Tuition assistance available for employees seeking advanced education Published July 11, 2008 By Mike Molina Editor DENVER -- Margaret Johnson is a career federal employee at the Air Reserve Personnel Center, here, but she also has dreams of opening a business someday. "I like my job at ARPC; there are so many benefits," Ms. Johnson said. "But someday I'd like to get a small business loan. Work here and maybe own a business, too." Ms. Johnson, a personnel technician in the Directorate of Assignments, is one of a handful of employees currently taking advantage of ARPC's Tuition Assistance Program for civilian employees. She is halfway toward earning an associate degree in business management, and each of her classes has been paid for partly through the program. Tuition assistance is funded through ARPC's annual budget and provides 25 to 75 percent of tuition costs of job-related courses at accredited institutions. All permanent civilian employees at ARPC who have one year of continuous federal service before the start of the course are eligible to participate. "If you want to advance your education, and your goals have a potential to benefit ARPC and the Air Force, we can assist you," said Gretta Burroughs, accountability officer in the Directorate of Records Quality Management, who manages the program for ARPC. Ms. Burroughs reviews employees' applications for tuition assistance and ensures funds are allocated accordingly. She also helps employees with determining whether the courses they want to take are eligible to receive assistance through the program. "It has to be somewhat job-related," Ms. Burroughs said. "If you're pursuing a degree in psychology and you need to take a leadership course, we can probably provide assistance. But it'd be hard to justify taking Basket Weaving 101." Ms. Johnson said the program has been a huge benefit as she pursues her degree. She estimates that had it not been for the program she would have had to repay nearly $20,000 or more in student loans. Because of the assistance from ARPC, she expects her student loan debt will be less than half of that. "If you want to get a degree that's job-related, and you don't have the money, there is assistance available," she said. "I would highly recommend employees take advantage of the tuition assistance program." Civilian employees interested in learning more about the program, should contact Ms. Burroughs at ext. 6-6512 or Post 2B13. For information about military tuition assistance, Airmen should contact the Buckley Education Office at (720) 847-6675.