About Us

Despite its name, Metropolitan College is not a college. It was established as a partnership among Jefferson Community and Technical College, the University of Louisville and charter business partner UPS. This partnership provides eligible Kentucky residents access to a tuition-free post-secondary education and outstanding employment opportunities. With funding support from the Kentucky and Louisville Metro governments and UPS, the mission of Metropolitan College is to assist students to integrate work, academic and career goals, and personal lives through a unique combination of programs and services.

Everyone benefits when more people have access to an education and Metropolitan College is here to provide people with that opportunity.

George Poling
Executive Director
Metropolitan College

Profile

Metropolitan College is a joint education-workforce-economic development initiative among the University of Louisville (U of L), Jefferson Community and Technical College (JCTC), Louisville Metro and State of Kentucky governments, and the state’s largest employer, UPS. Metropolitan College was a critical element of the incentive package that convinced UPS to remain in Kentucky and to expand its major overnight air hub, Worldport. This uniquely innovative education program offers access to post-secondary education opportunities for eligible employees in the Next Day Air operation at UPS Worldport. Acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Labor for best practices in innovative solutions to workforce development, Metropolitan College and UPS offer a well-documented solution for the elimination of the financial barriers to higher education for residents of Kentucky. Since its inception in 1998, this innovative partnership has helped thousands of students receive a free education and on-the-job training while reducing the annual turnover rate of new hires from 100% to less than 20%.

Participants in the Metropolitan College program work part-time at UPS in the Next Day Air operation, receiving wages and full benefits. Metropolitan College participants may attend Jefferson Community and Technical College or the University of Louisville (specific admission criteria must be met) where they are eligible for full undergraduate Kentucky resident tuition for all passed coursework. In addition, Metropolitan College participants are eligible for book reimbursement (up to $65 per class) and academic completion bonuses. To fulfill the program’s mission of assisting students to integrate their academic, work and personal lives, Metropolitan College has a team of Student Development Counselors who assist students in a wide array of support services to ensure their success both in the workplace and in the classroom.

In addition to UPS, Metropolitan College is also facilitating post-secondary education opportunities for the employees of Community Alternatives Kentucky (CAKY), a subsidiary of ResCare. CAKY employees provide direct care for persons with developmental and other disabilities. By partnering with Metropolitan College, CAKY offers its direct care employees tuition remission for up to six credit hours per semester at U of L or JCTC. These students are also eligible to receive support services through the Metropolitan College Student Development staff. This new partnership assists CAKY with their efforts to increase employee retention and provides a good example of how the Metropolitan College model can be scaled to fit the needs of other companies.

Humana is the newest addition to the growing list of Metropolitan College business partners. The Humana Higher Education Program partnership with Metropolitan College provides tuition assistance, student support, and career development services for Humana associates in a Humana Higher Education Program role, as defined by Humana.

Developing a responsive and educated workforce for the region and state is another key component of the program. Metropolitan College has partnered with KentuckianaWorks and Jefferson Community and Technical College to develop the CREW Career Center. CREW, which stands for Connecting Resources, Education and Workforce, provides comprehensive career development services for all Jefferson Community and Technical College students and Metropolitan College students while also operating as a career one-stop for citizens in the Louisville Metro region.