mae 7-7 (sept. 2012)

September 2012 Volume 7, Issue 7

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Deployment Support O Mobile Apps O Paying for College Communication Degrees O Inside NDU’s iCollege

Force Enabler

Capt. Gary L. Bruce

Chief Training Division Force Readiness CommandUnited States Coast Guard

Journal of Higher Learning for Today’s Servicemember

Military advanced education SepteMber 2012 voluMe 7 • iSSue 7

FeatureS

Editor’s Perspective

Program Notes

People

Class Notes

CCME Grapevine

Money Talks

Resource Center

University CornerDr. Michael T. Wood

PresidentCapitol College

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Captain Gary L. Bruce Chief, Training Division

Force Readiness CommandUnited States Coast Guard

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departMentS

univerSity corner

cover / Q&a

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Student Deployment Support: How Schools Can HelpA successful adult learner must learn how to balance the competing demands on his or her time. For students, however, the possibility of deployment poses other significant obstacles. Military-friendly colleges go the extra mile to help servicemember students succeed.By Laural Hobbes

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More Education Helps Pay for More EducationA recent report by the Government Accountability Office finds that many are not taking full advantage of tax benefits that could help pay for a higher education.

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Plan and ExecuteAlthough there is no doubt a college degree opens doors, military and civilian, some servicemembers are still hesitant to take the leap and enroll. Senior officers turned education professionals offer advice to current servicemembers debating college.

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Following the Technology TrendRecognizing that mobile devices are simply not small desktop computers, many schools are working to create cohesive mobile platforms that are intuitive and responsive to students’ needs via mobile websites and apps. By Kelly Fodel

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The Art of Strategic MessagingServicemembers are well-aware of the importance of communications: In the military, it can literally mean the difference between life and death. It is no surprise then that many servicemembers and veterans pursue communications degrees. By J.B. Bissell

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Inside NDU’s iCollege The National Defense University’s iCollege is about as far from the stereotypical academic ivory tower as you can get. Here, education is not regarded as a means to an end for professional advancement. It is a national security imperative. By Maura McCarthy

First things first. You may have already noticed that Maura McCarthy’s photo is not there to the right. Unfortunately for all, Maura has left KMI Media Group to pursue her passion for working with and helping veterans as they transition from military life to the civilian environment. She was a leader, and her contributions to the magazines she managed mean she will be truly missed—by readers and co-workers. This issue of Military Advanced Education is a further reflection of her editorial skills as she put all but the finishing touches together before leaving.

But, now to the future. The new editor for MAE will probably be on site by the time you receive this copy in the mail. We are excited about our editorial lineup for the rest of this year, and we are now planning for 2013.

The military has long realized the importance of higher education. As much as the right commands and military training are part of a servicemember’s professional development, so too are the elements of a formal education. There are lists of general officers who started a military career at the basic enlisted rank and through diligent pursuit of the skills to reach the next level of responsibility and command, rose to the rank of general or admiral. Read their bios and you will see that in step with their military training was their education at institutions both inside and outside of the military. Education helped develop the critical thinking, balanced analysis and leadership skills that bring insight to tactical and strategic decisions.

What holds true to someone aspiring to join the general officer ranks also holds true at every level of rank and individual goals and pursuits. Regardless of the MOS, the military’s view on education is reflected in the benefits it offers—both in funding and human support, to encourage everyone to develop their potential by engaging the student within.

But the focus is not all inward. The military recognizes that not everyone who joins up will stay in. Besides the inherent skills and values that the military teaches and reinforces, they want veterans to contribute to the workforce and share what the military represents in the civilian world. The educational opportunities the military offers strengthen everything a veteran has become and earned while serving and, if used to its fullest, create an almost boundless vision of what they can do and accomplish.


editorial

Editor-In-ChiefJeff McKaughan [email protected] EditorHarrison Donnelly [email protected] Editorial ManagerLaura Davis [email protected] EditorLaural Hobbes [email protected] Altus • J.B. Bissell • Kelly Fodel Kenya McCullum • William Murray

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Compiled by KMi Media Group staffPROGRAM NOTES

Competency-Based Degree Model in Wisconsin

Governor Scott Walker, University of Wisconsin (UW) System President Kevin P. Reilly, and UW Colleges and UW-Extension Chancellor Ray Cross announced a competency-based degree model that will transform higher education in Wisconsin.

The unique self-paced, competency-based model will allow students to start classes anytime and earn credit for what they already know. Students will be able to demonstrate college-level competen-cies based on material they already learned in school, on the job, or on their own, as soon as they can prove that they know it. By taking advantage of this high quality, flexible model, and utilizing a variety of resources to help pay for their education, students will have new tools to accelerate their careers.

“This new model for delivering higher education will help us close the skills gap at an affordable price to get Wisconsin working again,” said Governor Walker. “As states across the country work to improve access and affordability in higher education, I am proud to support this exciting and innovative University of Wisconsin solution.”

“We are proud of the collaborative work that has gone into this proposal and we look forward to working with the governor, the legis-lature, faculty, employers and others to make Wisconsin the leading innovator in higher education,” said Reilly. “We’ve set the stage for this in recent years with efforts to expand transfer policies, enabling students to more easily move college credits from one UW campus to another or from another school into the UW system,” Reilly said.

CUNY’s Accelerated Program a SuccessMDRC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan

education and social policy research firm, released encouraging early find-ings from a rigorous evaluation of the City University of New York’s (CUNY’s) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), an ambitious three-year interven-tion to encourage and support community college students to attend school full time and graduate. After only one semester, ASAP has increased the proportion of students who have completed their devel-opmental (remedial) education courses by 15 percentage points, meaning that 15 more students out of every 100 are ready to take college-level courses. In addition, ASAP increased the number of credits students earned and boosted their rates of full-time enrollment in the first and second semesters.

Community colleges across the country confront a clear challenge: Too many students arrive on campus unpre-pared, get placed into developmental courses where they stagnate, attend only part time (because of work or other responsibilities), and never complete a credential, graduate or transfer to a four-year institution. At the same time, community colleges are subject to increasing expectations—and increased scrutiny—about their ability to develop a better-educated and credentialed work-force.

In 2007, CUNY, with the support and funding from Mayor Bloomberg’s Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO), launched ASAP at all six CUNY community colleges. ASAP requires students to attend college full time and provides them with a rich array of supports for three full years, including a tuition waiver that covers any gap between a student’s financial aid and tuition and fees, special seminars and block-scheduled classes, enhanced advising, career services, free MetroCards for use on public transportation, and free use of textbooks. In 2009, CUNY, in partnership with CEO and CEO’s evalua-tors, conducted an internal evaluation of ASAP and found very promising effects for participating students. At that point,

CUNY decided to expand the program and commissioned MDRC to conduct an external study to test ASAP’s effects using a random assignment design, the “gold standard” methodology in program evaluation.

