Pairing Tuition Discounts with Your TRS for Greater Impact

As competition for talent continues to intensify—especially across healthcare, higher education, and K–12 systems—employers are seeking new ways to make education benefits both more valuable and more cost-effective.

Traditional tuition reimbursement programs (TRPs) remain a foundational offering, but many organizations are now realizing they can multiply the impact of their investment by pairing tuition reimbursement with tuition discounts—either through partner universities or discount platforms that aggregate savings across multiple institutions.

This dual-benefit strategy helps employers deliver greater value without increasing spend, while employees experience faster access to affordable education that supports career growth and organizational advancement.

A 2024 Lumina Foundation survey found that nearly 60% of working adults considering further education said that a discounted tuition rate through their employer would directly influence their decision to enroll. In other words, affordability—and simplicity—are what move the needle.

Key Takeaways

• Combining tuition discounts with tuition reimbursement programs (TRPs) maximizes the impact of your education benefits without increasing budget.
• Average tuition discounts of 10–25% help extend the $5,250 tax-free tuition reimbursement limit and reduce employee out-of-pocket costs.
• Employers can scale access through university partnerships or automated tuition discount platforms integrated with their Tuition Reimbursement System (TRS).
• A unified, automated TRS platform streamlines tuition reimbursement, cutting administrative time by up to 70% and improving compliance.
• Organizations like CommonSpirit Health and Baylor Scott & White Health report higher employee engagement, retention, and ROI by pairing tuition discounts with TRS automation.
• This integrated approach delivers a cost-efficient, equitable, and scalable education benefit that supports workforce growth and talent retention.

The Value Equation: Discount + Reimbursement

Combining tuition discounts with reimbursement achieves two important goals:

1. It lowers financial barriers for employees.
2. It extends the employer’s benefit budget further.

Let’s illustrate how this plays out.

Suppose an organization offers $5,250 in annual tuition reimbursement (the IRS tax-free limit) and partners with a tuition discount platform or a university network offering 10% to 25% discounts.

An employee enrolling in a $10,000 program with a 20% discount would pay $8,000. Their reimbursement covers nearly all of it—leaving funds to spare for books or certifications. The same employer budget suddenly stretches further, serving more employees and yielding greater workforce impact.

Data Snapshot:

• Average graduate tuition per credit hour in the U.S. (2025): $515
• Average annual tuition inflation rate (past 5 years): 3.2%
• Average discount negotiated through tuition platforms or university partnerships: 14%–20%

In short, tuition discounts act as a built-in inflation buffer, allowing your reimbursement dollars to retain their purchasing power while strengthening recruitment and retention outcomes.

Expanding Access Through Two Paths

Employers typically pursue one of two approaches—or a hybrid of both—to deliver tuition discounts efficiently and equitably.

1. Direct Partnerships with Universities

Many employers negotiate tuition discounts directly with select institutions. These partnerships often work best when aligned with internal workforce goals—such as nursing advancement, educational leadership, or administrative development.

Advantages:

• Programs can be customized around workforce needs.
• May include added perks like credit for prior learning or deferred billing.
• Reinforces long-term relationships between employer and school.

However, these agreements often require ongoing management and may not scale easily across locations or diverse employee needs.

2. Tuition Discount Platforms

Tuition discount platforms—like PeopleJoy’s Education Access Tool—simplify the process by providing employees with instant access to pre-negotiated tuition discounts at hundreds of accredited institutions.

Instead of managing multiple university contracts, employers gain a single point of entry that integrates with their Tuition Reimbursement System (TRS). Employees can browse programs, apply discounts automatically, and submit reimbursement requests seamlessly.

Advantages:

• Scalable access to national and regional institutions
• Discounts typically range from 10%–25% across degree and certification programs
• Instant verification of eligibility and enrollment for faster reimbursement
• Reduces administrative complexity and compliance risk

For HR and finance teams, this approach delivers efficiency, equity, and ease of use, ensuring that every employee—regardless of location—can benefit from discounted tuition opportunities.

Building a Seamless Experience

Whether employers use a platform, direct partnerships, or both, success depends on integration—making tuition discounts and reimbursement feel like a single, unified benefit.

A disconnected experience (where employees must hunt for eligible schools or manually calculate discounts) discourages participation. But when discounts and reimbursements are embedded into one workflow, engagement rises dramatically.

Modern TRS solutions make this possible through:

• API integrations that sync with tuition discount databases and HRIS systems
• Automated discount application before reimbursement submission
• Real-time eligibility verification and documentation tracking

For example, when a nurse enrolls in a discounted master’s program through an education access platform, the TRS can automatically apply the discounted tuition rate, pre-fill reimbursement data, and process approval—all without manual intervention.

This automation cuts administrative time by up to 70%, while improving employee satisfaction and compliance transparency.

Case in Point: Education Access in Action

Several forward-thinking organizations have already adopted hybrid approaches to combine tuition discounts and reimbursement:

• CommonSpirit Health partnered with a tuition discount platform to make more than 100 accredited degree programs available to nurses and clinical staff at discounted rates, integrating the discounts into their reimbursement workflow.
• The University of Dayton and regional school systems collaborated to offer discounted master’s programs for educators, resulting in a 42% increase in participation within one year.

• Baylor Scott & White Health introduced an education access platform connecting employees to a network of discounted healthcare and leadership programs. By integrating these discounts with their tuition reimbursement system, the organization improved participation among frontline staff and reduced time-to-approval for reimbursements by more than 60%.

Each of these organizations saw measurable improvements in employee engagement, retention, and advancement—proof that tuition discount access, when paired with TRS automation, multiplies value.

Compliance and Cost Efficiency

Pairing tuition discounts with reimbursement also helps employers maintain compliance under Section 127 of the IRS tax code, particularly as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) introduces inflation-adjusted reimbursement caps beginning in 2027.

By integrating a discount platform with their TRS, employers can automatically track tuition rates, confirm discount eligibility, and align payments with the updated $5,250+ tax-free benefit ceiling.

This streamlined data flow minimizes reporting risk while making it easier for HR and finance leaders to demonstrate cost savings and ROI from their education benefit investments.

Building the Future of Education Benefits

Tuition reimbursement has long been a proven driver of retention and career mobility. But in today’s economic climate, pairing it with tuition discount access—through platforms or university partnerships—is how forward-thinking employers amplify impact without increasing budgets.

This integrated model offers the best of both worlds: a cost-efficient, equitable benefit for employees and a scalable, data-driven tool for HR and finance leaders.

When designed strategically, it turns education assistance from a transactional perk into a transformative investment in workforce growth.

Stay compliant with recent policy updates — review Part 3: How the One Big Beautiful Bill Will Reshape Tuition Reimbursement.

Before choosing a provider, see what really matters in Part 5: What to Look for in a TRS Partner.