
Ivy League school janitor graduates with honors - jamesjyu
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_COLUMBIA_JANITOR_GRADUATION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
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siculars
Columbia has traditionally been quite liberal with their tuition benefits for
employees. Also extending to spouses and children. There have been quite a few
similar stories over the years of "blue collar" employees in environmental
services, security and the like getting their degrees. I'm proud of this guys
achievment. Good for him.

Graduation is always lively around Columbia. Im just a bit peeved that Obama
is giving the commencement for Barnard on Monday and there will be no parking
on Amsterdam Ave. from 110th to 125th. Oy.

(I am a Columbia employee.)

~~~
mkopinsky
As a car owner who lives in New York, it disturbs me how much of my
celebration of events is hampered or enhanced by the impact on parking.

"Ascension Day? Anyone know what that is? All I know is I'm excited because
there's no alternate side!"

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spicyj
> As a Columbia employee, he didn't have to pay for the classes he took.

This sounds like a pretty good deal.

~~~
libria
Do FTE's bypass admissions? Combined w/ free tuition, that sounds like a
better deal than student loans, esp if the position allows studying on the job
(e.g., security). Might lengthen your stay, but you graduate debt free.

~~~
leak
I was thinking the same thing. I wonder how many other universities offer such
programs.

~~~
apaprocki
NYU does this as well, either 50% or 100% tuition remission depending on the
employee for up to 9 credits per semester. It also covers 50% of course
registration fees.

~~~
jrockway
When I worked for the University of Chicago, they offered to pay 50% of
tuition as well. But 50% of tuition for full time enrollment was more than my
salary there :)

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chimeracoder
I'm a Columbia student - I'm not in GS, but a large number of my friends are,
so I'd like mention two things:

First, Columbia's School of General Studies has an unusual (and oft-
misunderstood) history.

Contrary to popular belief, it did not originate with the GI bill, though that
is when the school took its most recent name. It was once (partly) an
extension school; the continuing education program has since been separated,
so GS students _are_ attending a undergraduate college working towards a
bachelor's degree. GS is the only undergraduate college at Columbia that
allows students to study part-time, because GS students are considered to be
those with 'nontraditional' backgrounds. Officially, this means anybody who's
taken more than a year off since completing high school (or who received a
GED), so eligibility for GS and Columbia College (the largest undergraduate
college) are mutually exclusive. Other than that, though, the requirements are
nearly identical - GS students have a slightly more flexible version of the
Core, though even that is being brought more in line with the Columbia College
requirements[1]. They take the same classes and choose majors in the same
departments, so the only difference between the degrees is that the GS degrees
are not printed in Latin (which was actually a debate a few years back!)[2]

In theory, GS students are students who would be merged into the regular arts
& science colleges at any other university, but the fact that we have a
college dedicated to reaching out to these students and providing them with
administrative support means that we end up with students from a very wide
range of backgrounds. In GS, the typical icebreaker is 'What's your story?',
because almost everyone has a story of how they ended up at GS. If you've
taken two (and often more) years off between high school and college, you
didn't end up going back for your degree by accident.

This story may be good news material, but it's not even the most touching GS
story I've heard. We have veterans who were discharged under DADT, we have
current and former performers and Olympic-level athletes - one of my
classmates represented her country in Miss Universe 2008 and has been running
her own business since then (she also graduated this afternoon). Another spent
her teenage years in the foster care system and took classes at a community
college to bring herself up to speed. I was the president of a student group
that dealt with criminal justice reform and drug policy, and I can't count the
number of students who've told me truly horrific stories of the criminal
justice system and the war on drugs. Oftentimes these are stories of their
family members, but a few have experienced it firsthand.

I wasn't even a GS student, but the single best part of my Columbia education
was probably having the opportunity to meet people who come from such varied
backgrounds and bring such a wide range of experiences to the table.

Second, some people seem to be curious about the free tuition: tuition
benefits at Columbia are extensive, though controversial. Every employee,
including the food servers and janitors, receive a living wage (not a market
wage) and full health benefits. There's been talk of scaling the benefits
back, though; this is not a matter of tuition specifically, but benefit cuts
across the board.[3]. As it stands, I believe most employees are eligible for
one free class per semester (three per year, including the summer). This is
most commonly applied towards MA programs, as they're 1 or 2 years - doing the
124 credits required for a BA would take quite a while at this rate!

And unrelated, but possibly of interest: John Backus and Isaac Asimov were
both GS alumni.

[1] [http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2012/05/02/general-
studies-...](http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2012/05/02/general-studies-adds-
global-core-requirement)

[2] [http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2010/03/09/gs-diplomas-
rema...](http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2010/03/09/gs-diplomas-remain-
english)

[3] [http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2011/04/19/report-
recommend...](http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2011/04/19/report-recommends-
scaling-back-fringe-benefits)

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theorique
Learning never stops unless the individual decides it stops. Congratulations
to Mr Filipaj for overcoming obstacles and challenges.

------
Robelius
Does this remind anyone else of Good Will Hunting?