MDRC’s study focuses on three CUNY community colleges: Borough of Manhattan, Kingsborough and LaGuardia. For the study, ASAP targets low-income students who need one or two developmental courses to build their reading, writing or math skills. The study compares ASAP with regular services and classes at the colleges. MDRC’s report provides results for the first two semesters of the three-year program. Key findings include effects on:

• Full-timeenrollment: During the study’s first semester, ASAP increased full-time enrollment by 11 percentage points. 96 percent of the students assigned to ASAP enrolled full time, compared with 85 percent of the comparison group.

• Creditsearnedandcompletingdevelopmentalcoursework: ASAP increased the average number of credits earned during the first semester by 2.1 credits and increased the proportion of students who completed their developmental coursework by the end of that semester by 15 percentage points.

• Semester-to-semesterretention: ASAP increased the proportion of students who enrolled in college during the second semester by 10 percentage points and increased full-time enrollment that semester by 21 percentage points.

MDRC will publish longer-term results from its evaluation of ASAP in 2014. In the meantime, CUNY is using lessons learned from ASAP to inform the development of a new community college opening in the fall of 2012—as well as tripling the size of the program in its six existing community colleges to serve more than 4,000 students by 2014.

Post-9/11 GI Bill AnniversaryAugust marks the third anniversary of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and

since it was implemented August 1, 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs has provided educational benefits to 773,000 veterans and their family members.

“This is one of the most important programs helping our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans reach their educational goals,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “We’re proud this important benefit is making such a big difference in the lives of so many veterans.”

The Post-9/11 GI Bill pays tuition and fees on behalf of veterans or eligible dependents directly to the school in which they are enrolled. Eligible participants also receive a monthly housing allow-ance and up to $1,000 annually for books and supplies. The program also allows eligible servicemembers to transfer their benefits to their spouses and/or children.

For the 2012-2013 academic year, 1,770 colleges and universi-ties are supplementing Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits by participating in the Yellow Ribbon Program. Under the Yellow Ribbon Program, degree-granting institutions make additional funds available for a veteran’s educational program without an additional charge to their GI Bill entitlement. To make up the difference for those students whose tuition and fees exceed what the Post-9/11 GI Bill covers, institutions can voluntarily enter into a Yellow Ribbon Agreement with VA to designate an additional amount of funding, and VA will match that amount.

www.MAE-kmi.com MAE 7.7 | 3

PROGRAM NOTES Compiled by KMi Media Group staff

SVA Announces Honorary Board of AdvisorsStudent Veterans of America (SVA) is pleased to

announce the creation of an honorary board of advi-sors to assist with the development of resources for student veterans across the nation. The SVA advisory board represents a broad spectrum of leaders who believe in SVA’s mission and are stepping forward to lend their support.

“As CEOs, retired generals and leaders in academia, we, as a group, believe so strongly in SVA’s ability to execute their mission that we are proud to lend our support,” said Geoff Deutsch, CEO of the Armed Forces Services Corporation and chairman of the newly created advisory board. The honorary board of advisors will meet quarterly and provide development assistance, leadership and guidance in areas pertaining to each individual’s expertise.

Rodrigo Garcia, chairman of SVA’s board of directors, invited each honorary board member personally. “SVA has always been committed to

excellence in education and to the pursuit of a meaningful career after service,” he said. “We invited a number of distinguished individuals that share our vision, enthusiasm and commitment to student veterans and who are prepared to fully support this organization.”

Michael Dakduk, SVA’s executive director, said, “The addition of a board of advisors, comprised of individuals like General Casey, Dr. Barthwell-Evans and Hank Meijer, illustrates that SVA is the premiere organization supporting veterans in higher educa-tion. Each honorary board member recognizes the importance of a quality education for our nation’s returning veterans.”

President of SVA’s National Leadership Council, Danielle Adams, also expressed her excitement about SVA’s honorary board of advisors. “As a student and a veteran, it’s encouraging to know that people like the former chief of staff of the United States Army and

the previous commander of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, General Casey, are lending their voices to our mission. Additionally, as a future job seeker, it is encouraging to know that leaders in both academia and the business community like Dr. Stephen Weber, Dr. Shelton, Mr. O’Connell and Mr. Robinson support SVA’s goals.”

The honorary board of advisors includes Geoffrey J. Deutsch, chief executive officer, Armed Forces Services Corporation; Dr. Akousa Barthwell-Evans, chief executive officer, The Barthwell Group; General George W. Casey Jr. (Ret.), chief of staff of the United States Army; Hendrik “Hank” G. Meijer, chief executive officer, Meijer Inc.; Hon. Terrence M. O’Connell, president, Trefoil Solutions; D. Wayne Robinson, partner, Drexel Hamilton Investment Partners; Dr. Robert N. Shelton, executive director, The Fiesta Bowl; and Dr. Stephen Weber, president Emeritus, San Diego State University.

LanceNail was named the new dean of the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech. Nail comes to campus from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he has been serving as dean of the College of Business since July 2008.

AngelaLairdBrenton, dean of the College of Professional Studies at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has been appointed provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Western Carolina University, in North Carolina.

JamesDlugos, vice president and dean for academic affairs at College of Saint Elizabeth, in New

Jersey, has been named president of Saint Joseph’s College, in Maine.

TomásD.Morales, president of the College of Staten Island, in New York, has been chosen as president of California State University at San Bernardino.

SteveJ.Tyrell, vice president for student affairs at Alfred State College, part of the State University of New York, has been appointed as president of North Country Community College, also part of SUNY.

LeslieE.Wong, president of Northern Michigan University, has been

selected as president of San Francisco State University, in California.

PeggyKennedy, interim president of Minnesota State Community and Technical College, has been appointed as president there.

ErikaLacro, vice chan-cellor of academic affairs at Honolulu Community College, in Hawaii, has been promoted to chan-cellor there.

JeromeMigler, execu-tive vice president and provost at Minnesota State Community and Technical College, has been chosen as provost and executive vice chancellor at Pima

Community College, in Arizona.

MichaelR.Stevenson, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Northern Arizona University, has been named provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Southern Maine.

CurtGuaglianone, special assistant to the provost for program development and univer-sity accreditation liaison officer at California State University at Bakersfield, has been chosen as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Heritage University, in Washington.

WeldonJackson, special assistant to the president at Morehouse College, in Georgia, has been selected as provost and vice presi-dent for academic affairs at Bowie State University, in Maryland.

RalphKuncl, provost and executive vice president at the University of Rochester, in New York, has been chosen as president of University of Redlands, in California.

BelleW.Y.Wei, the Don Beall Dean of Engineering at San Jose State University, in California, has been named provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University at Chico.

PEOPLE Compiled by KMi Media Group staff

www.MAE-kmi.com4 | MAE 7.7

No matter what your course of study, the act of pursuing higher education is split between two distinct elements. There is the philosophical undertaking of earning a bachelor’s degree (or associate, master’s or doctorate, for that matter), and there is the practical aspect of acquiring a diploma. In an idealized world, students would focus simply on learning. The entire journey—the classes, the projects, the papers, the exams—would be the cause for celebra-tion. We live in the real world, however, and in the real world a diploma almost always equals better job opportunities and more money—a definitive milestone to be celebrated.

