RENO, Nev., Sept. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nevada Board of Regents on Friday approved a partnership between the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) and MGM Resorts International that will make higher education affordable and accessible to its nearly 72,000 employees throughout the U.S.

The MGM College Opportunity Program marks the first time a Fortune 500 company is partnering with an entire system of higher education. MGM employees can receive online education through NSHE schools, free of charge for all credit hours. The institutions include UNLV, the University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada State College, Great Basin College, Western Nevada College, the College of Southern Nevada, and Truckee Meadows Community College. 

"As the American workforce continues to evolve, I believe in higher education as a pathway to the middle class. MGM Resorts is committed to expanding those pathways and investing in its employees and communities in which we operate," said Jim Murren, Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts. "We are focused on reducing the financial burden on our employees while increasing access to professional growth opportunities."

The program, set to begin in the Fall of 2019, will emphasize degree completion; helping employees focus on taking the right classes to achieve their goals.  MGM employees must enroll and get accepted into a certificate or degree program. Employees can join certificate, associates, bachelors, or graduate degree online programs at any of NSHE's seven degree granting institutions. They will receive academic and financial counseling and MGM will pay the cost for the degrees/certificates after all financial aid the employee is eligible for is exhausted.

"This partnership will change the lives of these employees and their families, many of who are first-generation students," said NSHE Chancellor Thom Reilly. "And the partnership will push NSHE institutions to offer more on-line degrees, an area in which we need to improve."

Board of Regents Chair Kevin J. Page said the program will be an entry point into higher education for many of MGM's employees.

"MGM is forward thinking when it comes to the future of working in America. Mr. Murren and his team recognize the importance of having a highly skilled workforce and how that can improve the company and individual employee lives," Page said. "I'm proud of this partnership and thank everyone involved who helped make it happen."

ABOUT MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is an S&P 500® global entertainment company with national and international locations featuring best-in-class hotels and casinos, state-of-the-art meetings and conference spaces, incredible live and theatrical entertainment experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant, nightlife and retail offerings. MGM Resorts creates immersive, iconic experiences through its suite of Las Vegas-inspired brands. The MGM Resorts portfolio encompasses 28 unique hotel offerings including some of the most recognizable resort brands in the industry. Expanding throughout the U.S. and around the world, the company in 2018 opened MGM Springfield in Massachusetts, MGM COTAI in Macau, and the first Bellagio-branded hotel in Shanghai. The 81,000 global employees of MGM Resorts are proud of their company for being recognized as one of FORTUNE® Magazine's World's Most Admired Companies®. For more information visit us at www.mgmresorts.com.

Statements in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking" statements and "safe harbor statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and/or uncertainties, including those described in MGM Resorts' public filings with the SEC. MGM Resorts has based forward-looking statements on management's current expectations and assumptions and not on historical facts. Examples of these statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the expected benefits of this program and the increased access to professional growth opportunities. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements include effects of economic conditions and market conditions in the markets in which MGM Resorts operate and competition with other destination travel locations throughout the United States and the world, the design, timing and costs of expansion projects, risks relating to international operations, permits, licenses, financings, approvals and other contingencies in connection with growth in new or existing jurisdictions and additional risks and uncertainties described in MGM Resorts' Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports (including all amendments to those reports). In providing forward-looking statements, MGM Resorts is not undertaking any duty or obligation to update these statements publicly as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. If MGM Resorts updates one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those other forward-looking statements.

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SOURCE MGM Resorts International