~~~
dsrguru
Yeah I am actually really surprised the article didn't reference the movie
even once.

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bdz
Al Jazeera video
[http://www.aljazeera.com/video/americas/2012/05/201251242973...](http://www.aljazeera.com/video/americas/2012/05/20125124297378706.html)

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candeira
I studied at Complutense University in Madrid, Spain, and I didn't have to pay
for my degree either, because I was working as a custodian/porter ("conserje"
or "bedel", if you read Spanish) at Politecnica University also in Madrid.
Even though it was a different University, all fees were waived if you worked
in the higher education sector. I studied in the late 80s to early 90s, so I
don't know if this is still the case.

Mine was a common enough case. In the school where I worked, two more of the
conserjes were studying engineering degrees. In the school where I studied (I
have a degree in English), at least one of the conserjes was studying a
tertiary degree, I don't remember which.

In these circumstances, what I wondered is why didn't more of my younger
colleagues pursue further study. You have a salary, a job that leaves you
quite a lot of free time to study, and reasonable hours (morning and
afternoon/evening shifts) that allow you to attend classes during your non-
working shift. And, some years later, you could also have a degree and a
modicum of learning (or, in some cases, a lot of learning and no degree: your
mileage may vary).

Great for Gac! Me and my fellow worker/students did it at a younger age, in
our country of birth, surrounded by a family support network, and with a much
cushier jobs (a conserje doesn't have cleaning duties, for instance). Gac
sends part of his salary back to his family in the Old Country, while I could
use mine to travel around Europe and buy books. In fact, I nowadays I call
that job my "scholarship". I didn't have to man the counter of a 7/11 or stock
supermarket shelves to pay for my studies, and I graduated with some savings.
I didn't always feel privileged, but I was in many ways.

In the article, Gac Filipaj quotes Seneca, the Stoic philosopher. Read his
statements again after reading a bit about stoicism[1], and they gain new
meaning.

[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism>

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K2h
key point in the article - he was studying law before he came in the 90s. he
may have a job as a janitor, but he was definitly college material.

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cleverjake
Is the free-tuition-for-employees thing unusual? I had a couple of kids that
graduated high school with me get into several different schools because their
parents worked there (no professors. mostly janitors, cafeteria workers, etc.)
I was under the impression that it was similar to the GI bill for american
soliders - an employee could use it, or give it to a family member.

~~~
smokey_the_bear
My father is a professor at Iowa State. Everyone assumed I received free
tuition, but there were actually no benefits. I 've heard of it at several
private schools though.

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sidman
I have always seen education as the most important gift that one can give
because once its given excluding fatal accidents its something that can never
be taken away or lost and is useful throughout you whole life, whether at a
job or simply to allow you to see the world through different perspectives.

It is great the the university was able to provide a discounted education to
Filipaj and allow a man that wanted to keep studying to do just that.

Just as a side note, i feel that the coursera subjects to be just fantastic,
free education from some really great lecturers on some really interesting
topics just can't be beat

~~~
sopooneo
Yes. In a very no-nonsense personal finance book I read, the author pointed
out that it is not always the case that higher rewards always come with higher
risk. Time and energy spent improving your health or educating yourself
(though they might have opportunity cost) are essentially zero risk. And the
benefits can be both financial and quality of life related.

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captainarab
This is a fantastic story. I wish the world had more men like this. If could
all live our lives with the same sense of purpose, the world would truly be a
better place.

~~~
werner34
I completely agree, it was a really inspiring read what this man has overcome
and to learn about his positive attitude.

Luckily I only have to pay a little for my studies in Germany, though many
people are still complaining about the fees. I think they could learn a lot
from this mans gratefulness.

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lawlesst
An inspiring story. I wish it would prompt a discussion about access to
quality education rather than HR policies at elite universities.

