Asking Your Employer for Financial Assistance

Because a W. P. Carey master's degree can pay immediate and long-term dividends for an organization, many companies have tuition reimbursement programs set in place. They see the benefits of forward-thinking employees who can use solutions from the classroom to solve real-world problems, and the value in helping those employees stay motivated to strengthen their skills and learn new ones. Check with your human resources representative to learn more about your employer’s policies.

W. P. Carey Master of Science in Information Management (MSIM) student Steve Westwood said he began by talking to his direct supervisor to seek his opinion on the value of the MSIM curriculum, and how it related to his work at SRP. “I wanted to keep my supervisor in the entire process to garner his support throughout the program and I wanted to use my newly gained knowledge to support our departmental goals and objectives in information management. I crafted an MSIM business need document that would highlight our department’s efforts to attain new knowledge, preserve institutional knowledge, contribute to IT projects and to support the SRP information management initiatives underway across the enterprise.”

Thanks in part to his employer’s assistance, the MSIM gave Steve the edge in leveraging SRP’s information assets to more efficiently complete research and projects.

Here are some key points to discuss when asking for financial assistance and support from your employer:

• With an advanced education, you are more capable in handling positions of higher responsibilities — saving your employer time and money
• Because we emphasize flexibility, several W. P. Carey master's degrees are offered in the evening or online
• You will gain a competitive advantage — bringing improved skills and knowledge to your job
• You will maintain productivity at work — it won’t interfere with your job
• You will learn on your own time, but bring valuable principles back to work the next day