<p>Englishman, your argument doesn’t hold water. First of all, this isn’t a “free degree”. It’s an employee tuition benefit. The only thing unique about it is that it’s partnered with a single university. But even that’s not really unique. I went to the University of Michigan for my MBA. At the time, it was the number four program in the country. About half of the students in the MBA program were going to school with an employer footing the bill. Many were on programs from the Big 3 automakers where they not only got their tuition paid but they kept earning their full salary while going to school full time. That program was a unique partnership between the companies and UofM. Did this devalue the program? Hardly. It moved up to #2 by the time I graduated. Did this discourage others from applying and paying full price? Wrong again. Admissions just got more and more competitive. But, hey, don’t let facts get in the way of you cynicism about ASU.</p>