Work at at computer software firm of about 120 people. Interested to know what other companies provide in their tuition reimbursment programs to employees. How and how much do you cover?

employer offering to pay portion of graduate tuition, but on the condition that if i leave in less than a year following graduation, I would have to repay them back half of what was paid to date. Is this common? Fair? How do employers/employees reach a mutually beneficial, acceptable agreement?

We (a software development group) just got bought by a new parent company. They have a policy that you have to pay back any reimbursed training if you leave within TWO (2) years.

Folks in our group are outraged, and some are saying they will not go to training if asked. After all, who knows what conditions will be like two years from now? You may have to end up "buying yourself out" of a bad situation, which would only make it worse.

I think this policy is a huge mistake. This field requires contant innovation, and this policy will do nothing but repress it.

Thanks for the input. Does you company pay along the lines of grading ie. 100% for an A, 75% for a B 0 for a C or less or do they work off of a maximum? I am familiar with both but looking for which is more popular. A maximum of so much per year or per class works more in the companies favor- somewhat reducing costs.

Thanks.