All undergraduates completing their finals at the Mount's Professional and Continuing Studies facility in Frederick will receive a Gift of Education gift card redeemable for a Mount seminar class.

Students are encouraged to give the card to relatives or friends who want to continue their education, but may not have the finances.

"I know a lot of folks think about returning to school, and they can put it off for a lot of reasons," said Joe Lebherz, director of the Center for Professional and Continuing Studies.

The seminar course is the first or second course that every student must take. It provides a reintroduction to the college-level workload in a five-week concentrated format.

The gift card — valued at $1,400 — will also include the textbooks for the class and a flash drive.

To be eligible, students must be at least 23 years old or have worked for three years, have completed at least 30 credits of college-level work, and hold at least a 2.0 GPA.

About 90 undergraduates are enrolled in the degree completion program. Lebherz said he would be happy to see if 20 of the gift cards were redeemed. The cards will be available to all students and employees at the center through 2011, but must be redeemed during the year.

The campaign was initiated because some students at the Frederick Center for Professional and Continuing Studies hesitated to enroll due to unstable economic conditions.

"It really is a decision that is easy to put off because of other obligations," Lebherz said.

The Mount's Frederick campus offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in an accelerated class format designed for working adults. Most undergraduate degree completion programs are offered once a week for four hours each night for five weeks. Some courses are offered on an eight-week schedule.

The additional elements of the Gift of Education campaign will be made public in early January.