The goal, then, for the countless men and women who are contemplating college applications, is to find an educational path that challenges them intellectually and, in good time, rewards them financially. Certainly there are plenty of possibilities, but the communications field might bring together the philosophical and practical

components of higher education better than most.

“The communications degree is about the creation of messages that are effective, appropriately adapted to the audience, and responsive to ethical standards,” said Dr. Vince Waldron, professor of communica-tion at Arizona State University. “To be an effective communicator, you need to analyze the needs of different audiences and understand cultural difference in com-munication. You also need to assess and remove the barriers that keep people from participating fully in communication sys-tems.”

That is an educational journey. The end game of this particular discipline, how-ever, provides plenty of future employment incentive. “We hear it over and over again,” said Dr. Andrea Weber, undergraduate cur-riculum coordinator for the Department of Communication Studies at West Virginia University (WVU). “Employers want their employees to be able to think and commu-

nicate. A degree in communication studies provides students the opportunity to learn, practice and enhance their critical think-ing and communication skills … while it also opens doors to allow students to be successful in just about any career arena—from health care to human resources, from sales to social media, from public relations to promotions.”

Problem SolverS

This vast array of employment options is made possible by the fact that so many diverse specialties can be found beneath the communications umbrella. Because of this, “students can focus on the area that interests them the most,” said Weber. And there’s plenty to be interested in. Concentrations at various institutions of higher learning range from health communication to strategic and organizational communication and public relations to communication media. Avid

The PoSSibiliTieS are endleSS for ServicememberS looking To crafT a career ouT of STraTegic meSSaging.by J.b. biSSell

mae correSPondenT


social networkers will also be happy to learn that they could be well on their way to mastering a relatively new path of study. “In recent years, many of our students have been interested in pursuing careers as social media coordinators,” said Weber. “Therefore, our media classes that explore the history of social networking and social media and teach our students myriad ways to utilize this knowledge to market and enhance an organization’s social media presence have become extremely popular.” Don’t be misled, though. This track involves much more than sitting around updating one’s Facebook status all day. Social media is an increasingly powerful business and societal tool, and companies and governments need savvy communicators in order to maximize its far-reaching capabilities.

“Communication is at the intellec-tual and economic forefront of the global information society,” said Dr. Ken Zagacki, professor and head of North Carolina State University’s Department of Communica-tion. “Because we all live in an increas-ingly complex, media-saturated, globalized world, the study of communication is more important than ever. We teach students how to focus on symbols, messages, mean-ings, media technologies, media produc-tion and communication practices in a wide variety of personal, professional, public and political contexts. With this knowledge in hand, they will be able to address over-arching societal problems from a uniquely communication-based perspective.” As a matter of fact, graduates will most likely find themselves addressing all sorts of the world’s problems once they secure a steady job. In order to prepare for exactly that, many of them will practice their problem-solving skills while still under the proper tutelage of their professors.

A number of the courses at WVU “involve working with local businesses or non-profit organizations,” said Weber, “so students are given the opportunity to utilize their skills in the community.” Examples of classes include business and professional communication, in which “students compete in teams by proposing solutions to local organizations’ commu-nication struggles” social media in the

workplace, a class that challenges students to “create an evaluated social media pres-ence and propose social media plans to enhance local businesses”; and persuasion, in which “students are tasked with creating strategic messages to persuade a variety of audiences.”

Still, whatever problem needs solving or task needs tackling, in the world of

communications education, it boils down to a singular idea: “Our main focus is the message,” said Dr. Al Futrell, who serves as the chair of the Department of Commu-nication at the University of Louisville. “There are many ways to deliver one as well as to create or perceive one. We cover the gamut, from public speaking to rhetorical criticism to health commu-

nication to website development to video editing to interpersonal communication to social media, and on and on. All those areas hold in common the idea that we are focusing our attention on a message. In communication, that is what we study, and we try to derive meaning or figure out how someone else has derived meaning from a particular message given the context in which it has been delivered.”

Another important concept to Futrell and his colleagues is “immediacy.” “It relates to how ‘close’ two people may or may not be while communicating,” he explained. This is of particular importance at the University of Louisville because the school offers an Internet-based Bachelor of Arts degree in communication for those who need to study at a distance. “The chal-lenge for the online instructor is to narrow the gap of immediacy, perceived or real, so that the student does not feel isolated,” Futrell said.

eaSy TranSiTion

Servicemembers entering the commu-nications field ought not to feel isolated either. “It should be a fairly easy transi-tion,” noted Zagacki. “A soldier’s work with sophisticated media technology, as well as his or her experience leading individuals from a wide variety of social backgrounds, will give them a leg up.”

Waldron agreed. “I think many veterans would come to the program with an understanding of communication processes

in a highly complex organization—the U.S. military. That would help them in our organizational communication classes. Vets who have been deployed often bring a cultural competence that would serve them well in our program, too.”

Waldron isn’t just theorizing about the success former soldiers might have—he’s witnessed it. “One of our 2012 graduates is a veteran who fast-tracked through our master’s program in about 15 months,” he said. “I wouldn’t recommend that fast pace, but his military experience gave him a sense of urgency, organization and matu-rity. He is now seeking a doctoral degree in educational technology, with plans to be an administrator in a community college system.”

Captain Kevin Herlihy, an aviation operations officer with the U.S. Army who is currently stationed in Kuwait, gradu-ated from WVU’s communication studies program, and also has a solid strategy in mind for the future use of his degree. “I am close to the end of my deployment and will soon be moving back to the greater Pittsburgh area to work in the civilian sector,” he said. “I plan on continuing to lead teams in operations, logistics, or project management, in a setting where I can directly transfer my experience from the military.” Herlihy had the foresight to understand how studying communications would enhance his overall military experi-ence. “The main reason I chose this field was because of how well the topics and subjects covered in class directly applied to the leadership and management principles I was utilizing in the military,” he said. “Topics like interpersonal, public speaking, non-verbal and cultural communications gave me a strong advantage before I was assigned to an operational unit leading troops. I was able to better predict, under-stand and manage various situations in fast-paced, stressful environments.”

Skillful communicators, of course, are the people who are best suited to handling stressful situations, and while outsiders might think a curriculum that focuses on the message is abstract and hyper-cerebral, the truth is that it can be exhilarating and pressure-packed. “I supervise a 10-per-son air operations logistics team,” Herlihy explained. “I manage soldiers from all over the country and correspond with different military services from more than 10 dif-ferent countries in the Middle East on a day-to-day basis. The most important thing

Dr. Ken Zagacki


I learned in my studies is that everyone has a primary communications method they like to use. Being able to understand and interpret those methods as a leader is a very important skill to have. The ability to strategically task and assign duties to sub-ordinates based on their communications aptitude has allowed me to more effectively and efficiently complete multiple projects.”

from mulTiTaSking To mulTiPle oPPorTuniTieS

Completing multiple projects is a skill Herlihy likely perfected during his time at WVU. In addition to completing the regular coursework, “all of our students are also required to obtain at least one internship in their area of interest,” Weber said. “These range from working in promotions or non-profit organizations, doing fund raising, public relations and even social media.” Zagacki reported that dozens of students each year are placed in internship programs where they are introduced to “positions of responsibility and challenge, helping

prepare them for jobs around the nation, and particularly in North Carolina and the Triangle region.”

