Tuition reimbursement justification

[Lucaso]

My employer is the State or Washington and my agency will reimburse 100% of my grad school if they approve the program.

I want to be thoughtful about the articulation of that justification in my application and thus would welcome any ideas you have that might be persuasive.

I work for a law enforcement agency as a middle level manager and my intended study is a Master’s of Theology.

 

[TheOldCourse]

It seems quite appropriate that the state should fund your theological education even if the liberals would be unlikely to see it the same way.

You could speak of improving your critical thinking/reasoning ability, improving your communication skills, improving your grasp of interpersonal ethics and perhaps even conflict resolution. Obviously those are all secondary benefits to you, but they should all be true and have some benefit to your work.

 

[Lucaso]

I like it! Thanks for the reply!

 

[Edward]

You will be better able to communicate with traditional leaders of historically marginalized communities.

 

[Lucaso]

You will be better able to communicate with traditional leaders of historically marginalized communities.

Excellent! Thanks.

 

[Edward]

Looks like that old PR degree turned out to be good for something after all.

 

[ArminianOnceWas]

How about you make your thesis into something that will be particularly applicable to law enforcement?

 

[Ryan J. Ross]

I like it! Thanks for the reply!

As someone who worked for the state and reviewed those applications for employees, @TheOldCourse’s advice is excellent.

Curiously, ThMs are usually postgraduate degrees or extended graduate degrees. Do you already have a Master’s? Either way, I’d add historical empathy and diversity of thought.

 

[Grimmson]

I generally would not advise getting the degree and having the state paying for it unless it was related to your current occupation or related to another position within the state. If one wants a theology degree then I think you should pay for it yourself, with perhaps help with your family, friends, and your church. Now if the state does not care and clearly communicates that and is offering some sort of financial aid that you have earned then that would be another story, like the GI Bill.

With that being said, I would recommend that you pray long and hard about going to seminary. I personally think that theological education should be coming from a church and not a seminary. I have several reasons for that. The first is how seminaries have been a driving force toward the circulation of liberal theology in churches and denominations. Secondly, that on money given to seminary may serve the church better on the mission field or in care ministries. And third, a lack of accountability and justice from a seminary structure if they refuse to provide you with instruction assistance if you ask for it, which in turn is in my opinion is a violation of the teacher-student relationship and is thus a form thievery due to the paying and syllabus structural agreement between the student and the teacher. I say this particularly based on my poor experience and observations of others attending a particular reformed seminary. I personally deeply regret going to seminary and will be paying for that monetarily for the rest of my natural life.

 

[Lucaso]

I say this particularly based on my poor experience and observations of others attending a particular reformed seminary. I personally deeply regret going to seminary and will be paying for that monetarily for the rest of my natural life.

That's very interesting and I'm sorry that, looking back, you have that type of regret. I don't really have a church that offers formal education and I've been involved in church service for over 20yrs. I want to enter into ministry in a pastoral role when I retire in about 8 years and absent a seminary degree, I don't know how a church would consider me (as an unknown).