Educational Support Program: Maximizing Employee Potential in the Public Sector

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

In an effort to address the growing demand for college educated public service employees, and the many challenges working adults face when returning to college to earn a degree, the County of Riverside Human Resources Educational Support Program (ESP) expanded university partnerships and developed onsite cohort degree programs serving 673 public service employees in a three year period. ESP provides services and resources to county employees designed to meet the challenges they face when returning to college while trying to balance work and family life. By partnering with local universities and developing onsite degree programs, ESP was able to provide large tuition reductions, a hybrid format (one night per week in person with an online component), accelerated degree programs without a quality reduction in education, and cohorts of County and local government colleagues. Over the last three years, the onsite degree programs assisted County of Riverside and local government employees earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in half the time of traditional university formats, while saving employees a minimum of $4,906,084.40 in college tuition costs.