DOWNLOAD VIDEO Many Americans start college, but don’t finish. An estimated 35 million people have some college education but have not obtained a degree. There are many reasons: financial difficulty, lack of family support, confusion over complicated rules, etc. In an attempt to help more people finish college, Starbucks has announced a program designed to help company employees obtain a four-year degree free of tuition. Under the program, employees who work 20 hours a week can earn a college degree through online courses from Arizona State University. The plan is significant at a time when student debt totals $1.3 trillion and the average college graduate carries $30,000 in debt. Graduates of for-profit colleges can hold as much as $100,000 in debt. The financial burden takes a toll on individuals, making it harder for them to succeed, according to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. Advising and emotional support are important parts of the program. Participates have access to an enrollment counselor as well as financial aid and academic advisors. A connection to those advisors makes students feel like part of a community, student advisor Mario Matus said. The advisor system is designed to help students with the difficulty of finishing college, especially an online degree, from which students are more likely to withdraw. This is due in part to a conflict between colleges’ financial and research goals and the well-being of students, said Amanda Ripley, a reporter at The Atlantic. “Those things often are at odds actually with helping students finish efficiently and thrive in the modern economy,” she said. Colleges are really good at enrolling students, she said, but not as great at helping them graduate. Employing more highly-educated people is also beneficial to Starbucks, Schultz said. And ASU benefits from higher enrollment, according to Ripley. “I do think that, in this case, their business interest and their social justice interests are aligned,” she said.

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Warm up questions

1. Why is higher education important?


2. What are some ways people pay for college?


3. What are some reasons people drop out of college?

Critical thinking questions

1. What challenges might working part time while going to school create?


2. What long-term effects can student debt have on a person’s life?


3. Why do you think Starbucks CEO Schultz helped create this plan?