New alliance will enable feds to earn degrees at deep discount

The Office of Personnel Management said it has entered an agreement with an online education provider to give federal employees more affordable access to post-secondary education resources.

OPM has partnered with Champlain College, a private college located in Burlington, Vt., to offer federal employees both certificate and degree programs. Champlain maintains dozens of other similar "truED alliances" with public and private organizations to offer online education to employees of those organizations.

According to a memorandum from OPM Director Katherine Archuleta to chief human capital officers, the new agreement with Champlain will allow employees to access the college's online programs at up to a 70 percent tuition discount. Federal employees will be able to complete an 18-credit undergraduate certificate for $3,000, a bachelor’s degree for less than $12,000 and a master’s degree for as little as $9,600, the memo said.

All of Champlain’s online bachelors and certificate programs and most of its online masters and graduate studies certificate programs are eligible for the discounted rate, the memo said. The agreement, which does not cover on-campus programs, is open to all federal employees, their spouses, and adult family members.

Archuleta said the new arrangement also gives federal subject matter experts the ability to collaborate with Champlain to incorporate a public-sector perspective into the curriculum.