Staff Senate & Staff Association

Supporting employee wellness and achievement

Professional Development

Maryland Community College Program

As a public honors college, SMCM values education and encourages all to be lifelong learners. This value applies to staff as well as students. Providing financial assistance that enables staff members to pursue educational goals that encourage personal growth, as well as providing technical and professional skills that enhance job performance, SMCM demonstrates a real commitment to maintaining quality personnel to accomplish the College’s mission.

By providing certification for technical skills and entry level training we are growing employees that will perform to the highest standards, as well as having a positive fiscal impact by reducing staff turnover. Encouraging others to pursue additional educational opportunities with both direct and indirect application to the employee’s position, the College emphasizes another of its stated goals—make education affordable and enhances our diversity.

How the program works

  • Full-time employees who occupy permanent positions are eligible to enroll in a maximum of six (6) credits per semester at a Maryland Community College.
  • Employees may, with the approval of their supervisor(s), take one (1) course during working hours provided all lost work time is made up within the same work week.
  • Employees, who terminate their employment with the College or are terminated, shall be permitted to complete the course(s) for the semester in which they are enrolled provided the course(s) are in progress. All fees and course-related expenses are then the responsibility of the employee.
  • Applications for the Maryland Community College program must be completed by the deadlines established by St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Information about deadlines can be obtained from the Office of Human Resources and the Maryland Community College of choice, such as the College of Southern Maryland.
  • Applications will be presented to the Maryland Community College Tuition Committee, which will provide a numeric score for answers provided on the application to determine acceptance into the program. The committee will includes three members: one HR representative (Faye Graves, afgraves@smcm.edu), one staff senator (exempt employee, Dan Pindell, dapindell@smcm.edu), and one non-exempt employee (Kathy Lewin, kslewin@smcm.edu).

Application Process

As part of the application, the applicant would need to provide a brief summary of the following questions, no more than one page:

  • Provide the committee with a statement of why the applicant has an interest in taking the courses.
  • Indicate to the committee what the applicant hopes to learn.
  • Give a brief statement to the committee how this will benefit the applicant in his or her current position.

The committee will assign points according to the following rubric:

Section 1: Rating of the applicant’s application
  • Did the applicant show compelling interest in taking courses?
  • Did the applicant describe clear and achievable learning objectives?
  • Did the applicant provide a clear and concise reason that taking these courses would benefit them in their current position?
Section 2:  Approval Decision
  • Recommend Approval
  • Possible Candidate (depending on space)
  • Approval Not Recommended

If the applicant is degree seeking, once they have been accepted into the program they will not need to apply for the program again in the next fiscal year.  The only way the application would be terminated is if the program ended.

A limited number of computers are available for semester-long checkout from the Office of Information Technology for participants of this program. Please note on the application if such resources would be needed.

Application Form

Funding & Scholarship Opportunities

Career & Professional Development Endowed Scholarship Fund

Other Resources

Maryland Higher Education Resources

Online Resources

St. Mary’s Public Library

  • Lynda.com / LinkedIn Learning – (Please note that all support help is handled directly by the public library. The SMCM Help Desk will not be able to assist.)

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