If you were counting on an employee benefit program to help pay college tuition for yourself or a child, it’s time to make an appointment with the human resources department and see how much longer that program will be intact.

The Detroit News reports today Colleges hurt as carmakers cut tuition aid.

A snippet:

Chrysler LLC announced this week it is indefinitely suspending tuition reimbursement for all non-bargaining salaried personnel in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Ford Motor Co. stopped tuition reimbursement and dependent scholarships for U.S. salaried employees in June. General Motors Corp. continues to provide tuition assistance and dependent scholarships, company officials said Wednesday.

Officials at Wayne State University, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Lawrence Technological University, Oakland University and Flint’s Kettering University said they anticipate declines in graduate student enrollment as salaried workers lose their tuition benefits.

I’ve mentioned before that scholarship, grant, low-cost loan and other college financial aid programs come and go from year to year, based on available funding and whatever the sponsors want to do with their budgets.

The story I have that is relevant to today’s headline involves an employee benefit that I took advantage of as a young working professional:

My dad worked at a community college in Ohio for many years, and one of his benefits was free tuition for immediate family members.

After I earned my bachelor’s degree in journalism, I started working as a newspaper reporter. But after I was in the field, I realized there were a some things I missed that would be immediately applicable to my job.

As a result, I took a criminal law class and two photography classes free at the community college through my dad’s employee benefit. They were very useful classes for what I was doing on the job.

Then the college decided it was time to limit that benefit to “dependent” children rather than allow it for grown-up children like me! I was no longer eligible for free classes. Oh, well, at least I got some use out of that program.

Do you live in southeast Michigan and need to make plans on how to pay for college? Check out my college financing sidebar. There have been a LOT of changes this year in the tuition assistance programs, particularly in the private student loan market.