Preparing for a job is the practical cul-mination of all the classes and projects and internships. “It is always inspiring to see stu-dents synthesize their coursework toward the end of their college career through their internships and final portfolio,” said Weber. “It is then that they really begin to realize the value of their degree, and the potential they have in their field of interest.”

Perhaps “potentials” is a better way to look at it. One of the unique things about a degree in communications is that it can lead to so many different industries and career outcomes. For example, a civil engi-neering student will most likely end up a civil engineer. A nursing student should seek employment as a nurse—and so on. But communicators are needed everywhere. “Our alumni serve in a variety of important positions,” said Zagacki. “They include a member of the U.S. Congress, producers of national television programs, heads of major university programs, executives with some

of the nation’s largest corporations, sales-persons with pharmaceutical companies, representatives for major public relations agencies, highly successful entrepreneurs, heads of health care institutions, and man-agers of the Internet presence for some of the country’s leading newspapers.”

The possibilities seem nearly endless, maybe even a little overwhelming—in a good way. Arizona State’s Waldron offered a shortcut to narrow down what’s typically available: “Many of our grads go into careers with ‘relations’ at the end,” he explained. “Community relations, public relations, employee relations, constituent relations, customer or ‘fan’ relations.” These pursuits make perfect sense because the study of communications appears to have created the ideal relationship between the philosophical and practical aspects of education. O

For more information, contact Editor-in-Chief Jeff McKaughan at [email protected] or search our online archives for related stories

at www.mae-kmi.com.

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A successful adult learner must learn how to balance the competing demands on his or her time—a rigorous academic schedule, a job, a family and (hopefully!) a social life. For stu-dents who also serve in the military, however, the possibility of deployment poses other significant obstacles. What’s an aspir-ing graduate to do when he’s deployed mid-semester? How can universities help their students to succeed if they’re 7,000 miles away from the classroom?

Education Service Specialist Gordon Nero, director of the Army Education Centers in Kuwait, is all too familiar with the logistical concerns occupying the minds of the students he counsels. “The main obstacle is of course mission requirements, and if [servicemembers] will have the time and resources to take classes. Also, missions often change at a moment’s notice, which can affect a student’s ability to complete a class—espe-cially the traditional classroom classes.” Sporadic Internet connectivity can complicate deadlines. Even something as seemingly mundane as books can be a challenge: They take time to mail, and a soldier could end up toting around several pounds of them in addition to all that body armor.

“A quality school … should be flexible and fair, and understand the environment that these military students

are in,” Nero said. Luckily, many quality colleges cater to military students and are familiar with their concerns.

When a student is called to deploy mid-semester at Cen-tral Penn College, a policy that allows him or her to “stop out” is enacted. “This means that their financial aid is reim-bursed to them and they are

withdrawn from their cur-rent course without pen-

alty. This is done after the student presents

a set of orders for deployment,” said Eric Kann, Cen-tral Penn College’s military outreach coordinator.

Professors at Central Penn Col-

lege’s are understand-ing of servicemembers’

needs and are willing to work with students’ deployment situations. “We ask that they give us as much notification of future deployments as possible. As a small school, there is a great

deal of individual communication between the students and professors,” said Kann.

Some military students at Central Penn College’s choose to continue classes in an online format while they are deployed, but they should not expect a seamless transition. “Generally, there is pre-deployment training that requires a great deal of field time, and they have little opportunity even for online courses,” said Kann. “Most military students [that I have seen] withdraw from their current courses, do their pre-deployment preparation, deploy, get set up at their duty station, then rejoin our school in the online format.” He acknowledges that dependable Internet access and balanc-ing work with academics may pose a problem to deployed students, but CPC’s online format makes it easier for ser-vicemembers. “Oftentimes, [students’] work schedules vary while overseas and daily log-ins can be difficult. The nice thing about Central Penn College’s online format is that there’s not a designated time to log on throughout the week and most of the work is individually based. Both of those components are key elements for a servicemember to choose an online college,” he said.

Georgia Perimeter College (GPC), part of the University System of Georgia, has a similar deployment policy. If a student is deployed mid-semester, he or she may be with-drawn from all courses with a complete refund. Students simply submit a copy of their orders indicating activation along with a withdrawal request in the student information system. They may then return to college with no penalty. “The students are asked to provide their professors and the admissions department a copy of their military orders plac-ing them on active duty or notifying them of an upcoming deployment. Once those orders are received and verified, GPC follows the withdrawal and refund policy,” said Mark Eister, director of military outreach.

GPC professors are generally very understanding of the challenges facing deployed students—particularly the Viet-nam-era faculty. “Faculty recognize that these students are not your average students and have responsibilities and obli-gations different from their college peers,” Eister said. Since deployed servicemembers will be taking their courses online if they choose to continue with them, faculty make every effort to accommodate them while not compromising the content or rigor of the coursework. “GPC staff and faculty avail themselves to help and encourage the servicemember-student every step of the way,” said Eister.

In order to help deployed students, GPC faculty try to discover early on who their veteran students are so they can help them overcome any obstacles they might face during the semester. “Additionally, independent study is made pos-sible because of GPC’s outstanding faculty members who are willing to teach online students, no matter where they are or their special circumstances,” said Eister, who credited GPC’s military outreach center with providing additional guidance to deployed students. “GPC is their extended family—before, during and after their deployment.”

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At Saint Leo University, instructors know that active duty servicemembers may be called out for any number of reasons, possibly without warning. When a student deploys, the instructor and the student will try to connect with each other either through email or the eCollege, a portal similar to Blackboard. If pursu-ing studies online is not possible, instructors work on a plan for the soldier-student to complete the course when they get back. “If that transcends the end of the term, the student will get an ‘incomplete,’ which accommodates them to be able to complete their work when they return,” said Professor Kenneth Gonzalez, the Tampa, Fla.-area director of Saint Leo.

Saint Leo instructors are flexible in their approach to service-members, and this extends to extenuating circumstances beyond deployment. “If they’re called out for whatever reason—it hap-pens on occasion they have to attend [something] other than a deployment, like working a different shift—we have flexibility,” said Gonzalez. “Once we know what limitations there may be [dur-ing a deployment], then we can start working on what IT people call ‘workarounds,’ where you’ve got an obstacle and you figure out how to work around it. I’ve had between 25 and 30 deployed individuals in my five or six years of teaching for the university, and all of those individuals were able to finish their coursework either within the correct term or as soon as they got back,” said Gonzalez. Chief Petty Officer Dan College, a Coast Guard reservist, took four classes from 2011 to 2012 with Saint Leo while he was

deployed. “I was out of Internet range, and my professors were completely accommodating,” College said. “Although they held me to a high academic standard, they were understanding.”

