Chipotle Launches Debt-Free Degrees, Leading the Way in Fast-Casual Restaurant Employee Benefits

By Rachel Carlson, Guild Education CEO & Co-Founder

Today, Chipotle launched debt-free degrees for all eligible employees as part of the company’s continued investment and expansion of benefits for employees. This expansion of Chipotle’s Cultivate Education benefits program makes the company the first in the fast-casual restaurant industry to cover 100% tuition costs up front for their employees.

Chipotle will cover all tuition costs for degrees in business and technology from leading nonprofit, accredited universities in Guild’s network of universities and academic partners. This will give employees the opportunity to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the evolving 21st century job market. Enhancing Cultivate Education expands economic opportunity for thousands of Chipotle employees by making higher education more accessible, removing out-of-pocket costs and eliminating short or long-term debt, minimizing the financial complexity that often comes with going back to school, and providing students the support they need to achieve their professional and personal goals.

Over the years as we’ve worked with Chipotle, we’ve seen the positive impacts of their Cultivate Education benefits program first-hand — not only in the lives of their employees, but also in the strength of their workforce — including boosting the company’s recruitment efforts, improving employee retention, and increasing upward mobility through upskilling. The company has found that employees enrolled in the Cultivate Education benefits program are 2x more likely to be promoted within the company compared to their peers. Today’s announcement builds on other enhancements Chipotle has made to its education benefits for employees over the years — recently the company changed the eligibility requirement from one year of employment to 120 days, which doubled the number of employees that now have access to the benefit.

Known by thousands across the U.S. as an employer of choice and a leader in education benefits, Chipotle now joins the ranks of other innovative employers like Walmart, Disney, and Discover Financial in their commitment to debt-free degrees because of the measurable impact education has on expanding economic opportunity for employees and their families. We are thrilled to partner with Chipotle as the company embarks on this next chapter of Cultivate Education and as it continues leading the way with best-in-class employee benefits.