The issue and our proposed action plan

The recent change to the tuition assistance program at The Ohio State University has led to widespread concern among current students that are also Ohio State employees. On behalf of our fellow Ohio State employees currently enrolled in academic programs, we present to you this petition to uphold the original tuition assistance policy under which current students joined their respective programs. All employees hear of the benefits of furthering their education and careers by utilizing tuition assistance while employed at Ohio State through academic programs available at the University. These academic programs can take multiple years to complete while working at Ohio State. Changing the tuition assistance benefit for employees mid-program and post-graduation is deeply disappointing, especially given all the reasons to be proud of working at Ohio State. We hope you will sign in good faith.

Previously, the tuition assistance benefit was a major influencing factor that encouraged Ohio State employees to join academic programs to further their knowledge and careers. Some programs, like the Working Professional MBA program at the Fisher College of Business, can, at a minimum, take 2.5 years – eight total semesters – to complete. However, some employees may have started their program in 2019, when changes to tuition assistance were not even drafted. The Fisher College of Business, Talent Acquisition Staff in Ohio State Human Resources, and Ohio State staff have always promoted tuition assistance as a compelling benefit provided to employees at Ohio State to encourage enrollment in academic programs and classes. The recent changes in the tuition assistance benefit even affect employees who have graduated from an Ohio State program when the new tuition benefit plan starts in August 2025.

While new students beginning programs in August 2025 should follow the updated terms of tuition assistance benefits, we, the existing students of academic programs, believe we should not be subject to the changes because we are already committed to our program timeline. In our case, specifically as business students, we have learned that modifying an agreement mid-contract would be considered post-contractual opportunistic behavior. Ohio State is acting in its own self-interest to gain an advantage over student employees without considering how the tuition assistance changes should be approached for the best interests of all parties.

This petition, therefore, solely stands for the rights of the existing Ohio State employed students enrolled in academic programs and 2025 graduates – to uphold the original tuition assistance terms that we enrolled under and relieve us from the unintended consequences of the newly enforced tuition assistance benefit changes. 

We urge you to stand with us and sign our petition, demonstrating a clear mandate from the Ohio State student employee community. Let's strive for fairness and uphold the original terms of our tuition assistance benefit.