only do they focus on making sure that you pass your classes, but that you are in a mental state where you can still continue that education while working at Disney.”
Recruiting and retention. One in four job-seekers who apply to work at the Walt Disney Company say they do so because of Aspire, Cornileus said.
“The reputational value of Disney Aspire has helped us to attract really great talent and this talent is very diverse,” she said. “In terms of the participants in the program, roughly 60% are women and more than 50% are people of color. So, it is attracting a great talent pool.”
Beyond cost. Investing in employee education isn’t just about providing a nice perk, Cornileus said, it is also a smart business move.
“We know that many companies are moving towards becoming a skills-based company, and we know that skills are constantly evolving [and] knowledge is constantly changing,” Cornileus said. “So, philosophically, it just makes good business sense that you’re continuing to invest in your employees’ education and their skill development. Not only is it a great attractor of top talent, but it helps you to retain that talent and grow that talent into progressive roles in the company.”