CAEL and ACT form new Tuition Benefits Management Company
EDLINK now the largest provider in this market

Download pdf

CHICAGO – CAEL (the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning) and ACT have jointly created a new company, EdLink LLC, on September 2, 2009. EdLink is the nation’s largest provider of tuition assistance management services, expanding upon the services previously offered by CAEL. John Zappa, formerly CAEL’s senior vice president for learner services, has been named as EdLink’s CEO.

“CAEL and ACT have common missions, values, goals and a focus on providing services for the education of adults. We could not have a better partner than ACT to position this tuition management service for growth,” stated Pamela Tate, CAEL’s president and CEO. “EdLink will continue the CAEL tradition of reducing some of the financial barriers for lifelong learners who want to continue their education.”

“ACT’s mission is helping people achieve education and workplace success. Employer-provided tuition assistance aligns well with this mission,” explained Dick Ferguson, Chairman and CEO of ACT. “CAEL brings unsurpassed operational capital to this venture.”

ACT and CAEL each own 50% of the new company. EdLink expects to process $200 million in education funds over the next year and to serve an active population of almost 800,000 employees across the country. The new company is located in Chicago with several satellite locations, including one under development in Coralville, Iowa, not far from ACT’s headquarters in Iowa City.

CAEL has administered corporate tuition assistance programs for over 22 years, and most of its employees in the tuition assistance management unit have transferred to the new company, including all of the tuition management unit’s senior leadership.

Primary Media Contact:
Beth Doyle
312-499-2350
bdoyle@cael.org

ACT Media Contact:
Scott Gomer
319-337-1028
scott.gomer@act.org

Market Price of Tuition
What is the real market price of tuition? And how can you use this information to shape tuition assistance policy? CAEL and Bellevue University’s Human Capital Lab have partnered to evaluate over 124,000 courses funded by employer tuition programs to determine the market price of accredited education. Learn about the most popular courses of study, the average price per credit hour and much more. To obtain a FREE copy of the report on the Market Price of Tuition Click here.

Examining Strategies and Trends in Educational Assistance CAEL’s Tuition Survey
CAEL’s comprehensive study of over 1,300 Human Resources professionals takes an in-depth look at how companies are allocating financial resources for employee training and development to impact their bottom line. Fill out the following form to receive your copy of the tuition survey today. Click here.

Information coming soon

Why is Education Important During Tough Economic Times?
CAEL, October 2008
CAEL interviewed Robert Rodriguez, Ph.D, Assistant Dean at Kaplan University’s Graduate School of Management to get his viewpoint on how the recent economic crisis will affect education, tuition assistance benefits, and talent management. Read the interview.

Strategies for Talent Management: Greater Philadelphia Companies in Action
CEO Council for Growth and CAEL, August 2008
This report includes best practices on how companies can use their tuition assistance programs to help meet their human capital needs as well as profiles of area companies that have integrated their tuition assistance programs with their talent development. The report was featured on the Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch website on August 26. Read the article.

Readin', Writin', and ROI
Kate Plourd, CFO Magazine, April 1, 2008
Verizon Wireless has conducted surveys to demonstrate the good effects of a tuition reimbursement program. Positive results include employee retention, increased employee productivity, greater adaptability, and an increased appetite for more responsiblities. Read the article.

Effectiveness of the Voluntary Education Program
This report by the Center for Naval Analyses cites the correlation between a sailor's active involvement in the Navy's civilian education program and retention, and a similar correlation to promotions. It demonstrates the value of investing in tuition assistance. Read the article.

Verizon Wireless: Getting ROI From TAP
Published December 2007 in Chief Learning Officer
Through CAEL's Tuition Assistance Management Service, Verizon Wireless is able to receive and distribute data on employee participation and ROI. The impact TAPs (Tuition Assistance Programs) have on Verizon Wireless is broken into four categories: recruitment, retention, career mobility, and job performance. This article also outlines strategies for making the most of the TAP investment, including: aggressive marketing and communication about valuable skills and knowledge, recognition of success, and measurement of critical factors. Read the article.

