Rowan inks national agreement with OPCMIA, expands online degree access for union members

On Oct. 23, Rowan University signed a landmark national agreement with OPCMIA, the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association, marking a major expansion of the institution’s partnerships with union labor.

The signing for Maryland-based OPCMIA was attended by David Coyner, Rowan’s vice president for Academic Innovation & Online Partnerships, and Carmel Senatz, Rowan’s senior consultant for Education Pathways for Union Labor & the Building Trades.

The partnership allows OPCMIA apprentices to earn up to 45 Rowan credits concurrently with their union training. The credits may be applied toward Rowan certificate programs in construction management and/or the online Bachelor of Arts in Construction Management (BACM), significantly reducing the cost of a degree.

“It’s almost like knocking the cost of a $60,000 degree down to like $25,000,” Coyner said. “It’s a great deal.”

As they’re training, union plasterers can earn up to 45 credits, while cement masons can earn up to 36, Coyner said.

“It’s like getting an associate degree for free,” he said.

Graduates of the BACM program receive expedited admission into Rowan’s Master of Engineering Management (MEM) program, which is administered by the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering and Rowan Online.

Rowan is forging relationships with organized labor to increase career opportunities, including those in management, afforded by a college degree.

The University partnered with North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) Feb. 27 during a campus ceremony in Business Hall. Now the collegiate home of NABTU’s Building Trades Academy, Rowan offers expanded, online access to professional development, certificates and full degree programs to members of the 14 national trade unions under the NABTU umbrella across the U.S. and Canada.

Senatz noted that, until 2025, Rowan largely worked with union locals. Working with OPCMIA’s national leadership, she said, “we’re covering all standardized training and benefiting over 44,000 members across North America.”

OPCMIA-ITF Executive Director Tony Longbrake said creating additional opportunities for members is “part of our mission. Our partnership with Rowan will provide opportunities to higher education that members might not otherwise consider, from certificates to full degrees, which can have a big impact on career advancement and options."

Rowan University Chancellor Tony Lowman has noted that such partnerships align with Rowan’s mission to increase access to affordable higher education and boost the economic impact of a well-educated workforce – in New Jersey and across the nation. 

“We are eliminating the notion of having to choose – university or union. You can have both,” Lowman said.

Additional formal partnerships between Rowan and organized labor, all of which are intended to increase access to affordable, high-quality degrees and stackable certificates, are expected in the coming months. Rowan has already partnered with:

• Local IBEWs 351, 102, and 98; UAs: 420, 322, 286 and 24. Boilermakers 13; EASCTC (Carpenters) and DC21 (IUPAT).
• National agreements OPCMIA, NABTU, HFIAW (Insulators) and NEIEPE, the National Elevator Industry Educational Program.
• NABTU, including 14 affiliated union nationals.