Disneyland employees may soon have to pay thousands of dollars a year for a free college education program the Anaheim theme park dangled as a job perk to prospective hires.
Disneyland has announced plans to update the Disney Aspire educational assistance program that will introduce funding caps on tuition reimbursement and eliminate graduate studies and trades programs.
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Previously, the Disney Aspire program covered 100% of tuition, fees and books at network schools for full-time and part-time hourly Disneyland employees.
Disney continues to evolve the Aspire program to meet the needs of its business and cast members, according to a Disney spokesperson.
The Disney Aspire program will continue to offer access to undergraduate degrees, high school equivalency diplomas and English language learning classes. Disney also offers its employees a variety of hands-on training and career development opportunities.
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Disneyland will fully fund the education of employees in the Aspire program through Nov. 27 and then cap tuition reimbursement at $5,250 per year.
Disneyland employees currently enrolled in masters and trades programs can continue with their studies — but new students won’t be able to enroll in the programs.
The IRS lets employers deduct $5,250 annually per employee as a business expense for educational assistance programs without owing any federal payroll taxes. Any employee assistance above that is taxable as wages.
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The funding cuts mean employees will need to manage their course loads to match the funding caps, cut back on the number of classes per semester or pay for uncovered tuition.
Disneyland employees who exceed their annual funding cap will be responsible for paying the uncovered out-of-pocket fees and will be billed directly by their individual university.
Disneyland has used the promise of fully paid associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees as a hiring incentive for new cast members, Disney parlance for employees.
Since the program began in 2018, thousands of Disney cast members have enrolled in Aspire network schools that include online programs at California State University Fullerton, Fullerton College, University of Arizona, University of Florida and University of Central Florida. Disneyland currently has 20,000 employees enrolled in the Aspire program.
Disneyland and its largest union group agreed in July to a historic 31% pay hike for employees that will increase the hourly rate from the current $19.90 to $24 in 2024 and $26 in 2026.
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