Is Wal-Mart's Educational Partnership a Responsible Career Example to Follow?

Recently, retail giant Wal-Mart established a partnership with American Public University to provide low-cost online courses to employees. Under this program, eligible Wal-Mart employees can take courses online to work towards a degree. Even though Wal-Mart plans to keep its distance from American Public University's curriculum, employees can earn academic credit for the work that they already do.

According to Wal-Mart, the program's objective is to help employees receive training to enhance their on-the-job skills. In the long run, employees can apply their courses towards an associate's or bachelor's degree. Each Wal-Mart employee who joins this program is eligible for a 15 percent tuition grant from APU. Wal-Mart also plans to invest $50 million over the next threes for tuition assistance funds. It is possible to complete half the credits required to complete an APU associate's or bachelor's degree. When employees leave Wal-Mart, they won't lose their APU credits. At a glance, this appears to be a strong personal investment in their employees' career growth and personal success.

When developing this program, Wal-Mart considered a number of educational options including community colleges and traditional universities. Ultimately, Wal-Mart chose APU, an online for-profit college because of employee polls that indicated strong preference for a flexible program.

To be honest--even in light of the recent for-profit educational scandal-- Wal-Mart's program is better than what's out there with the majority of companies offering little to  nothing in terms of tuition reimbursement or continuing education. Even still, Wal-Mart isn't the only organization that is making this type of responsible career decision for its employees. Recently APU's sister organization, the  American Military University, has entered into a partnership with the Los Angeles Police Department. According to an APU spokesperson, corporate sponsorships with online colleges are an emerging trend that more corporations will embrace.

On the one hand, it is questionable whether for-profit institutions provide a genuine educational benefit. As the United States know, for-profit colleges aren't all that they promise, and students may experience little to no return on investment.

At the same time, programs like APU are extremely valuable because for many Americans, going back to school is difficult. These days, an education is expensive and almost impossible to pursue without taking on significant and unsustainable debt. Most of all, it's difficult for people to balance work life and family life with school. For these reasons, flexible online programs are valuable educational tools that bring options to people who may not otherwise have them.

On the one hand, skeptics may argue that Wal-Mart is pulling a public relations stunt to counteract its negative image as a ruthless corporate entity. At the same time, an education is something of long-term value that many people would very much appreciate. Perhaps Wal-Mart is trying to further its corporate interest of promoting company morale and employee retention.

But will it help the everyday sales associate advance in his or her career?

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