DOCUSEXT BEMIS ED 200 724 028 401 AUTHOR Knox, Kathleen TITLE Polaroid Corporation's TuitionAssistance elan: A Case Study. Worker Education andTraining Policies Project. INSTITUTION National Inst. for Work and Learning,Washington, D.C. %BONS AGENCI National Inst. of Education(DHEW) Washington, D.C. PUB DATE Sep 79 CONTRACT 400-76-0125 NOTE 60p.: For related documentssee CE 028 398-412. AVAILABLE FROM National Institute for Work andLearning, Suite 301, 1211 Connecticut Ave N.W. Washington, DC 20036 (Order No.: CS3, $5.50). EDRS PRICE MF01 Plus Postage_. PC Not Availablefrom EDRS. DESCRIPTORS Adult Education: Case Studies;Educational Opportunities: Employer Attitudes;*Enrollment: Higher Education; IndustrialTraining: *Labor Education; *Motivation Techniques;On the Job Training: Postsecondary Education;Professional Personnel: Professional Training:Skilled Workers: Supervisory Training: TechnicalEducation; *Trade and Industrial Education; TrainingAllowances; *Tuition Grants IDENTIFIERS *Polaroid Corporation ABSTRACT A study was conducted to determinethe factors that account for the sustained and unusually high rate of participationin tuition-assisted education byPolaroid employees. Informationas gathered by interviews with Polaroidmanagement officials in the Human Resources Development Group:staff of the Education andCareer Planning Department; and employeeswho have participated in the program: review of internal policy: andlibrary research. The study examines the structure, provisions,and administration of thecompany plan; the experience and motivationsof plan managers and plan participants: and the corporatecontext in which the plan operates. Findings show that thecompany has a systematic and comprehensive series of courses and programs for itshourly and salaried employees, including internal and externalprograms, organizational development, and career and education counseling.The Tuition Assistance Plan is an integrated component of this overallemployee development program. It pays 100 percent (for full-timeemployees) of tuition in advance for a broad range of company approvedcourses. Polaroid encourages employees to participate in the Planby educational counseling, publicity in house organs, and wordOf mouth. According toPolaroid figures, approximately 6,000 (50percent) of the corporation's domestic employees participated inan average of one-and-one-half internal or exteraal education andtraining activities during 1977-78. Ten percent of the eligibledomestic workforce participated in the Tuition Assistance Plan,and of these, 40 percentwere from the hourly ranks. Factors contributingto this high rate of participation appear to be the paidtuition, supervisory encouragement of education and training,and an atmosphere that emphasizes the rewards of education. (KC) . ICW 10 a IIN I I 0 S 11, A I I This report is one of a series of case studies and policy research papers produced during the second phase of "A study of the Use of Education and Training Funds in the Private Sector."The name assigned the second phase of the study is the Worker Education and Training Policies Project. The research reported herein was per- formed pursuant to a contract from the National Institute of Education, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare (Project Number 400-76-0125). Contractors-undertaking-such-projects-under Government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their pro- fession,n1 judgement in the conduct of the project. Points of view or opinions stated do not, therefore, necessarily represent offi- cial National Institute o Education position or policy- NATIONAL MANPOWER INSTITUTE'S NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE WO_ EDUCATION AND TRAINING POLICIES PROJECT Ms. Marla Batchelder, Manager Mr. Donald Fronzaglia Education and Training Director of Personnel Union Carbide Polaroid Corporation Dr. Marvin Berkeley, Dean Mr. Sean Gibney, Administrator School of Business Education Fund, District Council 37 North Texas State University AFSCME, AFL-CIO Mr. Joseph M. Bertotti, Manager Mr. William Gary, Director Corporate Education Relations Department of Social Action General Electric international Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers Mr. Len Brice Executive Vice President Dr, James Hall,, President American Society for Personnel Empire State College Administratiun Mr. Nathaniel Hackney Mr. Bruce Carswell Hospital & Health Care Employees Vice President Union Industrial Relations_ District 1199 - Training Fund General Telephone & Electronics Mr. John Chadwell, Director Mr. Reese Hammond Human Resources Education and Research Director Owens-Illinois, Inc. International Union of Operating Engineers Mr. Robert Craig Director of Communications Mr. Richard Holan, Director American Society for Training