Excelsior College’s deployment policy for the degree program entails extending a servicemember’s enrollment period to the same amount of time that they were deployed. “This way, they won’t lose academic standing; they’re still enrolled under the same set of academic requirements,” said Susan Dewan, the executive director of Excelsior College’s Center for Military Education. “We provide course extensions for up to 120 days if students need that amount of time. We also have a military withdrawal policy. If a stu-dent is deployed and unable to complete the course, we would just ask for a copy of their deployment orders. The military withdrawal means they aren’t held financially liable; there’s no financial pen-alty or academic penalty. It’s more like a course cancellation.”

The Center for Military Education coordinates how profes-sors learn about a student’s deployment status. When a student is deployed, his or her orders get processed through the ombuds-man’s office, who then contacts the faculty member. “We keep in close communication with the faculty, so all the information about deployment policy, course extensions and military withdrawals is part of faculty training. It’s included in all of our policy manuals that are sent to students and faculty,” said Dewan.

Many military students have completed online courses with Excelsior College before or during deployment, which are offered in eight- and 15-week formats. CD-ROM courses are now available for the School of Business and Technology, so students on deploy-ment who do not have consistent access to the Internet can still complete courses. “The CD-ROM classes were absolutely what I needed,” said CW2 Jemill Bland, who finished his degree while deployed to Afghanistan in 2011-12. “I’m a medevac pilot, which requires me to drop everything. I didn’t have the free time to roam around the FOB [forward operating base] like most soldiers; I was confined to one area. The flexibility of taking [CD-ROM] courses made it easy to complete my degree.”

Penn State World Campus too has a process for military with-drawal that is designed to benefit the student. Once students know they’re going to be deployed, they give faculty their deployment orders, the registrar cancels them out of their classes, and all of the entities involved receive a refund.

A student doesn’t have to wait until deployment to apply for a military withdrawal. “We also have instances where students will start their [classes] knowing they’ll be deployed at the end of the semester. If pre-deployment preparations get too involved and they’re having trouble with their classes, they can request military withdrawals with their deployment orders as long as it’s in the [same] semester. The good thing about this withdrawal is when they come back to class, they don’t have to pay any re-enrollment fee—they just get back into enrollment status,” said John Mills, an academic advisor at Penn State World campus.

Professors at Penn State World Campus are accustomed to working with military students, and have a flexible attitude. “Some students don’t know if they have reliable Internet access, so that’s a problem. Some of them will stop out of a semester until they get to their destination. When they know they have good, reliable Internet service, they’ll continue classes. Some deployed students ask if they can do some pre-work or even do a deferred grade until they get [to their destination] and get all their assignments in [beforehand],” said Mills.

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Of course, it’s not just up to professors to ensure a smooth transition for deployed students. “Communication is the big key,” Mills said. “Communication with the professor or academic advi-sor [is important] to make sure everything runs smoothly. Some professors will delay that midterm until they get back from their mission or have them work ahead; there’s a lot of flexibility.”

Sergeant Thomas Acker enrolled in Penn State World Cam-pus’s organizational leadership program while he was deployed. While coming back from Afghanistan, he was without Internet for 10 days. “I just informed the professor and she gave me an extension. It really helped, and my grade didn’t suffer from uncontrollable circumstances. Professors will accommodate [ser-vicemembers] to the best of their abilities,” he said.

At Hawaii Pacific University (HPU), the degree programs of students who are called to active duty are covered under the Ser-vicemembers Opportunity Colleges program. Deployed students can resume their academic pursuits where they left off; there are no penalties or readmission requirements. University policy ensures that faculty allow students to make up class and course-work missed due to military duty, and faculty are encouraged to extend completion periods for students who have completed significant portions of a course prior to notification of recall to active duty or temporary duty. Students who deploy or receive temporary duty assignments also have the option to withdraw from their courses at any time during the term without financial or academic penalty.

To assist military-affiliated students, HPU offers evening, weekend and online courses in an accelerated format. Over 25 programs are offered specifically on base and online. “Although the majority of our students are located on the island of Oahu, we have three online academic advisors dedicated to the military students who have deployed, transferred, or started with us over-seas,” said Celina Barrios, director of marketing and recruiting for HPU’s Military Campus Programs (MCP). “It is recognized that some duty or deployment may be totally unexpected and with little or no notice, in which case MCP staff and faculty do their best to communicate to the student. Our professors believe in our mission and receive training on methods to aid students in meeting the learning outcomes while being as flexible as needed,” she said.

HPU student Steven Hanneman signed up for the Flex-Trac program, which allows students to switch between attending classes online and in the classroom. “In my position with the Air Force, I’m required to travel to other locations. These trips are frequent and last anywhere from two to five weeks at a time,” he said. “My TDYs [temporary duties] sometimes jump up without notice, and not having to worry about missing a class is a great relief. This environment allows for maximum learning with mini-mum stress. I’d recommend it to anyone that has deployments or TDYs in their future.”

As these schools demonstrate, truly military-friendly institu-tions go beyond merely increasing servicemember enrollment; they enact targeted policies that facilitate a servicemember’s academic success. O

For more information, contact Editor-in-Chief Jeff McKaughan at [email protected] or search our online archives

for related stories at www.mae-kmi.com.

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The National Defense University’s iCollege is about as far from the stereotypical academic ivory tower as you can get. Here, education is not regarded merely as a means to an end for profes-sional advancement: It is a national security imperative. For 21st-century information-age leaders who seek state of the art—or even futuristic—facilities and unequaled instruction, there is perhaps no better place to look than the iCollege. Located on Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., the Information Resources Management Col-lege (iCollege) is the largest of NDU’s five colleges and prepares leaders to direct the information component of national power through strategically leveraging IT.

The last of the colleges to receive degree-granting authority, the institution went through a rigorous and in-depth three-year study and offers nine graduate certificates programs: Chief Finan-cial Officer, Chief Information Officer, Cyber Leadership, Chief Technology Officer, Information Operations, Cybersecurity, Enter-prise Architecture, Government Strategic Leader and IT Program/Project Management. Additionally, the college offers a Master of Science in Government Information Leadership (GIL), a 39-credit degree program that combines information management, tech-nology and leadership courses, as well an Advanced Management Program (AMP), a 14-week intensive resident graduate program offered twice a year. There are approximately 50 faculty members, 75 percent of who are civilian, and 35 staff members.

A global hub for educating, informing and connecting infor-mation-age leaders, students compete for the college’s approxi-mate 3,000 seats each year, about 75 percent of which are filled by DoD employees and who may take classes at no tuition cost. Stu-dents from the military, federal agencies (state and local), private sector and international students who meet the qualifications of GS-12 or equivalent, and O-4 and above are also eligible to enroll. Additionally, the college boasts a strong international presence, with this year’s graduates including students from the Saudi Ara-bian National Guard, Armenian Army, Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic, Canadian Department of Defense, Republic of Korea, Bulgarian Army, Armenian Army and the Taiwanese Army.

