The Catholic University of America to Offer Masters Program to Employees of COG Members at Reduced Tuition Rate Under a new agreement between the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) and The Catholic University of America, employees of the public libraries of COG member jurisdictions can be admitted to CUA's Master of Science in Library Science program at a reduced tuition rate for part-time studies.  John Convey, CUA Provost and Michael Rogers, COG's executive director, signed the agreement this week. To qualify, prospective students must meet the normal admission requirements for the School of Library and Information Science at CUA and be certified as employees of libraries in COG member jurisdictions.   Once admitted, the students would be offered a tuition rate that is fifty percent of the program's normal graduate, on-campus tuition.  To remain eligible for the reduced tuition, the students must maintain their employment with a COG member library. "Because COG acts as an information resource for the region, we know there's a need for professionally trained librarians and information specialists," Rogers said. "We're very pleased to offer this benefit with CUA and expect that it will be a great benefit to our members." The masters degree requires a total of 36 semester hours to complete, 30 of which must be taken in the School of Library and Information Science. The majority of courses are offered at the School's main campus in Northeast Washington, D.C., but courses also are offered at the Library of Congress and at several sites in Northern Virginia. The term of the COG-CUA agreement is for one year and may be renewed if both parties agree.  If the agreement is not renewed, students already admitted will retain the benefit of reduced tuition until they complete the 36 credits required for graduation but not to exceed a period of five years. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments is the association of 18 local governments working together for a better metropolitan region. ----------- Release Date: Dec 4, 2002 Contact: Jeanne Saddler Phone: 202-962-3250