An Opportunity to Earn a Degree

(This article appeared in the March/April 2007 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

Joyce B. Robinson, Research & Education Department Director

Because so much of the work can be done online, union members, officers, retirees, and staff can earn Bachelor of Arts degrees (B.A.), from the National Labor College (NLC) while continuing to hold full-time jobs, virtually anywhere.

The NLC is in Silver Spring, MD, just outside of Washington, DC. Only one week of on-campus work is required each semester. Typically, a semester is 16 weeks long. During the non-residential portion of the semester, students must complete assignments and receive additional instruction from faculty via e-mail and phone at least once a week.

A key aspect of the NLC bachelor’s program is its recognition of experiential learning, which enables students to earn college credits for educational experiences received outside the traditional classroom. Such training must be documented and evaluated through the Educational Planning course-and-portfolio process. To receive a B.A., students must earn 120 hours of classroom credit, and experiential learning can count toward much of that.

Students must select a major and complete the required courses for that major in order to receive a degree. For the B.A., the majors are: Labor Studies; Labor History; Labor Education; Labor Safety and Health; Political Economy of Labor; Union Leadership and Administration.

Admissions Requirements

Applicants may be admitted to the college in one of three ways — with full admission, provisionally, or as special students.

If it is determined that a person already has at least 56 hours of credit — earned through college attendance or experiential learning — he/she may be granted full admission.

Students who do not meet the 56 credit-hour requirement, but who hold a high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma (GED), may be admitted provisionally. Provisionally admitted students will be advised by NLC administrators as to the appropriate steps needed to achieve full admission to the program.

Students who are over age 55 and do not hold a high school diploma or its equivalency may be admitted as special students. Special students are limited to one course per term.

Pre-Admissions Advising

Pre-admissions advising is provided to all interested applicants and gives students an opportunity to ask questions about the program, air concerns regarding a return to school, and to review transfer credits for acceptability. The advising is done by in-person meetings or over the telephone and can be arranged on evenings or weekends to accommodate working students; no fee is charged.

After being admitted, students are further advised by faculty and staff on their program of instruction, and on any remedial work that may be required.

Applying Yourself

Prospective students can apply online, by mail, or by fax to the National Labor College. Applicants must submit a $50 application fee and arrange to have official transcripts of all previous college work sent to the NLC Registrar’s Office.

In order to receive the AFL-CIO member tuition rates, all students admitted to the NLC are required to show that they are either paying union dues or are a staff employee of an organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO.

Acceptable forms of union verification are: a union business card; a memo or letter from a local union president; a recent pay stub showing a dues deduction or a receipt of a union-dues payment. Verification for a union staff person is the union’s business card or a letter from a supervisor. Verification for a retired union member is a letter from the union confirming membership in good standing at the time he/she retired.

Courses are either two or three credits. Tuition is:

• $150 per credit hour for members and staff of unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO, 
   
• $200 per credit hour for members and staff of unions not affiliated with the AFL-CIO, or
   
• $982 per credit hour for students who are not union members or affiliated with a union.

The costs of books and materials vary, but students typically pay between $60 and $125 per course.

For additional information, contact Joyce B. Robinson, Director of Research and Education, 1300 L St. NW , Washington, DC 20005.