Reflecting on his iCollege education, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Kibble, USAF, and AMP distinguished graduate, wrote in his GovLoop blog that “AMP really shines in the over-all leadership and management lessons it imparts. We had several senior-level guest speakers from all over the federal government to include representatives from the Department of the Treasury, U.S. Postal Service and the State Department. We were also for-tunate enough to visit with several senior IT executives at major private sector firms such as Microsoft, Marriott and Boeing. And we topped it all off with a week of visits to some of the biggest names in the private and public sector. In other words, it’s safe to say we were spoiled for opportunities. It was amazing how the theoretical educational strategies learned at AMP were actually

being practiced as a regular part of the daily operations and stra-tegic planning of these private organizations.”

exPanSive reach

Education and professional development doesn’t stop at the gates of Fort McNair. The college has partnered with more than 40 academic institutions that accept 9-15 graduate credits for iCollege certificates toward a master’s or doctoral degree. “We look for an institution that is both a good academic institution and that has related coursework to what we do. We offer what is core to the gov-ernment; in other words, what does a federal worker need? What does a DoD worker need? Many times a student may want to go beyond the areas that we offer. If somebody is an engineer and they want to continue along a highly technical path, we try to find institutions that offer such specialties,” explained Dr. Robert Childs, chancellor of the iCollege.

Faculty experts also teach abroad. At Singapore’s Ministry of Defense, iCollege faculty teach process improvement and emerging technologies. At the War College in Sweden, they offer information assurance courses, and they also teach in the European and Pacific Commands. The college recently sent a team to Florida for a Pacific Command/Southern Command conference discussing supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and cyber issues. Fifteen coun-tries from Latin America and South America including Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Colombia participated as well.

In addition to traditional teaching, the iCollege hosts interna-tional conferences which allow the institution to share faculty exper-tise, best practices and to make connections with global professionals. “One of the reasons we do this is because students who come here say, ‘This is good, but we need to get this information to more people and to more senior people.’ SES can’t come to NDU for a week, so we put on conferences in different regions throughout the world. It started in Singapore where we did regional collaboration, cyber security and cloud computing,” Childs reflected.

In July 2010 the iCollege held the Regional Collaboration in Cyber Security conference in Singapore, which drew 246 participants and featured Peter Ho, head of civil service in Singapore, as keynote speaker. In October 2010, the college partnered with AFCEA Inter-national to host a conference on cloud computing in London and featured keynote speaker John Suffolk, CIO of the U.K., Lieutenant General Kurt Herrmann, director of NATO Communication and Information Systems Services Agency. In September 2011, the iCol-lege traveled to Bangkok, Thailand to host the 2nd Annual Regional Collaboration in Cyber Security Conference and NDU International Alumni Seminar, and February 2011 brought the college to Dubai for Regional Collaboration in Infrastructure Protection: Securing National Information and Key Assets in the Middle East. Currently the college is planning events in South America and the Far East.

The naTional defenSe univerSiTy’S icollege educaTeS The JoinT warfighTer on The informaTion comPonenT of

naTional Power. by maura mccarThy

Inside NDU’s iCollege




enhancing SofT Power and building relaTionShiPS

Fostering relationships is a trademark of the college: relationships between students, agencies and countries, not to mention the public and private sector. The college has built relationships with AFCEA International and IAC-ACT, and organizations including Lockheed Martin, KPMG, CF Day and Associates, DISA and the Department of Energy provide faculty members to the institution at no cost to the college. Curriculum development takes into account consultation with experts from agencies including CIO Council, DoD and Defense Information Systems Agency CIOs, NSA, Army CIO, Army Cyber Command, DHS, Office of National Intelligence, White House Cyber Office, and from the private sector.

Academic ties have historically endured even when official state ties are strained or severed or when military and diplomatic foot-prints are reduced. “In national security, as we withdraw from other countries, historically, the academic communities have maintained contacts around the world. There are communities of practice an understanding. Take China and the Tiananmen Square incident: When formal policy negotiations were cut off, faculty continued to work back and forth. Withdrawing from countries, relationships become more and more important. International students attend courses, participate in international conferences, etc.,” Childs empha-sized.

Such ties can provide a critical extension of soft power, yet could be threatened by budget cuts. “Despite social media, relationships are stronger after face-to-face meetings. If you don’t have that, you can’t develop the trust that is needed. I’m worried that on a national level, that as the outreach on the part of the federal government is cut back, that three to five years from now we’ll look back and realize that we severed some ties,” Childs noted.

Another potential downfall resulting from budget cuts could be the inability of agencies to send their employees to the college for advanced education, leading to a decrease in diversity that would diminish the quality of peer-to-peer learning in the classroom. According to Childs, “As you downsize, you actually need more edu-cation rather than less: People need to be smarter and understand things better. Say we have a class with students from the FAA, DoD and DHS and due to cuts I lose the DHS student—then the richness of the classroom decreases, and I’m concerned that the cost and shrinking will affect overall learning. Money I can deal with, but lack of people coming into the classes is a different kind of problem.”

changing The culTure of learning

While a common lament of government agencies is their resis-tance to change and their slowness to adapt, the iCollege breaks this bureaucratic mold as it requires its faculty to keep the curriculum cutting edge. Staff will work with professors to integrate technology into classroom, and the college has created a learning group, the eSo-lutions Group, whose technology experts will help faculty members develop their curriculum for both resident classes and online learn-ing. There is no room for complacency at the institution, especially in the online realm. “Our faculty get time and a half teaching credit for distance learning because we expect them to be constantly interact-ing with the students, and the learning, in fact, is better because as a student you have to respond,” Childs explained.

Through its use of state-of-the-art labs and integration of tech-nology into the classroom, the iCollege and its innovative staff and

faculty are modernizing the way government officials and military leaders learn. In the spring of 2012, the iCollege opened the doors of its newest lab, the Ci Center, which is best described as the classroom of the future. An innovative space for experiential learning, the Ci Center is a dynamic contrast to the traditional classroom and offers endless possibilities for integrating technology into the classroom. Current technologies fielded in the center include Tek panels with SmartBoard software integration including Smart Notebook and Smart Sync; AMX Control System; Lutron Lighting System; Idea Paint Dry Erase wall paint; Planar displays for video wall; Xbox Kinect; zoned audio and lighting; cloud network environment; wireless net-work for all hardware and mobile devices; HD webcams; Samsung web-enabled 3-D monitors; and Macbook Pro laptops. With the varied technology available, the center remains flexible as the technology is brought into the space instead of the space being designed to accom-modate the hardware or software. In this sense, the space is able to incorporate a number of instructional strategies, allowing students and professors to experiment with modeling, gaming and simula-tions, virtual worlds, social networking, augmented reality for an experiential learning experience.

The Ci Center fundamentally changes the concept of classroom and a work space. Although the emphasis is on technology and digital information, a critical goal of the classroom is to develop personal relationships. One way it does this is to promote interaction among residents, remote sites, social media and distributed learning environ-ments.

