Starbucks, Magna Cum Grande

College degrees often have fancy names, take a long time to get, and cost more than they should. In other words, they’re already a lot like Starbucks coffee. So maybe it’s not surprising that the Seattle-based coffee chain says it plans to start helping employees pay for college. It’s a welcome development from both an educational and employment standpoint, even if Starbucks’s claims for the initiative are slightly exaggerated. In corporate PR, as in college grades, a little inflation is to be expected.

For employees working at least 20 hours a week, Starbucks will pay part of the tuition for the first two years of an online bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University. The idea is that with tuition support from Starbucks, Pell Grants and other federal aid, and financial assistance set up by the university, employees will be left to cover less than half the cost of a full-time education. Starbucks says students will have the entire cost—currently about $15,000 a year—covered for their final two years.