It seems that OPM is very serious about developing the skill levels of federal employees and closing the skill gap spread over the country. A few days back, we reported that OPM had partnered with Excelsior College to offer discounted-tuitions to federal employees and their families. Now, the agency has partnered with the Central Michigan University to offer discounted tuitions.
Federal Employees Get a Discount at CMU
The partnership terms that offer federal employees to get a discount state that about 15 percent discount is made available to all the federal government workers and the federal agencies’ departments. The discounts cover all the dependents and the spouses of federal workers.
The Limitation
A major limitation with regard to this benefit is that the discount is available only on the online courses and not the main campus in Mount Pleasant. The courses available on the CMU’s 45 satellite locations would be included in the discounted courses. The discount would also be applicable on all of CMU’s 30 online academic programs These details were made public through a press release created by CMU.
The Benefit
When a federal employee, a dependent or spouse opts for a standard undergraduate credit hour via the Global Campus, he or she will have to shell out just about $336. If the discounts are removed, the actual cost of the hour is $395. It must be added here that Global Campus hosts CMU’s online classes.
CMU Reaction
Pete Ross, who currently serves as the CMU Vice Provost of Academic Development expressed delight at the prospect of partnering with OPM. He said that the CMU is proud of this partnership and that they would be happy to help 1.8 million federal employees to grow personally and intellectually via the programs.
OPM’s Reaction
The Acting Director of OPM, Beth Cobert also expressed her views on the partnership. She stated that the agreement done by the government with CMU would play a key role in ensuring that the federal workers get access to higher education and further their careers. She also added that it is being hoped that this step would close the skill gaps within the federal government.
Cobert also highlighted the core fields in which the skill gap is increasing. She said that the areas in which the federal employees lack proper skills are human resources, acquisitions, cyber security, management and engineering.
