Starbucks, ASU Join Forces to Help Employees Graduate - Analyst Blog

Seattle-based Starbucks Corporation SBUX in a statement on Sunday announced an online college education program for its U.S. employees in collaboration with Arizona State University (ASU).

Under the program, christened “Starbucks College Achievement Plan”, eligible Starbucks employees will get an opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree from ASU with full tuition reimbursement.

The Starbucks College Achievement Plan will be officially announced by Starbucks chairman, president and chief operating officer Howard Schultz at the first-ever Partner Family Forum in New York on Jun 16.

The program is open for all Starbucks workers — part-time and full-time — clocking an average of 20 hours per week at any of the company-operated stores, including Teavana, La Boulange, Evolution Fresh and Seattle's Best Coffee stores. Starbucks employs 135,000 part-time and full-time employees in the U.S.

Workers enrolled at the university as juniors or seniors will earn full tuition reimbursement for each semester of full-time course work, while freshmen and sophomores can avail a partial tuition scholarship.

Starbucks employees can opt for any undergraduate degree program offered at ASU ranging from retail management to electrical engineering without any obligation to continue working at Starbucks after graduation.

Starbucks did not comment of how much it intends to spend on the program which will help more U.S. students finish school who failed to complete their degrees due to mounting debt.

Other Stocks to Consider

Starbucks carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked restaurateurs include Burger King Worldwide, Inc. BKW, Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. BWLD and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. RRGB. While Buffalo Wild Wings sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Burger King and Red Robin carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).