Education & Student Loan Support

Supporting further education

Our education and student loan support benefits are designed to help you advance your career, build new skills, and manage the cost of education. This benefit is provided to you through EdAssist.

You have access to:

  • Coaching — Get help understanding policy and procedures, academic advising, navigating financial aid and scholarships and student loan coaching
  • Tuition Assistance — Courses as part of enrollment in a Degree Program
  • Tuition Assistance — Accredited Certificates
  • Student Loan Assistance — Monthly subsidy to reduce your loan debt
  • License and Certification Reimbursement — BCH internally managed program for eligible employees that have a license/certificate as required on their job description

Please note that not all job categories are eligible. Refer to specifics below or your benefits guidebook on the Resources & Contacts page for full details.

Before employees begin to use this program, EdAssist offers multiple coaching services in order to prepare for next steps with tuition reimbursement and student loan assistance programs. 

  • Academic Advisor — Provides advice and guides employees to programs that fit their career goals and learning format preferences while considering their budget.
  • Policy Coaching — Provides employees with information regarding the Hospital’s policies, procedures, and deadlines. Advisors ensure employees understand what is covered in this policy and ensure they are on the right track with the application process.
  • Financial Wellness Coaching — Provides support on saving and paying for education. Finance advisors help employees identify the best financing options for their education goals.
  • Student Loan Advisor (Coaching) — Provides guidance on college finance, public student loan forgiveness, student loan debt, and this policy. This helps employees ensure they are fully utilizing their student loan assistance benefit and provides additional resources that can be used to pay down education debt. Advisors also offer information on the latest legislation on Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), how to navigate the process, and how to determine if it will work for them.

Learn more about these programs below:

The Tuition portion of this benefit program covers education that counts towards an eligible degree program, as well as accredited certifications, as follows:

  • Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctorate degree
  • Pre-requisite courses related to a degree program and learning assessments and tests used to document knowledge for the purpose of granting credit toward an approved degree, along with fees for posting these credits are eligible for reimbursement (examples include PLA, CLEP, ACE, DANTES, and portfolio preparation)
  • Undergraduate Certificate or Graduate Certificate (accredited certificates)

College courses must be part of a degree program that is either job-related or related to another reasonably attainable position within the Hospital to be considered eligible for reimbursement.

This benefit provides two payment methods:

  1. Tuition Reimbursement — This standard reimbursement structure provides reimbursement after a course is completed with the passing grade per this policy.
  2. Direct Bill — This process allows you to avoid paying for tuition up front if your school participates in Direct Bill and must be coordinated within the first 30 days of the enrollment with the school and with EdAssist.

Eligible employees have access to this benefit after 90 days of service as follows:

  • Up to $5,250 for eligible employees regularly scheduled to work 30 or more hours per week
  • Up to $2,625 for eligible employees regularly scheduled to work 20 to 29.99 hours per week

Fellows, Joint Appointees, and House Staff are not eligible for tuition assistance.

Find additional resources for the Tuition Assistance program below:

A student loan repayment benefit is available after 90 days of service:

  • $200 per month for eligible employees regularly scheduled to work 30 or more hours per week
  • $100 per month for eligible employees regularly scheduled to work 20 to 29.99 hours per week

Find additional resources for the Student Loan Assistance program below:

Boston Children’s will reimburse employees regularly scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week for fees associated with obtaining and renewing licenses and certifications that are designated as being “required” within their job description. See the License and Certification Reimbursement page for more information.

Note: Associated Personnel, Joint Appointees, Non-Joint Appointees, per diem, and temporary employees are not eligible for reimbursement under this policy. Franciscan’s employees may contact Franciscan’s Human Resources team for more information.

Get Started with EdAssist

Follow these steps to register on the EdAssist website:

  1. Go to this web page: Bright Horizons/EdAssist
  2. Click on Education, Student Loan, or Financial Wellness Coaching
  3. Click “USE IT” to log in
  4. Input your work email to get started

Questions? Contact EdAssist

Live Chat – for immediate assistance Mon–Fri 8am–8pm EST. Select the “?” on your EdAssist portal page.
Support Ticket – for non-urgent questions, submit a ticket and a representative will respond within 2-3 days.
Phone assistance – (833) 693-4213, Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm EST