Some Chick-fil-A employees are graduating from college free of debt due to a unique program.
Thanks to a partnership among three entities - independent Chick-fil-A operators, Point University and Ficus Education - 177 Chick-fil-A employees were able to graduate this year while working at locations across the country, restaurant industry website QSR reported.
Over 70 of the Chick-fil-A employees participated in a recent graduation ceremony at Point University, a private Christian institution in Georgia.
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In attendance were more than a dozen Chick-fil-A operators.
"This all began in 2023 with one operator's and one university's vision: to give his team the opportunity to earn a college degree without student debt," Doug Danowski, president of Ficus Education in Georgia, told Fox News Digital.
"That single decision sparked a movement."
The Ficus Education employer-sponsored partnership allows employees at independently operated Chick-fil-A restaurants to complete their degrees online through Point University without having to pay out-of-pocket tuition or take out student loans.
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"What started as one operator's desire to invest in his team has grown into a national movement: hundreds of degrees earned, over an estimated $11 million in student debt avoided and real business impact," Danowski said.
Select Chick-fil-A franchise operators pay their employees' tuition as an incentive to recruit and retain workers.
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"It's a partnership built around one question: How can we help operators recruit, develop and retain their people, and strengthen their restaurants?" Danowski said.
More than 500 independent Chick-fil-A operators have participated in the program since its inception, Danowski said.
Ficus Education hosted a hospitality suite for independent operators, their graduates and special guests immediately before the commencement ceremony.
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"Through Point [University] and through the partnership with Ficus [Education], we've been able to create this day when Chick-fil-A team members are going to walk across the stage and get their four-year degree or their master's degree, which is going to bring them forward in their careers," André Kennebrew, chair of the board of trustees at Point University and a former Chick-fil-A development program leader, told attendees in remarks shared with Fox News Digital.
The federal education debt now exceeds $1.6 trillion, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
As the Office of Federal Student Aid recently announced it has resumed collections of defaulted student loans, the 177 Chick-fil-A graduates collectively avoided more than $6 million in debt, according to QSR.
The program makes it possible for employees to progress in their careers at Chick-fil-A, some with dreams of opening their own franchise, "or go somewhere else and be a doctor or a lawyer or whatever," Kennebrew said.
"This is worth continuing," Kennebrew said of the program.
"This is worth growing."
