Investing in the Future: Panda Express's Commitment to Employee Education Through Tuition Reimbursement and Scholarships
Panda Express, a family-owned and operated company since 1983, recognizes the importance of investing in its employees' growth and development. Beyond serving up American Chinese cuisine, Panda Express demonstrates its commitment to the "whole person" through various benefits, including educational opportunities. These initiatives aim to support associates in their academic, professional, and personal lives. This article will delve into the specifics of the Panda Express tuition reimbursement program, the Panda Cares Scholars Program, and other related benefits.
Tuition Reimbursement at the University of La Verne
Panda Express has teamed up with the University of La Verne to encourage associates to enhance their academic, professional and personal lives through higher education. Eligible Panda Express employees can receive tuition awards for most La Verne programs. The coursework at the University of La Verne is intended to provide maximum convenience and flexibility for the busy adult learner. To learn more, associates can schedule an appointment with an Academic Recruiter.
Panda Express HR Benefits and Scholarships
Panda Express HR Benefits offers competitive scholarships of up to $2000 a year for associates. In addition to tuition assistance, Panda Express offers various perks and benefits to its employees. These include paid holidays, performance bonuses, and dental insurance, along with 10 other unique benefits in categories such as Health & Wellness and Office Perks. Panda's benefits package includes an annual learning fund and scholarship for eligible associates to help them grow personally and professionally, competitive hourly base rate, profit sharing bonuses stock options, employee perks, and a total rewards package that includes medical, dental, vision, 401(k) match and more.
Comprehensive Benefits Package
Panda believes in the 'Whole Person' approach which entails physical, mental, emotional, and well-being. To support this philosophy, Panda offers a comprehensive benefits package. Panda's benefits package includes an annual learning fund and scholarship for eligible associates to help them grow personally and professionally, competitive hourly base rate, profit sharing bonuses stock options, employee perks, and a total rewards package that includes medical, dental, vision, 401(k) match and more. We also host a Leave Share Program where associates can donate vacation hours into a pool to support fellow associates who are experiencing a loss of income due to health conditions, natural disasters, and other hardships.
While the company offers a range of benefits, employee reviews on platforms like Comparably suggest there's room for improvement. Employees at Panda Express rank their Perks and Benefits lower than most, ranking them in the Bottom 30% of all similar sized companies with 10,000+ Employees on Comparably.
Read also: The World of Kung Fu Panda
Panda Cares Scholars Program
Panda Express®, through its philanthropic arm Panda Cares Foundation and UNCF, announce the expansion of the Panda Cares Scholars Programs to provide more than 600 low-income students with scholarship assistance to cover the unmet costs of college tuition, fees and room and board. Panda Cares Scholars Program: provides up to three years of renewable annual scholarships up to $3,500, $5,000 and $7,000 to college sophomores, juniors and seniors, respectively.
The Panda Cares Scholars Program reflects Panda's belief that all youth deserve an opportunity to succeed, regardless of their family’s socioeconomic status. Giving educational resources to students from communities in which we operate allows us to continue to make a difference in the lives of underserved youth who need it the most,” states Dr. Peggy Cherng, co-chair and co-CEO, Panda Restaurant Group.
Beyond financial support, students eligible for renewable scholarships are also provided transformational leadership training and enrichment resources, including peer-to-peer learning, internship opportunities, webinars and additional online tools.
UNCF Partnership
Panda Restaurant Group collaborates with UNCF (United Negro College Fund) to administer the Panda Cares Scholars Program. UNCF is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. Since our initial collaboration with UNCF in 2018, we have empowered 400 students with practical tools and information to help navigate their first and second years of college. We applaud their successful matriculation to junior year and know their continued academic achievement will serve to inspire other students. Positive results and impact like this matter.
UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and programs, strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding nearly 20 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at more than 1,100 colleges and universities across the country.
Read also: Exploring Panda Express
Employee Perception of Benefits
Employees at Panda Express rank their Perks and Benefits lower than most, ranking them in the Bottom 30% of all similar sized companies with 10,000+ Employees on Comparably. African American/Black employees and employees with 3 to 6 Years experience at Panda Express rank their Perks and Benefits the highest, while Native American employees and the Business Development department rank the Perks and Benefits at Panda Express the lowest against other demographic groups at the company.
Read also: Comprehensive Owl Express Information
tags: #Panda #Express #tuition #reimbursement #program
