ASU’s InStride is latest entrant to the $20 billion tuition benefits market, a potential growth area as employers mull alternatives to the traditional college degree and whether to pay for customized online credentials for their workers.
A new spin-off from Arizona State University, dubbed InStride, is seeking to tap in to some of the estimated $20 billion that companies spend each year on tuition benefits for their employees.
The company isn’t the first major entrant into the space, however, which may shift as employers question the role of the traditional college degree in hiring.
Building off the high-profile partnership between Arizona State and Starbucks, InStride will help large companies manage tuition benefit programs while offering their employees online credentials and courses from ASU Online and a developing group of other universities; the first announced partner is the University of New South Wales, in Sydney, Australia.
With global ambitions, InStride’s primary focus is the 37 million Americans who have earned some college credits but no degree.