Tuition reimbursement is no longer enough. If your education benefits program isn’t driving measurable business outcomes—like retention, internal mobility, and cost savings—you’re missing a strategic opportunity.

Many organizations today recognize the value of employee development, but few have tapped the true value of education benefits programs. If you’re among those who’ve already built an in-house tuition reimbursement program, you’re ahead of the curve.

But here’s the challenge: is your program truly driving strategic outcomes? Or are you stuck in transactional mode? Here’s what you need to know for identifying when it’s time to bring in outside support and what to look for in a provider.

Why In-House Programs Fall Short

While in-house programs offer control and familiarity, they often fall short in delivering the full potential of education benefits. Running an education benefits program in-house demands significant resources—policy development, compliance management, budgeting, employee support, and ongoing administration. These tasks can drain your team’s bandwidth and limit your ability to scale or innovate.

Education benefits program providers bring deep expertise and infrastructure to manage these complexities efficiently. With end-to-end process management—from applications and approvals to payouts and compliance—you gain operational efficiency and a consistent employee experience.

And don’t forget about wasted dollars without expert budgeting support or a strategic program design and provider discounts. You can leave a lot of money on the table when managing programs in-house.

If this resonates, it’s probably time to bring in some support to elevate your education benefits program.

How Can Education Benefits Drive Workforce Outcomes Beyond Reimbursement?

Most in-house programs focus on tuition reimbursement, but what if your education benefits could do more? That’s where partnering with a provider like EdAssist can transform your offering from a basic perk into a powerful talent strategy.

While in-house tuition reimbursement programs seem easy to manage, these passive programs rely on employees to identify and pay up-front for higher education. Unfortunately, college enrollment is dropping as higher education costs and living expenses skyrocket, which means your employees aren’t getting the upskilling and reskilling your organization needs.

Strategic providers align education offerings with your workforce goals. They help you move beyond transactional support to drive upskilling, retention, and internal mobility. With access to tuition analytics, career coaching, and curated academic partnerships, your program becomes a lever for growth—not just a line item.

Why Should You Partner with an Education Benefits Provider?

Here are key advantages of working with a specialized partner for your education benefits program:

• Accelerated Adoption & Engagement: Providers launch programs with robust communications and outreach, boosting employee participation.
• Advanced Features: Career path coaching, fraud protection, and talent analytics help you make data-driven decisions.
• Tuition Discounts: Providers negotiate with institutions to secure cost savings for your employees.
• Expanded Access: Instead of a handful of school partnerships, providers offer access to hundreds of vetted academic institutions.
• Dedicated Support: Employees get help navigating policies, payments, and program selection—freeing up your HR team.
• Strategic Alignment: Providers help tailor your program to address urgent staffing needs and long-term talent development.

If your in-house program is doing the job but not moving the needle, it’s time to consider a partner who can help you get more out of your education benefits.

5 Factors to Evaluate an Education Benefits Provider

What should you look for when choosing a strategic workforce development partner? Here are five features to ask about to find a provider that actually delivers measurable ROI based on your business goals.

1. What education solutions are offered to maximize ROI?

Your education dollars should build the skills your business actually needs, whether that’s attracting and retaining talent or creating a plan to fill skills gaps and critical roles. The programs you select can make or break your ROI.

Your provider should have the scale and experience to help identify opportunities and offer solutions like non-degree and certificate programs, targeted leadership training, or affordable debt-free options. 

For example, Orlando Health, an EdAssist client, provided over 120 degree & certificate programs with four institutions offered at zero out-of-pocket cost. Partnering with an expert provider that can help the education benefits program address multiple talent challenges maximizes ROI and impact as an employer.

2. How flexible and customizable is the workforce development strategy?

There’s no one-size-fits-all program that can meet every company’s education benefits needs. Your provider needs to offer flexibility and customization based on specific industry experience. They should be able to guide you through both internal and external challenges with data-driven insights that inform the best workforce development strategy for your business.

If you have a tuition reimbursement program, is your provider also able to help you develop custom career pathways based on your critical roles? Or perhaps implement a student loan repayment program to reduce debt?

Providers can help deliver the flexibility and customization for your education benefits programs that an in-house program alone cannot. For example, EdAssist helped Orlando Health proactively implemented an expedited ESL program that takes 50% less time to complete to help their frontline workers reach their career goals. They also expanded their student loan support that resulted in a 7% increase in retention.

3. Is there support to help drive program adoption and impact?

Why bring in a partner that can’t support you and your employees’ needs? Working with less robust providers can quickly result in wasted dollars and low program adoption rates. Many employees never use their education benefits because they don’t know about them or what program to consider.

Expert providers have the experience and resources to help engage employees and improve program utilization. For example, EdAssist proudly has developed Level Up Studio to help employees navigate and take control of their careers.

This type of support is critical because with in-house programs, your managers often bear the brunt of career development. Unfortunately, they are also overwhelmed and focused on performance, not employee development. Bringing in an education benefits provider that provides pairs both coaching with personalized guidance for your employees can improve your program’s utilization and impact for your business.

4. Can the provider deliver tuition discounts that remove financial barriers?

The rise of education costs, plus general inflation increases, has caused significant financial stress for workers across industries. That makes it difficult for them to prioritize their own career development, especially when they have to pay for part or all of the bill.

That’s why many EdAssist clients, like McDonald’s, partner with specific schools to offer a no-cost degree for strategic preferred programs. Their Archways to Opportunity program helps remove financial barriers while also ensuring employees are getting the upskilling they need for success. And the result is that 75% of participants stayed at McDonald’s longer and 55% of participants were promoted faster.

Working with an experienced provider like EdAssist gives your employees access to tuition discounts for program participants. The provider manages and negotiates contracts to drive participant savings, whether they’re paying out of pocket or the company is providing financial assistance.

5. Will the provider recommend unbiased, future-ready education programs?

Your education dollars should build the skills your business actually needs, not line your provider’s pockets. Unfortunately, many education benefits providers prioritize financial incentives rather than what’s best for the organization and employees. The right education benefits provider should help you establish learner-focused partnerships with education programs that prepare your employees with future-ready skills for your business needs, not their own.

The right provider should also guide you through your workforce planning strategy with education recommendations that feed into high-demand roles and other customized pathways. In addition to traditional degree program recommendations, this should include higher education institutions that offer relevant certificates and credentials to fit the upskilling needs of the modern workplace.

This is why EdAssist blends unbiased coaching with a robust education network to help each learner get paired with the best fit school that meets both their individual career goals and the organization’s needs.

The Bottom Line for Your Education Benefits Program

You don’t have to build or manage your in-house program alone. Partnering with a provider for education benefits requires investment, but it’s often more cost-neutral than expected. And the ROI—in terms of time saved, employee engagement, and strategic impact—can far outweigh the cost.

EdAssist has years of experience helping organizations reduce costs through strategic budgeting and partnerships with a robust education provider network that solves each organization’s unique talent challenges.

Ready to turn your education benefits into a strategic talent lever? Let’s talk about how EdAssist can help you enhance your program, optimize costs, and build future-ready teams.