When Gary Stutts moved to Durham 25 years ago to work for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, he thought the Triangle's broad array of colleges and universities would make it easy to earn a college degree.

But the demands of working full time and raising two sons made him put aside going back to school for nearly two decades.

Then in 2001, Blue Cross started Blue University, which allows employees to earn associate, bachelor's or master's degrees without leaving the health insurer's campus. The benefit gives workers a convenient way to earn degrees and provides the company with a pool of employees it can promote to more senior positions.

"I never in my life thought I'd have an MBA," said Stutts, who had two associate degrees when he joined Blue Cross' IT staff. "I've personally gotten a heck of a lot out of it, and I wanted to make myself more valuable to the company so if the right opportunity came up, I could go for it."

Degree-granting programs have become increasingly common on corporate campuses as employers invest in higher education to improve productivity and help staffers balance their work and home lives.

Many companies have tried to accomplish the same goals through tuition reimbursements alone but providing on-site degree programs encourage more employees to participate, said Jeanne C. Meister, an author, management consultant and editor of the "New Learning Playbook" blog.

About 20 percent of the 3,000-plus companies with formal training programs -- known as corporate universities -- work with brick-and-mortar universities to offer on-site degree programs, she said.

The program has helped Blue Cross, which modeled its program on Meister's theories, keep and attract employees while helping to build its leadership ranks from within, said Blue University's director, Terry Johnson.

"We see it as an incredibly worthwhile investment," he said. "In the long run, it's much more efficient for us to build talent internally versus buying it" by hiring new employees.

The company declined to comment on its investment in the program. However, Blue Cross likely has spent millions on tuition for its 374 on-site students since 2001. The company reimburses up to $3,000 per year for undergraduates and up to $4,000 for graduate students.

In turn, about 25 percent of the degree program's 2007 graduates have shown lateral or upward job movement within a year of graduating, the company reports. Companywide, turnover was 16 percent in 2007, but turnover among 2007 Blue University graduates was about 9 percent.

Some companies require that employees remain with the firm for a certain period after receiving their degree -- Blue Cross does not. The insurer works with graduates to help them assess their strengths and identify ways to advance in their careers at Blue Cross, Johnson said.

It's a myth that employees are more likely to leave after getting an education on the company's dime, Meister said.

"Actually, as employees engage in more training, they have a higher level of engagement in their job," she said. "They realize the organization really cares for them and is doing everything they can to help them."

A success story

Just ask Linda Delcid. The 42-year-old Blue Cross rating specialist earned an associate degree on-site through Durham Technical Community College in August and expects to complete a bachelor's degree progress in human resource management at Mount Olive College in December.

"Being back in school has given me a deeper respect for my company," she said. "I understand a lot of my company's purpose, that they want me to be the best that I can be."

Next page >