University of Arizona was chosen to be an education partner for Amazon's Career Choice program, which would make hourly employees eligible for tuition assistance toward any UA Online undergraduate program.
According to a press release on the UA website, university employees would also be eligible for tuition assistance toward any online undergraduate program and a 10% discount on all undergraduate and graduate programs from UA.
"The University of Arizona Online is delighted to partner with our friends at Amazon to broaden employee access to quality online degree programs," Craig Wilson, UA vice provost for online and distance education, said in the press release. "We look forward to playing an active role in helping these students achieve their educational goals."
Kara Forney, UA’s executive director of corporate initiatives and business development, said the partnership will be beneficial for the community moving forward.
"This partnership with Amazon will benefit our students for decades to come," Forney said. "We are proud to see this investment from Amazon in their future."
Tammy Thiemann, global program lead of Amazon's Career Choice program, said personal and career growth are the keys to the program.
"We're looking forward to the University of Arizona coming on board as an education partner for Career Choice, adding to the hundreds of best-in-class offerings available to our employees," Thiemann said in the press release.
"We're committed to empowering our employees by providing them access to the education and training they need to grow their careers, whether that's with us or elsewhere. We have intentionally cultivated a partner network of third-party educators and employers committed to providing excellent education, job placement resources and continuous improvements to the experience.”
She added that the program previously worked well in other locations.
"Today, More than 80,000 Amazon employees around the world have already participated in Career Choice and we've seen firsthand how it can transform their lives," she said.