Noodle Partners teams with for-profit college operator to launch tuition benefit platform

Education Dive

Natalie Schwartz

September 21, 2020

Dive Brief:

• Noodle Partners, a prominent online program manager, is teaming up with the parent company of two for-profit universities to create a platform for employers to administer tuition assistance benefits.

• WorkforceEdge will allow employees to enroll in online undergraduate and graduate programs offered by participating colleges within Noodle Partners’ network, as well as through Strategic Education’s two for-profit universities, Capella and Strayer.

• The move follows mounting interest from employers to use tuition benefits to retain workers and grow their talent pipelines, though it’s unclear how the pandemic will impact those trends.

Dive Insight:

WorkforceEdge intends to make it easier for employers to offer tuition benefits to their workers and track their educational progress.

In turn, Noodle Partners’ network of colleges stands to gain a new pipeline of students. “(If) you’re a university running an online program, you normally have some recruitment expense,” said John Katzman, Noodle’s CEO and founder. “Through this channel, we are lowering the recruitment expense and giving the money back to the students.”

Employers will be able to take advantage of discounted tuition prices, though the amount will vary by the program, officials said. WorkforceEdge will charge employees a flat fee for its services. Officials declined to disclose the amount.

Strategic Education, meanwhile, hopes the partnership will help it offer more choices to its corporate partners and help transition to receiving 100% of its tuition revenue from private sector employers over the next decade, according to company officials.

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