The program will be available starting Monday to 180,000 employees at the 2,600 FCA North America dealerships that sell Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles, and also will be offered to approximately 700,000 family members of dealership staff.

The new benefit is part of a renewed effort for FCA dealerships to retain staff and create a better-educated workforce, said Al Gardner, head of FCA dealer network development.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Gardner said that employees at participating dealerships will be eligible to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees at no cost. Gardner said the benefit also will be provided debt-free, meaning dealership workers will not be expected to cover any out-of-pocket expenses related to the cost of a Strayer degree.

Karl McDonnell, chief executive of Herndon-based Strayer Education, said in an interview that the debt-free arrangement will differentiate the new benefit for FCA employees from free education offers at other companies.

At Starbucks, for example, baristas and coffee-shop employees are eligible to earn a degree from Arizona State University, but they have to pay a portion of tuition costs and receive reimbursements at the end of each semester. FCA dealerships will pay a flat fee to allow employees to participate in the program.

“We’re thrilled to expand the benefit not only to all of our dealerships nationwide, but also to dealership employees’ immediate family members,” Gardner said in a statement. The benefit will be available to dealership staff and their spouses and children, and those who enroll can take classes online or at Strayer’s 78 campuses nationwide.

McDonnell said that “college affordability is a big issue in the country, and this addresses it head on.”

Strayer, a for-profit education giant, offers studies in subjects including business administration and criminal justice and has conferred degrees to 100,000 graduates since its founding in 1892.

“Traditional higher education doesn’t serve the needs of working adults,” McDonnell said, noting that a free education “is the most compelling benefit to attract and field the best talent that you can.”