Bellevue University's Human Capital Lab is Teaming Up with CAEL to Determine the Real Market Price of Tuition
Published October 2007 in TAPwire Newsletter
Published in Innovation at Work, Fall 2007
It’s astounding to realize that the actual cost of tuition paid has never really been calculated or reported. That’s because the majority of undergraduate college students don’t pay the published tuition rate. Most college students come in through the discount door, either thanks to scholarships or corporate tuition reimbursement. CAEL and Bellevue University’s Human Capital Lab are collaborating on a research project that looks at the actual price corporations pay for a semester credit hour of accredited degree seeking education.

Click here to read about this and other research affiliations between Bellevue University and CAEL
Click here to read the full article that appeared in Bellevue University's newsletter.

"…But What Should I Study? And How Will That Help Me and My Company?" Looking at the Use of Educational Advising for Employer-Funded Tuition Programs
Published February 2007 in CAEL Forum & News
By Dorothy Wax and Adele Chodorow, CAEL
Adult learners often recognize a need to continue their education, but are generally in need of some guidance to help them match their education choices with their career goals or with the learning and skill needs of their employers. Employers, meanwhile, often give employees great freedom in choosing how to use their tuition or other educational benefits, leading many to wonder if those benefits are always used wisely or whether most employees can use them at all. Career and education advising can help address these issues. This article summarizes a career advising study conducted by CAEL. Download this pdf

Getting Results from the Learning Investment: A Report from CAEL’s Tuition Strategy Group
Published February 2007 in CAEL Forum & News
By Becky Klein-Collins, CAEL
The last meeting of the CAEL Tuition Strategy Group (TSG) was attended by twenty-four representatives of companies with tuition assistance programs, and the focus of the day-long session was how to get more bang for your tuition dollar. This article summarizes the key points of the meeting. Download this pdf

Giving ‘Prior Learning’ Its Due
Published Jan. 18 in Inside Higher Ed
By Pamela Tate and Becky Klein-Collins
Higher education is still the route to gaining credentials for having acquired new skills and knowledge. But sometimes college-level skills and knowledge are acquired not in a classroom at a college or university, but on a job or through independent study. For this reason, many colleges offer Prior Learning Assessment as a way to evaluate and award credit for learning that takes place outside the classroom. This article explains Prior Learning Assessment and how it works.
Download this pdf

Tuition Assistance: Corporate Entitlement or Strategic Investment?
Published in Chief Learning Officer Magazine
By Jeanne C. Meister
Chief learning officers are increasingly responsible for the management of both enterprise learning as well as tuition assistance programs, but are they prepared to manage both strategically? This article offers 5 action steps you can take to immediately increase the impact of your tuition program.
Download this pdf

Tuition Assistance Impact on Talent Flow
Published October 2007 in TAPwire Newsletter
By Robert Rodriguez
The average employee tenure at any one company is getting shorter and shorter. According to the Dept. of Labor study, employees today are changing companies about every four years. What this means for employers is that talent is "flowing" through their organization as their employees progress along their careers. Because of this, organizations are looking for ways to manage this Talent Flow. One tool being utilized by companies is Tuition Assistance. Download this pdf

Tuition Assistance is NOT just an Employee Benefit
Published June 26 2006 in HR.com
By Faith Ivory
Tuition Assistance Plans (TAP) are part of Talent Management and a Human Capital investment for the future success of your organization. Yet, all too often TAP is viewed as merely an employee benefit (cost) with the sole focus on the “administration” functions either handled in-house or through a BOP service. This short-sited view is a costly mistake. This article offers suggestions to make your Tuition Assistance Program more valuable. Download this pdf.

Smarter Tuition-Assistance Programs: Advice from Academe
Published in SHRM Online
By Jay A. Halfond, Ph.D., Dean of Boston University’s Metropolitan College and Extended Education
Most employers support the higher education of their employees, and most colleges and universities rely heavily on these tuition dollars. Given this interdependence, it is remarkable how little direct dialogue occurs to ensure that corporate needs are being addressed and that companies are exposed to the full array of what their academic suppliers can provide. It is also remarkable how little scrutiny employers apply to how their dollars are spent and what return they receive on their investment. This article offers advice on how to work with educational institutions to get more for your tuition dollars. Download this pdf.