Page Revision: 6/22/2017 11:21:27 AM

Federal Academic Alliances

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U.S. Office of Personnel Management's (OPM's) Government-wide mission is to recruit, retain and honor a world class workforce to serve the American people.  Our Governmentwide talent development focus is to ensure Federal employees have access to high-quality talent development opportunities in the identified Governmentwide mission critical occupations and leverage resources to increase impact.

The Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO) Council and OPM established a joint initiative to address critical skills gaps, and identified the following Governmentwide mission critical occupations:  Economists, Human Resources, Cybersecurity, Auditors, Acquisition and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).  Additionally, OPM forecasts of future hiring trends suggest that healthcare be included under the STEM workforce.  By developing formal relationships with learning institutions, OPM can lead the effort to help agencies address current skill needs.

OPM is partnering with colleges and universities as a part of the continuing efforts to provide higher educational opportunities to the Federal workforce by providing current Federal employees with the opportunity to pursue post-secondary education at reduced tuition rates.  This program is a benefit that Federal employees can take advantage of at their own pace to pursue or enhance their higher academic education.  Some of the agreements extend the benefits to spouses and legal dependents.

The academic alliances are an additional educational resource for Federal employees and Federal agencies.  The alliances address the demand for high-quality learning and development as well as the extremely fast pace of change in the learning industry. 

With the endorsement of the CHCO Council, OPM began this leading effort to create relationships with colleges and universities to:

• Address current Governmentwide and agency-specific skills gaps
• Support career development for Federal employee
• Provide greater opportunities for Federal employees to obtain college degrees, certificates and/or college credits
• Provide this opportunity with colleges and universities that offer an online component to address our worldwide workforce.
• Provide current college students with a greater understanding of the Federal Government