August 20, 2019
By Matt Smith
With a year in the books, Live Better U is redefining what affordable college means for thousands of Walmart associates. Since August 2018, its 6,000-plus students have earned a total of $17.5 million in college credits while only paying a little over $500,000.
The benefit has been so successful that Walmart and Guild Education announced in June that the program is expanding its degree programs and adding support for associates still in high school.
Giving high schoolers a head start is important, because the first year of college can be a “make it or break it” experience. In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, roughly 40% of students earning college credit don’t graduate. Now, consider that students who don’t graduate may still accumulate student debt, and it’s easy to see why completing a higher education can be a challenge.
Live Better U offers Walmart associates the opportunity to obtain a college degree for only $1 a day and also provides assistance for books and other fees.
The debt-free degree program is the principal reason Walmart was recently included on Fortune Magazine’s 2019 Change the World list – a dean’s list of companies working to tackle society’s unmet needs.
We put together a report card to show how successful freshman year has been for Live Better U. Take a look at why this program makes the honor roll:
