UMGC and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Form Alliance to Accelerate Agency Employees’ Pathway to a Bachelor’s Degree

Adelphi, Md. (November 4, 2021)--University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), the nation’s largest online public university, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the nation’s largest law enforcement organization, announced an education alliance that will expand the reach of UMGC’s 90 online academic programs and increase access to a bachelor’s degrees to the federal agency’s 60,000 employees across frontline law enforcement, trade, intelligence, and mission support professionals.

Under the agreement, employees who complete certain classes in the agency’s training program will be able to transfer that credit or be awarded prior-learning credit to UMGC and speed the path to a bachelor’s degree. Nearly 45 courses in the training program are eligible for transfer credit.

Further, CBP employees are eligible for a tuition discount on classes taken at UMGC. For information about the alliance, visit U.S. Customs and Border Protection | UMGC.

“Our critical training coupled with advanced education is a win for all levels of our agency,” said CBP’s Chief Learning Officer Chris Hall. “That’s why we’re so proud to partner with UMGC who will recognize the professional training of our workforce with credits that can be applied towards advanced degrees. Our hope is this will further incentivize and encourage our employees to earn advanced degrees, as well as help recruit skilled professionals for the future. You can learn more about CBP careers at cbp.gov/careers.”

“We are proud to join with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to create additional pathways to speed an agency employee’s ability to earn a university degree and achieve their educational goals,” said Blakely Pomietto, UMGC’s senior vice president and chief academic officer. “Our mission of serving adult students in the workforce and the military is a natural fit with a premiere law enforcement agency.”

UMGC has an enrollment of more than 90,000 students, more than half of whom are active-duty military personnel and their families serving on military bases around the world.

UMGC offers award-winning online programs in disciplines including biotechnology, cybersecurity, data analytics, and information technology that are in high demand in today’s increasingly technical, global workplace. UMGC also offers cost savings through its use of digital resources, which have replaced costly publisher textbooks in most courses.