Latinas Get Access to Tuition-Free College
through Walmart’s Innovative Program
By Christine Bolaños
The Pew Research Center reports that seven out of every 10 Latino high
school graduates are enrolling in college. It’s a record high that outpaces
the college enrollment rate of white and Black students. The dropout rate
for Latino college students has also drastically dropped from 28 percent in 2000
to 14 percent in 2011.
Even though these numbers are promising, Latino students, including
Latinas, are more likely to drop out of college because of financial or academic
barriers. In addition, the pandemic has also forced students to drop out of school
and take laborious jobs to help keep their families financially afloat.
But a globally recognized superstore came up with a transformative way to
help offset the cost of higher education and help its employees become more
competitive in the labor market, thereby filling the gap for so many Latinos and
other students who have been forced to drop out or have never had the
opportunity to pursue college.
Walmart announced in August it will pay 100 percent of college tuition and
books for its associates through the company’s Live Better U (LBU) education
program. A $1 a day fee for associates (frontline employees) participating in the
program was removed on August 16, making all education programs offered
through LBU available to them at no cost.
“The cool thing about our program is it’s available to you on day one of
employment. You get your vest, your badge and you get the opportunity to
enroll in college,” says Beth Williams-Moore, Director of Walmart’s Live Better U
“The cool thing about our
program is it’s available to
you on day one of
employment. You get your
vest, your badge and you get
the opportunity to
enroll in college.”
— Beth Williams-Moore,
Director of Walmart’s Live
Better U program.
program. “We’re able to provide college degrees, certificates, high school
completion, English as a Second Language/Language programs and a plethora
of opportunities to grow.”
28 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle V ol. 27, No. 5, 2021
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