Washington, D.C. – Today, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced the addition of six new academic agreements with post-secondary education institutions as part of the Federal Academic Alliance, bringing the total to 23 colleges and universities. OPM created The Federal Academic Alliance in 2014 to, provide federal employees access to post-secondary education at reduced tuition rates, as one of the many ways the agency is assisting the federal government with addressing critical skills gaps in mission critical occupations such as human resources, information technology, acquisitions, auditor (financial), economist, and positions related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

“The Federal Academic Alliance provides federal employees and their families improved access to obtaining bachelor and master’s degrees,” said OPM Acting Director Kathy McGettigan. “We will continue to work with colleges and universities to provide the federal workforce with opportunities to obtain the education they need to meet today’s federal workplace challenges, address critical skills gaps in mission critical occupations, increase federal employees’ access to high-quality, affordable educational resources, and further develop and retain the federal workforce.”

OPM’s announcement today includes new academic agreements with American University Key Executive Leadership Master’s Degree in Public Administration, Bellevue University, Columbia College, Georgetown University Biomedical Graduate Education, University of Louisville, and Michigan State University’s College of Business.

These new agreements all provide reduced tuition rates and/or scholarships to federal employees with some of the agreements extending the benefits to spouses and legal dependents. The portfolios of these institutions specifically include programs that address some of the federal government’s mission-critical occupation skills in the areas of acquisition, human resources, financial auditing, economics, information technology with an emphasis on cybersecurity, and STEM.

This announcement comes on the heels of a successful Spring 2021 Federal Government Virtual Education & Professional Development Symposium hosted by OPM and the Federal Academic Alliance
on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, with thousands of participants joining the event. During this interactive virtual event, participants had the opportunity to meet representatives from each of the Federal Academic Alliance schools, OPM Federal Academic Alliance Program, Human Resources Solutions program, and attend webinars delivered by SMEs from the participating institutions, at no cost. The event exhibit hall and auditorium will remain open for 30 days until May 20, 2021. No representatives will be present, but guests are welcome to browse and take any virtual brochures from the exhibit hall. In addition, recordings and presentation slides will be available in the auditorium. Registration is required to enter the event and can be found at fedgovedfair.vfairs.com.

For more information about the programs, admissions, and contact information for each school visit the Federal Academic Alliance wiki page.