Tuition reimbursement !?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

There are so many rumors that go around about pay and benefits... I'm just trying to figure out truth from fiction. I have finally finished my pre-req courses. YAY!!! Now I have to figure out what I can afford and where to apply. I have heard that some jobs will pay off your student loans or reimburse you for what you have spent. Something makes me think there is more to it than that. If it is true that means that I can go to the private college that costs $35,000 a year and the hospital is gonna write me a check for $70,000 to reimburse the last two years??? How can this be fair? If any of you know what the normal caps are for tuition reimbursement.... that would be great, I know every hospital is different I'm just lookin to get a rough estimate.

ORSmurf

161 Posts

Specializes in GI, OR, Oncology.

You're right that this will vary depending on the institution. I work at a pretty small hospital and they promote "tuition reimbursement" as one of the employee benefits, but they will only cover up to $1,000 a year and there are some stipulations that go along with it - you must earn at least a B in the class and if you are awarded any reimbursement and leave within a year, you have to pay it back. Every little bit helps though... very little bit!

Specializes in NICU.

I'd like to ditto that it varies by hospital. I've seen reimbursement range from 0-7500. Most that I have seem to be 1000-2500 range though.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN

102 Articles; 27,612 Posts

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

My facility only offers $1,000 worth of tuition reimbursement per year.

ckc6977

32 Posts

My Nursing School actually advertised the tuition reimbursement as an agreement to work for 1 of 3 local area hospitals over a 3-year span. My tuition was $4,875 x4 = 19,500. The alliance between my school and the hospital agreed to pay me $7,500 over 3 years = 22,500. So far, I've collected (1) check and received approximately $4,000 after taxes, etc.

GL in your search!!

Tweety, BSN, RN

34,248 Posts

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

That state of Florida has a loan forgiveness program that pays up to $4000/year off for you, but you have to work at specific facilities that have a need. Fortunately my employer is one of them.

When I applied for loan forgiveness I found the infomration initially by googling "Loan forgiveness in Florida" or something like that. Many other states do the same. http://www.nslfp.com/index.htm

My employer also pays $2200/year for nursing school. It also has an "earn as you learn" that pays for nursing school 100% as you work 20 hours a week and work for us when you graduate.

Specializes in Acute care, Community Med, SANE, ASC.

I've worked for two of the major hospital systems in my area and both offer tuition reimbursement up to about $3000-3500 depending on whether you are full-time or part-time. One of the systems paid you the tuition amount at the beginning of the quarter and you had to have a C or better by the end of the quarter or you were expected to pay them back. They also had a 1-year commitment to work for them upon graduation, which I did not do so I had to pay back a prorated portion of the reimbursement they had paid over the prior 12 months.

My current employer pays you back at the end of the quarter and I'm sure there is a passing grade requirement as well as a requirement to work for them for a year or two.

The first employer also offered an outstanding scholarship program for 10 lucky recipients each year. This program paid you full-time wages and paid for your schooling and you only had to work 8 hours a week while in school full-time. This scholarship had a 2-year work commitment upon graduation. What a sweet deal--I'm sorry to say I didn't get that scholarship.

laurenw

3 Posts

It's true, tuition reimbursement programs vary greatly by hospital. As a financial counselor, I get this question all the time. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing has a pretty decent list of hospitals who at least SAY they're offering it, and students (and potential nurses) should call to see what exactly they're offering.

http://www.aacn.nche.edu/PNN/network.htm (They call it the Professional Nursing Network). It also lists hospitals that offer scholarships, mentorship programs, etc.

There is also a list of hospitals offering good programs at: http://www.freemoneyfornursingschool.com/2007/11/ten-hospitals-o.html.

MNmom3boys

169 Posts

Specializes in orthopedics, ED observation.
There are so many rumors that go around about pay and benefits... I'm just trying to figure out truth from fiction. I have finally finished my pre-req courses. YAY!!! Now I have to figure out what I can afford and where to apply. I have heard that some jobs will pay off your student loans or reimburse you for what you have spent. Something makes me think there is more to it than that. If it is true that means that I can go to the private college that costs $35,000 a year and the hospital is gonna write me a check for $70,000 to reimburse the last two years??? How can this be fair? If any of you know what the normal caps are for tuition reimbursement.... that would be great, I know every hospital is different I'm just lookin to get a rough estimate.

I seem to be reading your post differently than everyone else, so forgive me if I am off the mark here. You appear ready to start a nursing program and are currently not employed by an medical facility - correct?

From what I have seen - looking at benefit packages of hospitals here in the Twin Cities - you can get tuition reimbursement if you are currently employed by a given facility while going to school. Some facilities offer student loan payback options when you are hired, but they must be student loans. (not credit cards debt, etc.) I'm sure this varies widely from area to area and facility to facility.

HTH - and didn't add to your confusion... ;)

ETA - bene packet I have in front of me: $3,300 - $3,700 per year for tuition reimbursement depending on # of hrs worked and degree being sought. Up to $1500 per year of that amount may be used for "educational loan repayment"

laurenw

3 Posts

My impression is that some of the programs will actually give scholarships/ tuition incentives in exchange for work commitments. Students need not necessarily be employed during their studies, but will have to commit to working at the hospital after graduation. Current employees may be eligible for things like tuition reimbursement for further education, loan repayment, and payment of continuing education.

Again, tuition reimbursement/scholarship/ incentive programs vary by hospital/ healthcare system, so it's good to call ALL of them in your area and see what they can do.

ckc6977

32 Posts

I hope my reply was clear. I was a nursing school student and our parent hospital agreed to pay me back. My school tuition was ~20,000. The hospital will pay me ~21,000 over a 3 year contract that I have agreed to work for them in exchange for them paying my school's tuition.

centralflorida

92 Posts

Does anyone know if hospitals offer tuition reimbursement for nursing school for CNA's that they employ?

For instance, Florida Hospital in Orlando seems to have a program that pays part of nursing school tuition at Florida Hospital College for employees who have worked at their hospital for three months or more, but I'm not sure if that includes CNAs or not.

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