In the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition lab, students explore vulnerabilities of the Internet and network systems so that as leaders, they are better prepared to react to threatening situations if they arise. Through simulating attacks on infrastructure to disrup-tion of critical supply lines to cracked passwords, students learn how to stop adversaries from wrecking havoc on their computer networks, as well as how to respond when the “what ifs” of cybersecurity threats become reality.

STaying currenT in The fuTure

In the years ahead, the iCollege will stay on the cutting edge of information technology and knowledge sharing. The college won’t limit itself to instruction in defined courses, but instead will be a sort of information hub. Sharing his vision for the future of the organiza-tion, Childs explained, “I look at us as a group of experts—I don’t look at us as programs. The question is, how do you take that expertise and provide a service, whether that service is answering a question or offering a course? We may not have what some organizations are looking for in their course, so my answer is, you tell me what you want and I’ll build it; I’ll work with my experts to do that. I see us as providing information to people.”

For example, the college is currently developing a reference cyber curriculum for the commanders of the War Colleges and NATO. “The idea is that anyone who wants to develop a cyber curriculum can go there and there’s a listing like an encyclopedia. Look at cyber law or governance and you have access to a list of resources on how to build your own curriculum,” Childs said. O


CLASS NOTES

Criminal Justice Program Reduces Out-of-State Tuition Rate

Beginning in the fall 2012 semester, out-of-state distance learning students can benefit from reduced tuition rates at Florida State University’s (FSU) nationally recognized College of Criminology and Criminal Justice. All distance learning graduate students enrolled in the Master of Criminal Justice Studies program will pay the in-state tuition rate of $513.34 per credit hour—a savings of more than $600 per credit hour compared to the college’s current out-of-state tuition rate, and a rate that is competitive with other online criminal justice programs throughout the United States.

“The new tuition rate will provide more working professionals residing outside of Florida the opportunity to advance their criminal justice education,” said Thomas Blomberg, dean of the FSU College of

Criminology and Criminal Justice. “Moreover, the new rate will allow additional distance learning students the opportunity to learn from the top-ranked research faculty in the nation.”

The college’s distance learning Master of Criminal Justice Studies program courses are taught by faculty members who have received national recognition for their research in the field criminology and criminal justice. FSU’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice was ranked number one nationally by the Journal of Criminal Justice Education for scholarly productivity of its graduates (in 2000) and for research productivity of its faculty (in 2011).

The distance learning Master of Criminal Justice Studies program requires a total of 36 hours of graduate credit.

Academia and Industry Partner to Produce Cybersecurity Professionals

The University of Maryland and the Northrop Grumman Corporation will launch a land-mark honors program designed to educate a new generation of advanced cybersecurity profes-sionals. The unique program, Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students (ACES), will immerse undergraduate students in all aspects of the field to meet growing manpower needs in the nation and the state of Maryland.

ACES will engage a highly talented, diverse group of students—majors in computer science, engineering, business, public policy and the social sciences—in an intensive living-learning environment that focuses on the multifaceted aspects of cybersecurity and develops team-building skills. Students will take on an advanced, cross-disci-plinary curriculum developed through industry consultation, and will interact directly with

industry and government cyber-security mentors. Students enrolled in the program will have the option of interning with Northrop Grumman and preparing for security clearance. ACES will produce skilled, experi-enced cybersecurity leaders highly sought by corporate and govern-ment organizations.

The Northrop Grumman Corporation will provide a grant of $1.1 million to launch the program, which will begin in the fall of 2013, and support it for an additional two years. The University of Maryland will match that amount. The ACES program will serve as an inau-gural regional workforce project of The Business-Higher Education Forum, of which University System of Maryland Chancellor William E. “Brit” Kirwan is chair, and Northrop Grumman Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Wes Bush is vice chair.

Finding employees fully prepared to take on complex cybersecurity issues is a major challenge for corporations and government agencies. Bush said, “We are fully committed to devel-oping solutions to help eliminate the nation’s shortage of critical STEM-educated talent and by partnering with the University of Maryland, we will address work-force challenges in the increasingly important field of cybersecurity. The university has an outstanding track record for developing inno-vative educational programs to answer real-world needs, excel-lent research capabilities through its Maryland Cybersecurity Center, and close relationships with the many federal agencies and corpo-rations in the Washington, D.C. area, likewise concerned about cybersecurity.”

ACES will consist of an inten-sive curriculum, which will include general cybersecurity offerings, as

well as a variety of other topics, including cybersecurity foren-sics, reverse engineering, secure coding, criminology, and law and public policy. In year-long capstone courses, teams of seniors will apply their knowledge and skills in solving complex cybersecurity problems. Summer internships will augment coursework with real-world projects and develop a pipeline of talented students. Throughout, Northrop Grumman will provide guest lecturers, participate in an industry advisory board, pose real-world problems for students to solve, and provide advisers and mentors for capstone projects.

The ACES program is slated to accept its first students at the College Park campus in fall 2013. Over time, through distance educa-tion programs, online course offer-ings, transfer of students, and competitions, universities across the University System of Maryland will participate in the program.

“Got Your 6” Campaign Launches

Education Pillar

The Pat Tillman Foundation, Student Veterans of America and Operation College Promise recently launched the education pillar of the national “Got Your 6” Campaign that was launched in May. Collectively, the Pat Tillman Foundation, Student Veterans of America and Operation College Promise will collect pledges from 500 colleges and univer-sities that commit to providing resources, programs and policies to support their student veteran population. To date, more than 30 educational institutions have signed the Education Pillar’s pledge. The launch event will come on the heels of two major events for both Student Veterans of America and the Pat Tillman Foundation.


North Carolina To Offer M.D.-M.B.A.

Dual-Degree Program

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine and Kenan-Flagler Business School have partnered to launch a unique dual-degree program offering medical students the oppor-tunity to earn doctor of medicine and master’s of business administration degrees in five years.

Unlike most M.D.-M.B.A. programs, Carolina’s goes beyond offering health care management courses by also integrating leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship into the curriculum. The first students start classes this fall.

A differentiating feature of the UNC dual degree is incorporating experiential learning approaches where students will develop solutions to pressing health care problems by working with clinicians and health business experts associated with UNC Health Care. UNC Health Care, a leading medical center, will open its doors to innovation projects that will improve patient outcomes and introduce new innovations while reducing health costs, Roper said. Students will work with health care practitioners in applying busi-ness principles to improving patient care.

Students must apply to and be accepted by both the M.D. program and the M.B.A. program. They may apply to the dual-degree program either concur-rently with an application to the medical school or in their first or second year in medicine. Successful candidates will complete the first three years of the M.D. program and then spend their fourth year in the core and elective M.B.A. courses. In the fifth year, students will take electives in both the M.D. and M.B.A. programs.

