For GU Employees, Classes Come Free

A Georgetown education typically comes with a hefty price tag, but some have found a way to take classes on the Hilltop without paying a penny.

Each year, an average of 230 university employees, ranging from Department of Public Safety officers to alumni relations coordinators, take classes at Georgetown. Most of them enroll through the Office of Faculty and Staff Benefits' Tuition Assistance Program, which provides a free education for university employees.

Any staff member who has been at the university for one year and works at least 36 hours per week is eligible for the program, which covers full tuition at Georgetown or, after three years of work, partial tuition at other accredited institutions of higher education.

For many, the Tuition Assistance Program was a strong factor in choosing to pursue graduate studies at Georgetown.

"I knew that Georgetown offered tuition reimbursement for employees. I always wanted to go here, but the program was definitely a noteworthy factor in my choice," Steve Bailey (GRD '13) said.

After graduating from the University of Mary Washington in 2009, Bailey has worked the Office of Advancement for the past two years, first as coordinator of regional programs and now as an analyst and administrative coordinator. In 2010, he began his studies in the master of public policy program.

Bailey said that of the 25 students in his class, most work on Capitol Hill or for consulting firms. But his co-worker in the Office of Advancement, Caroline Gardner (GRD '12), has also managed to mesh her job as director of the innovations team of class programs and reunion campaigns with her studies in the master of business administration program.

Pursuing an MBA has proven a strategic choice for Gardner, who intends to continue working at Georgetown after graduating from the program.

"I was working here for two and a half years when I was approached by a professor in the MBA program [whom] I had worked with," she said. "I've been able to learn from my classes how to improve my performance at work. At the same time, my work has strengthened my skills as a student."

However, other university employees have chosen to use their coursework to pursue personal interests unaligned with the jobs they hold at Georgetown.

Jennifer Chaves, a graduate student and native of Colombia, is an information officer in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions by day. But by night, she is a candidate for a master's degree in Latin American studies.

"Working in a place where there's such a consistent academic discourse was inspiring," she said. "Before this, I was taking classes for fun at another institution. I decided to apply to the Latin American studies program because of personal interest and passion for the region."

For Chaves, submitting her application to the program was nerve-wracking. While Georgetown employees receive tuition benefits, they must still go through the traditional application process for their chosen program.

Once enrolled, employees face another test — balancing a full-time job with coursework.

While going to class and working a full week is difficult, the university understands and supports its employees' busy lifestyles, according to Bailey.

"They do know that I'm a student. If I have a final, I can take hours off to study or sleep a bit more. Work is really flexible," he said.

Gardner agreed. "Sometimes you just want to say, ‘Oh, my gosh, I'm so tired.' It's not a normal student life," she said. "But everyone else in the evening program is in the same situation. Everyone is super serious about their career."