How common is it for employers to pay for BSN?

[SerenePeach]

Hi everyone,

Just a question - if you get an associate's degree, how common is it for your employer to pay for your schooling to receive your BSN? I know it will depend on the hospital/employer itself, but is it more common than not? Do employers typically pay all of it, or a portion of it? Do employers also pay for MSN degrees?

I've just noticed that a lot of people who already have bachelor's degrees go for their associates, and say that they chose to do so because it's cheaper and because they expect their future employer to pay the costs for BSN schooling.

[tokyoROSE, BSN, RN]

I believe it is quite common. I hear about it a lot in my clinical rotations -- one was a nursing home, the other a hospital. Seems like the only requirement was that you worked there for a certain amount of time, normally a year. In the nursing home, a nurse was telling us students that they pay up to x amount of money. I don't know about the MSN situation however.

[UVA Grad Nursing]

It will vary from hospital to hospital, and from region to region. I visit dozens of hospitals each year recruiting students for our RN-BSN and graduate programs. At most places in the past year, tuition support has been reduced or eliminated owing to budget cutbacks.

One hospital here in town lowered the benefit from $4000/year to $1000/year. Another hospital in town kept the $5000/year benefit, but is considering eliminating the benefit for graduate program support that leads to the nurse leaving the inpatient setting (like a FNP degree).