Papa John’s and Purdue University Global Partner to Deliver First-of-its-Kind Tuition Benefit Program

Innovative partnership offers all the ingredients for affordable education to further career growth for team members

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 13, 2019-- Papa John’s (NASDAQ: PZZA) today announced a new tuition benefit program for its 20,000 corporate team members that is unique in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry. The tuition reimbursement education program, Dough & Degrees, is offered in partnership with Purdue University Global. The program covers 100 percent of tuition costs of undergraduate and graduate online degree programs for Papa John’s corporate team members.

The new program allows eligible employees to expand their skill set, build leadership and management expertise, and prepare to advance their careers by selecting an online degree program that matches their career goals. Papa John’s team members can enroll in any of Purdue Global’s online associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, including business, information technology, cybersecurity, accounting and finance.

“People are our most important ingredient and we are always looking for new ways to make Papa John’s a better place to work,” said Steve Ritchie, president and CEO of Papa John’s. “We believe this is a truly unique tuition program in our industry. We’re excited to partner with such a well-respected institution to help us deliver on such a robust career growth opportunity for team members who want to pursue their goals to further their education.”

“We want to be an employer of choice in the marketplace,” said Papa John’s Chief People Officer Marvin Boakye. “This new tuition benefit program not only provides our team members with a tremendous career growth opportunity, but it gives us a competitive advantage in the marketplace that will make us better as an organization.”

An additional education program through the alliance with Purdue Global is also available for Papa John’s 70,000 franchise team members that offers significant tuition and fee reductions for both undergraduate and graduate degree programs, as well as includes waived application fees and covers the cost of course materials, among other benefits.

“We’re delighted to partner with Papa John’s to bring an exceptional Purdue Global student experience to its corporate and franchise team members,” said Dr. Betty Vandenbosch, chancellor of Purdue University Global. “Our new relationship with Papa John’s is an example of how we can help organizations meet the increasing demand for educated and trained workers, while creating a personalized, high-quality education for students that fits their busy schedules.”

Vandenbosch said Purdue Global is well-positioned to help employers of all sizes create education benefit programs to accommodate employees’ busy schedules, built on real-world requirements, enabling adult students to learn at their own pace and in many cases receive college credits for previous work experience.

According to the National Center of Educational Statistics (NCES), in 2016 the median earnings of young adults with a bachelor's degree were 57 percent higher than those with a high school diploma. NCES also found that the median earnings of young adults with a master's or higher degree were approximately 28 percent higher than those of young adults with a bachelor's degree.

About Papa John’s

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third-largest pizza delivery company. In 2018, consumers rated Papa John’s No. 1 in product and service quality among national pizza chains in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). For 17 of the past 19 years, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer satisfaction among national pizza chains in the ACSI. For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John’s at www.papajohns.com.

About Purdue University Global

Purdue University Global is the extreme personalization online university, providing students the competitive edge to advance in their chosen careers. It offers a hyper-tailored path for students to earn an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, desired pace, military service, previous college credits, and other considerations - no matter where they are in their life journey.

Purdue Global serves approximately 29,000 students, most of whom earn their degree online. It also operates 14 locations in Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Maryland, Maine, Missouri and Wisconsin. Purdue Global is a nonprofit, public university accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. It is affiliated with Purdue University's flagship institution, a highly ranked public research university located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue University also operates two regional campuses in Fort Wayne and Northwest, Indiana, as well as serving close to 6,000 science, engineering and technology students at the Indiana University-Purdue University (IUPUI) Indianapolis campus.

For more information about Purdue Global, please visit www.PurdueGlobal.edu.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190213005459/en/

Source: Papa John's International, Inc. and Purdue University Global

For Purdue University Global:
Peter Tosches
Vice President, Communications
(M) 901.692.2220
peter.tosches@purdueglobal.edu

For Papa John’s:
Madeline Chadwick
Vice President, Communications and Community Engagement
(O) 502.261.4189
Madeline_chadwick@papajohns.com