Education and Training and Development United States Steel Corporation Mr. Walter Davis, Director Mr. Richard Hupp, Director Department of Education Corporate Recruitment AFL-CIO Kimberly-Clark Corporation Mr. Richard M. Drabant Mr. Carroll Hutton Manager, Marketing National Education Director Chrysler Corporation United Auto Workers Dr. Murray Frank, Dean Mr. John Kuistad, Director Education Department College of Public & Conmun y Services Communications Workers of America University of Massachuse Dr. Norman Kurland, Director Adult Learning Services New York State 'Department of Education Ms. Joyce Miller Vice President and Director of Social Services Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union Mr. C. Reid Rundell, Director of Personnel Development General Motors Corporation Mt. John A. Stagg, Direc Education Department Graphic Arts International Union Mr. Donald A. White, Manager Marketing Planning and Analysis Pitney Bowes Mr. Peter Williams Program Director Educational Development IBM Corporation Dr. Roger Yarrington Vice President American Association of Community and Junior Colleges Dr. Russell Farnen Assistant to the Executive Vice President Empire State College Mr. Kieran O'Reilly, Director Management Education and Functional Programs General Telephone & Electron. ACKNOWLEDGEME _S This case study would not have been possible without thecooperation and interest of Polaroid Corporation officials and employees. Director of Human Resources DevelopmentDonald Fronzaglia generously shared his time, knowledge and enthusiasm and providedaccess to his staff and to Tuition Assistance Plan participants for the extensive interviewsthat form the backbone of this study. Tuition Assistance Administrator Toni Gallagher arranged interviews with employees, answeredmy many questions and made me feel very welcome. Lee Regal, Manager of the Education and Career Planning Department and Senior Education Training Specialist Ed Dubois explained the evolution of Polaroid's humanresource development programs and provided many helpful documents and program materials. Particular thanks should also go to the Polaroid employees who generously gave their time for interviews. Invaluable counsel on the design of the study and thecase study report was provided by project staff and consultants. Kathleen Knox September 1979 PREFACE Adult Americans have been participating in formal educationand training programs in record numbers in recentyears. The trend is generally viewed as a positive development. There is a rub; it involves the low profilecast by working class Americans in the ranks of participants in the adult learning boom. The hourly assembly line worker, the skilled craftsperson, thesalesperson, the secretary... those alternately called the blue and pink collar workers... by all available estimates are not participating at levels even remotely proximate to their numbers in the population. There is within this situation manya paradox. Estimates suggest that somewhere between 40% and 70% of this populationare "would-be:- learners", that is people whosay the, want to participate in education and training programs. Yet the several studies of participation by working Americans i6tilition assistanceprograms (in which financial barriers to continuing education are largely overcome) have consistently revealed overall use rates in the range of 4-5%. That one of the single largest audiences and potential constituencies for continuing education and training programs is currentlynot taking advantage of existing opportunities presents a significant publicpolicy challenge. Especially is this so because of the importance of this large segment of society to the future productivity of individual enterprises and the broader economy. A question that emerges in various forms is Where does the "problem" lie? Is the "problem" in the available opportunity or is it in the "would-be-learner" audience?Many observors would point to that 4% use rate figure with resignation. The evidence presented in this paper and in other case studies in this series suggestsa need to look more closely at how the opportunity--tuition assistance for education and training -- is structured. The programs described in these studies have attained rates of worker participation far in excess of national norms.They offer examples of promising programs and practices to those in industry, unions, education institutions, and government concerned with enhancing education and training opportunities for workers. In the pages that follow, Kathleen Knox, Senior Associate at the National Manpower Institute, describes and analyzes the Human Resources Development Programs of the Polaroid Corporation with particular attention to the corporation's tuition assistance plan.Of particular interest is the developmental