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School of Education - George Mason University

Cohorts are collaborative agreements between Mason and third party agencies, such as school systems, to offer Mason course sections specifically for their employees. While admission to the Mason program is governed by GMU, participation in a cohort is determined by the third party agency. Once you have been assigned to a cohort by your school, you should plan to take the courses as they are scheduled for your cohort group. However, since it is not always possible for students to follow their cohort schedule, at times students are granted permission to take courses outside of their cohort schedule. In these instances, students have a few options for taking courses.

Courses can be taken through the regular Mason schedule. Payment, registration and tuition fees for these sections will follow typical university processes and deadlines.

Students may also request permission to take a course with another cohort within their county. To make a request to take a course within your county system but in a different cohort (e.g. you are in FX 27 but wish to join FX 24 for a specific course), contact the cohort liaison for your school system/agency.

Additionally, students may request permission to take a class outside of their school division. To make a request, complete the Permission to Take a Course with Another County/Agency and submit it to Mason. Mason will contact the agency to determine if space is available in the course and if you may attend. If granted permission, be sure to follow the instructions on the form so the Cohort Registration Office will be aware, upon receiving your enrollment form, that you have permission to register.