Why Springboard Has Students’ Backs with Their Tuition-Refund Guarantee

Enrolling in a bootcamp at Springboard is a big step, especially for those making a career change into tech. To ease the worry that comes with this investment, Springboard offers a tuition-refund guarantee, making sure their students' hard work won't go unnoticed. This guarantee promises that if students meet the set criteria, they'll get a full refund if they don't land a job after graduating the bootcamp. Kyle Skahill of Springboard dives into the details of the tuition-refund guarantee, explaining how it works, who qualifies, and how it affects students' success.

Why has it been important that Springboard offers students a tuition-refund guarantee? 

Ultimately, joining Springboard is a large investment of time, energy, and money. Students are taking a leap of faith to try and better their professional situation, and they are looking for any assurance that the decision they are making is a good and safe one. 

Springboard’s tuition-refund guarantee is important because it allows people to rest assured that if they meet the criteria, put in the work, and apply to jobs in earnest, we are willing to put the money where our mouth is in terms of delivering results. You’ve come to us to transform your career. If you check the boxes and do everything we asked but don’t get a job, you deserve the peace of mind to know that you can get that money back.

At a high-level, what is the tuition-refund guarantee at Springboard? 

People want to know that they will get what they are paying for. Springboard offers a top notch course teaching job-ready skills that hiring managers want to see. Our promise is that successful completion of this program will lead to a successful transition into their chosen field, if they put in the necessary work. If they meet the criteria and do everything we asked, but don’t get a job, they can qualify for a full reimbursement of their tuition paid. 

“The tuition refund guarantee at Springboard was definitely a deciding factor for me — essentially, if you don't have a job after six months, you get your money back. It gave me confidence in the program as well as the incentive to pull my weight to be successful.” Kevin, Springboard Software Engineering Career Track graduate

How does a student qualify for the tuition-refund guarantee? 

Each course’s tuition-reimbursement guarantee does have certain qualification criteria. The criteria varies based on the professional background expectations to get hired in that industry. For example, in software engineering you do not need a bachelor’s degree to get hired, so we do not require one for the guarantee. On the other hand, we have found that UI/UX Design roles do generally require a bachelor’s degree, so that course guarantee requires a bachelor’s as well.

Is the guarantee that a graduate will get a job or a job offer?

The guarantee is that the graduate will receive a qualifying job offer. Our promise has been fulfilled even if the graduate does not accept the offer. Graduates are welcome to deny an offer and continue working with us to find the right job for them, however, they would no longer be eligible for the guarantee if they do not secure and accept another qualifying offer.

What are the job search requirements of the tuition-refund guarantee? 

Within the listed metro cities (ex: San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Austin), there is a 6-month post-completion window where graduates work 1:1 on a bi-weekly basis with their career coach on their personalized job strategy. Keep in mind that each of our courses have different metropolitan cities that fall under the program, so it will be important to ask your admissions advisor for more information. 

Outside the listed metro cities, there is a 9-month post-completion window. Graduates must submit 10 applications and 10 networking outreach emails per week. Graduates should also be prepared to conduct four informational interviews per month. We ask that graduates attend two career coaching calls biweekly, and attend two skill development calls per month.

“Springboard takes their job guarantee very seriously! Career services are built into the curriculum, so after each technical chapter there was a job chapter on networking and conducting informational interviews. I liked the break in the format.” Gabrielle, Springboard Cybersecurity Career Track graduate

Does the tuition-refund guarantee mean that students need to apply only for full-time positions or does it also cover part-time, contract, and apprenticeship tech roles?

Here at Springboard, we allow the students to determine which jobs they apply to. The vast majority of folks in our programs are aiming for a full-time tech role, so they can simply apply only to full-time roles. 

Are there graduation requirements that need to be met by students in order to be eligible for the tuition-refund guarantee?

Yes, students must complete all coursework, meetings and projects. After the program there is also a minimum threshold of job search activity that must be met as well.

“Compared to other programs, the structure of Springboard and the career prep aspect caught my eye. Springboard offers a money-back guarantee if you don't land a job within a certain amount of time, too! Other bootcamps didn't offer that job guarantee; the money-back guarantee made me believe that Springboard has a lot of faith in their program.” Bismar, Springboard Cybersecurity Career Track graduate

What is the difference between the tuition-refund guarantee and an Income Share Agreement? Theoretically, do they make the same promise to a student – that you don’t pay tuition unless you get a job?

A tuition refund guarantee ensures that if you do everything that is asked of you and still do not land the job, you will be refunded the money you paid. 

For students who may be struggling with their bootcamp track, are they able to repeat any sections and still be eligible for the tuition-refund guarantee?

Yes, students have full access to the entire curriculum during the course. They also have access to the course upon completion. If you finish a section, but want to return to it to review the content, that is totally fine!

Overall, what kind of ROI can Springboard students expect? What job titles and starting salaries do Springboard graduates typically land after bootcamp?

Your ROI may vary. We support both upskillers (those already in the field) and reskillers (those making career pivots) so there is a wide range of what is possible. Generally speaking, it is more cost effective to go with one of our courses than a typical second degree, thus producing a higher ROI. In addition, it depends on if you're looking for a role that typically pays well versus one that does not. 

Our courses have a variety of roles students are searching for after, based on their previous or transferable experience. They include business/financial analyst, data scientist, data engineer, compliance analyst, junior developer, quality assurance engineer, UX designer, product designer, SOC Analyst. For an entry-level role, we anticipate $50K-$60K for someone making a pivot. For a mid-level or experienced professional, we can anticipate somewhere between $75K-$100K. Students will work with their coach during salary negotiations as needed, and we also help students learn how to negotiate for additional non-salary compensation (bonuses, moving expenses, hybrid opportunities, etc) that could be valuable if the salary cannot be further pushed.

“[The tuition refund guarantee] was important in the sense that it gave me confidence in Springboard. I felt sure that I could find a job in Atlanta because of both the booming tech job market and the effort I knew I would commit to finding one. Springboard’s job guarantee also put my family at ease.” J. Michael, Springboard Software Engineering Career Track graduate

Does Springboard offer any free resources for those considering applying to the bootcamp?

Yes! We have a bunch of content on our blog, including free mini-courses and industry guides. Once enrolled, students also get pre-work to complete in preparation for the cohort start.

Find out more and read Springboard reviews on Course Report. This article was produced by the Course Report team in partnership with Springboard.