Help me access my education at my job.

August 21, 2017 8:17 PM

I work in the financial field. The last time I submitted a request for an education grant that I am entitled to per our employee hand book, it was declined; citing my area of study basically had nothing to do with the company and could in no way benefit them. I want to take another go at it but how do I...

...Convince them that what I am studying will be beneficial to them. No where in our employee handbook does it say our educational pursuits has to in some way shape or form be the same subject area as our job to qualify for the grant. Albeit it is needless to say, I still think it not being explicitly stated in the handbook presents a basis for argument. Previously I pursued Youth Development Work and for the umpteenth time I've changed my degree. I've decided to pursue Psychology, so how do I convince my boss that a degree in psychology is just as useful to the organisation as an accounting degree? Does it not being explicitly stated in the handbook even matter?

posted by Whatifyoufly to Work & Money (5 answers total)

The fact that "it should benefit the organization" is I think pretty much an understood - and typically explicitly stated - condition of any tuition assistance or other education funding program.

Either present to them a program of study that offers them what they need and you what you want, or foot this bill yourself. Organisational psychology is, after all, a thing.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 8:21 PM on August 21, 2017 [3 favorites]

The connection between psychology and finance might be tough (outside of what Emperor suggested) - but could you argue that some of your coursework (such as statistics) could be beneficial and related?
posted by Toddles at 8:53 PM on August 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

I've decided to pursue Psychology, so how do I convince my boss that a degree in psychology is just as useful to the organisation as an accounting degree?
Realistically, you probably have to convince the boss that it's useful to your department or business unit, not just the organisation as a while. Most places I've worked will track these kinds of grants by work area. Even if you could convince them that a psychology degree would be useful if you worked in (say) the HR department, your boss would probably prefer to allocate the funds to someone who is going to directly benefit their team.
posted by une_heure_pleine at 8:56 PM on August 21, 2017

It would depend on what you do, but I find that a bit of a stretch. You could go for organisational psychology and say you would like to focus on change management, but it's actually an entirely different study field.

As noted above, there are generally quite finite funds for this sort of grant.

eligible for is not the same as entitled to-- not sure what your handbook actually says.
posted by frumiousb at 1:10 AM on August 22, 2017 [1 favorite]

Realistically, you probably have to convince the boss that it's useful to your department or business unit, not just the organisation as a while.

I'm not sure if that's true, actually, but to the business as a whole is probably necessary. I worked at a company where an executive assistant got a graphic design degree, because she was a good worker and the company wanted to keep her, and graphic design was what she wanted to study AND something that would be useful somewhere in the company. So she was the assistant for the editing department at a publisher, but ended up in the graphic design department and the money was well spent. At the same company, though, they did not pay for the classes of a friend who was studying to be a teacher.

But if you work for a financial institution, it's not likely. Possibly if you specifically study organizational psychology or some kind of business-focused area. But I do think that most corporations that provide tuition support offer it to advance your career there.
posted by gideonfrog at 5:57 AM on August 22, 2017