Walmart Adds University of Arkansas to Free College Tuition Program
Credit: Image Credit: Bloomberg / Getty Images- Live Better U began with 12,000 participants. Over 104,000 have utilized the program.
- According to Walmart, employees have saved nearly a half-billion dollars in tuition costs since the program’s launch five years ago.
- The program also partners with three historically Black colleges and universities — Morehouse College, North Carolina A&T State University, and Spelman College.
Walmart and Sam’s Club employees looking for a path to college can now attend the University of Arkansas — one of 26 schools and educational programs where the cost of their tuition and books is covered. The program is also expanding to Canada.
Walmart announced May 25 it added the University of Arkansas as a partner school in its Live Better U (LBU) program. The Live Better U program covers 100% of tuition and books for Walmart and Sam’s Club full-time and part-time associates in stores, clubs, fulfillment centers, and distribution centers.
“The University of Arkansas is thrilled to partner with Walmart and Guild to provide associates in our home state and across the country access to transformational learning programs to help advance their careers,” Charles Robinson, chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, said in a Walmart press release.
According to Walmart, as of May 2023, associates have saved nearly a half-billion dollars in tuition since the program launched five years ago. Since 2019, the total number of participants has increased from 12,000 to 104,000 associates.
“Walmart has been a trailblazer for creating career opportunity, helping to set the bar for employers across the country,” said Rachel Romer, CEO and co-founder of Guild, Walmart’s education partner for LBU. “Over the past five years, our partnership has provided associates with life-changing access to education, skilling, and career mobility, helping to propel their personal and professional growth at Walmart.
“We’re inspired by the impact we’ve made together through Live Better U and all the potential the future holds.”
Walmart has partnered with 26 public, private, for-profit, and online colleges, three historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and other educational platforms. Associates can begin the program from their first day of work.
Live Better U’s Education Partners Include:
- Bellevue University — Nebraska private university
- EnGen — English-language education and training platform
- Johnson & Wales University — Private university in Rhode Island and North Carolina
- Louisiana State University — Louisiana public university
- Morehouse College — Georgia HBCU
- North Carolina A&T State University — North Carolina HBCU
- Pathstream — A career mobility platform
- Penn Foster — For-profit online high school and college
- Purdue University Global — Public online university
- Southern New Hampshire University — New Hampshire private university
- Spelman College — Georgia HBCU
- University of Arizona — Arizona public university
- University of Arkansas — Arkansas public university
- University of Denver — Colorado private university
- University of Massachusetts Global — Private online university
- Springboard — Online learning platform
- Smart Horizons — Online high school
- eCornell — Private online certificate programs by Cornell University
- Ivy Tech Community College — Indiana community college
- Oregon State University — Oregon public university
- Rio Salado College — Arizona community college
- Wilmington University — Delaware private university