Tuition Reimbursement

In 2024, I led the end-to-end design of a tuition reimbursement solution that focused on creating a modern, guided workflow, making it easy for employees to access their full education benefit and for HR teams to manage requests efficiently. Today, Fortune 100 companies use this solution to boost benefit utilization, reduce administrative overhead, and invest in talent development with measurable ROI.

Despite being a valued benefit, tuition reimbursement is often underutilized due to a confusing, manual process that relies on PDFs, email threads, and spreadsheets. Employees struggle to navigate the steps required to access their $5,250 benefit, while HR teams face inefficiencies managing requests without a centralized system.

This creates a dual challenge: employees miss out on career development opportunities, and admins spend unnecessary time tracking, approving, and reporting on reimbursements. By replacing outdated workflows with a centralized, guided solution, we saw an opportunity to increase benefit utilization, reduce administrative overhead, and create a improved experience for both employees and HR teams.

• Increase in employee TR participation rates
• Reduction in admin approval turnaround time
• % of employees successfully accessing the full $5,250 benefit
• Decrease in support tickets related to TR confusion

Our solution centered on creating a unified, end-to-end digital experience that eliminates manual tasks, reduces errors, and delivers transparency at every stage of the process. The platform was designed to meet the needs of three key personas: employees submitting requests, managers approving eligibility, and administrators managing program operations.

Because this project involved multiple user groups, compliance considerations, and enterprise-level complexity, we followed a highly collaborative development process. Partnering closely with benefits teams and subject matter experts, we ensured the solution addressed specified pain points while remaining scalable across organizations.

• Discovery & research (HR/admin/SME interviews, journey mapping)
• Co-design sessions w/ pilot partners (incl. task analysis/mapping of program req’s)
• Iterative prototyping & testing with pilot partner panel
• Continuous quarterly rollout of add’l features/functionality

The following summarizes how we tackled key challenges uncovered during discovery, the design solutions we implemented, and the resulting impact:

The following summarizes how we tackled key challenges uncovered during discovery, the design solutions we implemented, and the resulting impact:

The redesigned workflow simplified a previously fragmented process into a clear, automated flow across three key personas — employees, managers, and benefits admins.

Manual PDF downloads and physical submission created friction and slowed access to funds.

A fully digital, end-to-end workflow — from program discovery and pre-approval through document upload and reimbursement tracking.

Decentralized tracking across spreadsheets limited visibility and increased administrative burden.

A centralized dashboard organizes requests, approvals, and payroll forecasting — reducing manual effort, expediting reimbursements, and improving policy management.

The launch of the new tuition reimbursement platform delivered measurable improvements for both employees and administrators, significantly reducing friction while increasing visibility, efficiency, and engagement across the program.

By reimagining the tuition reimbursement experience from the ground up, we achieved results that not only improved day-to-day operations but also demonstrated clear business value and employee impact.

• 100% decrease in denied submissions due to missing accreditation
• 2.5x faster review and approval times
• 100% visibility into policy requirements and request status
• $3,378 average annual tuition reimbursement per employee
• Significant reduction in admin time spent on data entry & approvals

As the platform continues to scale across enterprise organizations, we’re focused on expanding its capabilities to further streamline operations, deepen insights, and enhance the overall user experience. Upcoming roadmap initiatives include:

• Expanded automation across reviews: Intelligent pre-validation of employee self-reported data against supporting uploads and backend application rules.
• In-App Dispute Resolution: Built-in workflows for faster issue resolution and full audit transparency.
• Advanced Analytics: Enhanced dashboards for deeper insights, ROI tracking, and data-driven decisions.
• LMS Integration: Tighter syncing with learning platforms for streamlined data management.
• AI Course Recommendations: Personalized learning suggestions aligned with career paths and business goals.