On-Site Colleges Offer Employees Convenience, Tuition-Assistance Growth Opportunities BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Aug. 6
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Aug. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless customer
service representatives who want to further their education don't have to fill
up gas tanks to get to class across town. They just walk down the hall or
across their corporate campus at the end of their work day to attend college
classes at one of nine on-site universities.
Customer service representatives and all other Verizon Wireless employees
who work near call center locations are eligible to participate in the
company's tuition-assisted, on-site college degree programs where they can
earn associate, bachelor or master's degrees. All classes are taught by
professors or faculty hired by a local participating, accredited university.
Since Verizon Wireless first introduced its tuition assistance program in
January 2001 and on-site education programs in September 2005, more than 900
customer service representatives have received their degrees. Many who
completed degree programs have been promoted or made lateral moves to other
departments to advance their careers within Verizon Wireless, opening up new
career opportunities.
"If my experience with tuition assistance and on-site classes could be
described with one word, it would be 'blessing'," said Julio Donado, customer
service tech support representative at Verizon Wireless' Elgin, Ill., Call
Center and a recent MBA graduate. "The affordability and convenience simply
cannot be matched. How great is it to finish work at 5:30 p.m. and then
simply go downstairs and start class at 6:00 p.m.? It is time-saving,
fuel-efficient, and in general helped me succeed with my education. I was
ready to pay -- or go in to debt for -- $24,000 a year for 2 years, but thanks
to Verizon Wireless I don't have any education-related debt."
"Our on-site 'stay-ducation' programs are yet another demonstration of
Verizon Wireless' commitment to our talented, goal-oriented,
performance-driven employees," said Lou Tedrick, vice president of workforce
development for Verizon Wireless. "We're a great place to work for a lot of
reasons and our growing on-site campus program coupled with our generous
tuition assistance is one of them."
"These programs are not only good for employees, they are also good for
the business," said Ms. Tedrick. Retention rates among employees who
participated in Verizon Wireless' tuition assistance program were more than
double those of the overall workforce, an important factor in reducing the
cost of hiring replacements when experienced employees leave.
Verizon Wireless currently offers on-site programs at nine call centers in
Rancho Cordova, Calif.; Tampa, Fla.; Ashford Dunwoody and Alpharetta, Ga.;
Elgin, Ill.; Dublin, Ohio; Cranberry Woods, Pa.; Murfreesboro, Tenn.; and Salt
Lake City, Utah -- as well as at five other company offices in New York and
New Jersey. Verizon Wireless plans to introduce four more on-site programs at
call centers in Chandler, Ariz.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Greenville, S.C.; and
Bellevue, Wash. this year, and at 14 additional call center locations around
the country by 2010.
Universities partnering with Verizon Wireless include American River
Community College, Benedictine University, Bethel College, Centenary College,
Devry University, Elgin Community College, Fairleigh Dickinson University,
National Louis University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Pima Community
College -- ITCAP, Raritan Valley Community College, Salt Lake Community
College, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Strayer University. For a
complete list of current and new programs starting this September, see list
below.
Verizon Wireless provides employees with the training, resources and
educational development opportunities they need to provide customers the
nation's best wireless network, customer service and sales experience and
invests in programs that help employees grow professionally. Verizon Wireless
offers tuition assistance, in which employees receive the company's
contribution right upfront, requiring no initial cash outlay from the student.
Many companies offer tuition reimbursement, which requires an initial employee
cash outlay. In addition, Verizon Wireless' tuition support of up to
$8,000.00 per year is above the industry average. Most companies cap annual
tuition reimbursement at $5,250.00 or less for tax purposes.
Verizon Wireless has an impressive 18 percent participation rate in its
tuition assistance program. Nearly half of the participants are call center
employees, although the benefit is available to all full-time and part-time
employees in all departments throughout the company beginning from their first
day on the job.
Consistently ranked as one of the best places to work in the United
States, Verizon Wireless has been named one of Working Mother magazine's "100
Best Companies for Working Mothers" for seven years in a row and has been
named by Health Magazine as one of 10 U.S. employers to best help women
balance their professional and personal responsibilities. For the past seven
years, Verizon Wireless has been named one of the nation's top 125 companies
by Training magazine for its continued commitment to employee development and
for connecting its training programs to business objectives.
For more information about Verizon Wireless, visit
www.verizonwireless.com.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and
data network, serving 68.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge,
N.J., with 70,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of
Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more
information, go to: www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-
quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless
operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at
www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
Current On-Site Programs:
Rancho Cordova, Calif., Call Center
Associates Degree Program (Strayer University & American River Community
College)
Bachelor's Degree Completion Program (Strayer University)
Tampa, Fla., Call Center
Bachelor's Program (Devry University)
Alpharetta, Ga., Call Center
Bachelor's Degree Completion Program (Devry University)
MBA Program (Strayer University)
Ashford Dunwoody, Ga., Call Center
Bachelor's Degree Completion Program (Devry University)
MBA Program (Strayer University)
Elgin, Ill., Call Center
Desktop Skills (Elgin Community College)
Associates Degree Program (Benedictine University)
MBA Program (Benedictine University)
Bachelor's Degree Program (National Louis University)
Dublin, Ohio, Call Center
Desktop Skills (Devry University)
Bachelor's Degree Program (Devry University)
MBA Program (Devry University)
Cranberry Woods, Pa., Call Center
Desktop Skills (Devry University)
Bachelor's Program (Devry University)
MBA Program (Devry University)
Murfreesboro, Tenn., Call Center
Desktop Skills (Bethel College)
Bachelor's Degree Completion Program (Strayer University)
MBA Program (Strayer University)
Salt Lake City, Utah, Call Center
Associates Degree Program (Strayer University & Salt Lake Community
College)
Bachelor's Degree Completion Program (Strayer University)
MBA Program (Strayer University)
Conversational Workplace Spanish (Salt Lake Community College)
Non-Call Center Locations:
Basking Ridge, N.J., Office
EMBA Program (Fairleigh Dickinson University)
Bedminster, N.J., Office
Certificate Program in Telecommunications Management (New Jersey Institute
of Technology)
Morristown, N.J., Office
MBA Program (Centenary College)
Conversational Workplace Spanish (Raritan Valley Community College)
Warren, N.J., Office
Master's Program in Information Science (Stevens Institute of Technology)
MBA Program (Stevens Institute of Technology)
Orangeburg, N.Y., Office
Master's Program in Information Science (Stevens Institute of Technology)
MBA Program (Stevens Institute of Technology)
On-Site Programs Launching in Fall 2008:
Rancho Cordova, Calif., Call Center
MBA Program (Strayer University)
Bellevue, Wash., Call Center
AA Degree Program (Strayer University and Bellevue Community College)
Bachelor's Degree Completion Program (Strayer University)
MBA Program (Strayer University)
Additional programs at three locations will also launch before the end of
the year. The programs and school partners will be announced once they are
available.
SOURCE Verizon Wireless
