College Offers Discounts

(This article appears in the May-June 2014 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.) 

Joyce B. Robinson, Research & Education Director

Excelsior College is an accredited, nonprofit, distance-learning institution that caters to working adults. The Postal Service’s partnership with Excelsior College enables USPS employees and their spouses or domestic partners to pursue an online degree with reduced tuition and fees. Associates, Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programs are available in the schools of Business and Technology, Public Service, Liberal Arts, Health Sciences, and Nursing.

The online business degrees emphasize practical skills and knowledge and focus on accounting, finance, global business and management of human resources, operations management, risk management, and marketing information systems.

Excelsior offers transfer terms for credits that students have earned at other accredited colleges; awards academic credit for prior military service, professional training courses, and other real-world experience; grants credit by exam, so students can earn full credit for subjects they’ve already mastered, and conducts degree classes online, so students can adapt them to their schedule and budget.

Students pursuing an Associate Degree in Business will learn:

• Effective communication skills;
• Principles of accounting, business law, computers, management, and marketing;
• Principles of macroeconomics, microeconomics, and statistics;
• Business problem solving;
• About diverse cultural heritage, interpersonal relationships, the relationship between business and society, and personal values to make intelligent and discerning judgments, and
• Computer applications used in business.

A total of 60 credits are required to graduate, including 33 in arts and sciences, 21 business component credits, and 6 electives, including a mandatory 1-credit information literacy course.

Tuition, Deadlines

A one-time application fee of $80 and enrollment fee of $130 are required to cover the processing of an application, evaluation of transferred credits, academic advisement, and academic program planning for the first year. Tuition is $360 per credit for course work. A Student Service Annual Fee is not required, provided the student completes a minimum of six course credits within the one-year period. If the student does not complete six course credits within the one-year period, a Student Service Annual Fee of $225 will be applied the subsequent year.

The Graduation Fee is $130 for program partners but reverts to the Standard Rate of $495 if the student does not complete a minimum of 12 course credits prior to the completion of his or her degree program. In the event the Graduation Fee reverts to the Standard Rate, this fee will be reduced by $15 per academic credit for each undergraduate course successfully completed. This fee reduction does not apply to academic credits transferred to Excelsior College.

There is no deadline for enrollment for the 8- and 15- week terms. Students may enroll as soon as they receive the results of their preliminary review, which shows how prior credits may apply toward a degree. Immediately upon beginning the application process, tell Excelsior’s admissions teams that you are with the United States Postal Service’s partnership in order to receive the partnership tuition and fee pricing.

Financial aid is available regardless of income, with low interest rates and flexible payment options. The best place to start is by filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. You can find the form and additional information by visiting www.fafsa.ed.gov or call 1-855-323-9235.

Excelsior College offers more than 20 scholarships for a wide variety of programs. For more information, visit the scholarship programs page on the college’s website at www.excelsior.edu/scholarships.

For more information, including specifics on discounts, visit www.excelsior.edu/web/partners/united-states-postal-service or call 1-888-647-2388 ext. 21.