Future collaborations between the School of Medicine and Kenan-Flagler are expected to provide M.B.A. and M.D. students not enrolled in the dual-degree program with resources and instruction on the changing landscape of health care. Plans include creating new courses for the existing M.B.A. curric-ulum, offering health care business electives for medical students not enrolled in the dual-degree program and working toward a dual Ph.D.-M.B.A. for other doctorate students in the medical school.

Ted Zoller, director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and associate professor of strategy and entrepreneurship, and Cam Patterson, associate dean for health care entrepreneurship, are leading efforts to enhance collaboration between Kenan-Flagler and the School of Medicine, respec-tively.

Physician Assistant Program to Meet Memphis Demand

Three community leaders have forged a partnership to address the critical and growing demand for quality health care services within the metropolitan Memphis, Tenn. area. Baptist Memorial Health Care and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare have donated $125,000 each to Christian Brothers University’s new Master of Science in Physician Assistant (PA) Studies program, which admitted its first cohort of students in January of this year. As the first university within 100 miles of Memphis to offer this degree, CBU is providing students with a unique opportunity to serve the community and address the increasing demand for health care services due to a shortage of doctors in practice. Memphis has long been home to a thriving health care community yet, one important element has been absent: an educational program for PAs, the second fastest growing profession in the U.S. as noted by Newsweek magazine.

The American Association of Medical Colleges has challenged the profession to contribute 240,000 practicing PAs by the

year 2020 to meet increasing demands for primary care providers in the U.S. Graduates of CBU’s PA program will help to close this gap and allow physicians to reach a greater number of patients, which is desperately needed in Memphis, where many neighbor-hoods are medically underserved.

PAs are licensed to practice medicine, issue prescriptions and practice in all medical fields including primary care, internal medi-cine and subspecialties, as well as surgical and emergency care. The PA’s scope of prac-tice may also include education, research and administrative services.

“By establishing the first PA program in the region, CBU has taken an active role to address the shortage of physicians,” stated Dr. John Smarrelli Jr., president of CBU. “We are confident that this partnership with Baptist and Methodist will contribute to meeting the health care needs of the Memphis commu-nity are met.”

Applications are currently being accepted for the program’s next cohort that begins January 2013.

New York to Evaluate New Programs for Community College

The Tompkins Cortland Community College Board of Trustees has approved the addition of two new academic programs; International Studies associate in science degree and International Hospitality certificate. Each program will be sent to SUNY and the New York State Education department for final approval. If approved, both will begin enrolling students for the fall semester.

The international studies degree program is designed to offer students the oppor-tunity to immerse themselves in global learning, reflecting the college’s mission of preparing students for citizenship in a global society. Combining history, political sciences, cultural anthropology, language acquisition, economics and sociology, students will gain an interdisciplinary liberal arts foundation that also includes a study abroad experience. The program is designed for transfer, with bach-elor’s degree options including programs at Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland, SUNY Oswego,

SUNY Purchase and Wells College. Students completing their baccalaureate degree will be prepared to pursue careers in a variety of areas, including governmental organizations, inter-national aid, international public policy and international business.

The international hospitality certificate program expands the scope of learning options available at the college by building on the existing wine marketing and hotel and restau-rant management programs. The certificate program allows students greater exposure to the global industry, offering intense study of another culture, hospitality practices and language while creating a training environment where students are able to grow intellectually. The coursework on campus is complemented by a study abroad experience, giving students a focused experience that gives them a distinct advantage within the hospitality employment market. The certificate program is designed to be completed in just 22 credits, or less than one full year.

Compiled by KMi Media Group staff


Captain Gary L. BruceChief

Force Readiness Command Training Division

United States Coast Guard

Captain Gary L. Bruce currently serves as the chief, Training Division, Force Readiness Command, Washington, D.C., where he provides both programmatic and technical oversight of all Coast Guard’s human performance and training systems used to transfer knowledge, skills, attitudes and abilities to the workforce, ensuring workforce performance and, ultimately, mission accomplishment throughout the Coast Guard.

Since enlisting in the Coast Guard in February 1979, Bruce has experienced a wide variety of assignments as both enlisted and officer. Following his first assignment as a quartermaster aboard the USCGC Courageous (WMEC-622) stationed in Cape Canaveral, Fla., he was assigned as an instructor at the Navy Signalman and Quartermaster “A” School, Naval Training Center, Orlando, Fla., where he received his certification as a Master Training Specialist. He was then transferred to the Coast Guard Reserve Training Center, Yorktown, Va., where he was instrumental in the development and implementation of the Coast Guard’s first Quartermaster “A” School, which is now an integral part of today’s Boatswain’s Mate “A” School.

Following graduation from officer candidate school in Decem-ber 1987, he was assigned as deck watch officer and navigator aboard the USCGC Bittersweet (WLB-389) stationed in Woods Hole, Cape Cod, Mass., until July 1991. He was then assigned as the first commanding officer of the USCGC Block Island (WPB-1344) home ported in Atlantic Beach, N.C., until 1994. Continuing his legacy of establishing first of its kind units, he led the establish-ment of the Coast Guard’s Southeastern Regional Fisheries Train-ing Center located in Charleston, S.C., and was assigned as its first commanding officer, serving until 1998. Following graduate school August 1999, he served as the Systems Directorate training manager within the Office of Performance and Training at Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, D.C., followed shortly by an assignment as the chief of the Training Management Division. He was then selected as the team lead for the Joint Ratings Review Implementation Team, the largest reorganization of the enlisted workforce since World War II. Next he served as the chief warrant officer and enlisted workforce manager within the Office of Human Resource Capability at Coast Guard Headquarters, where he led the analysis and development of Human Resource enhancement solutions for the entire chief warrant officer workforce. He then transferred to Training Center Yorktown, Va., where he served as the chief, Performance Technology Center, 2004-2006, and then as executive officer until summer of 2008. He was then assigned as chief, Physical Evaluations Branch, within the Coast Guard Per-sonnel Service Center, Arlington, Va., until March 2009. His most

recent assignment was another first as establishing commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Health, Safety and Work-Life Ser-vice Center located in Norfolk, Va., where he maintained technical oversight of all medical, safety and environmental health and work-life services throughout the Coast Guard.

Bruce is a native of Orlando and received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration/management from Limestone College, Gaffney, S.C., and a Master of Science degree in instruc-tional systems from Florida State University. He has received numerous personal and unit awards.

Q: Can you give us an organizational overview of the training divi-sion, i.e such as its size, structure and how it fits into FORCE-COM?

A: The Coast Guard’s Force Readiness Command, or FORCECOM, is responsible for preparing and ensuring that the members of the Coast Guard are ready to accomplish Coast Guard missions. The Training Division within FORCECOM is the largest division by far and manages the Coast Guard’s training and education programs. Besides oversight of the Coast Guard’s eight major training centers and eight smaller training support units, we also provide a human performance technology approach where we can ensure training is based on policy and doctrine, analyzed, evaluated for impact, and improved by field feedback.


Force Enabler Q&AEnsuring Mission Success Through Knowledge and Training

Q&A

Q: What are your responsibilities as chief of FC-T?

A: Besides overseeing the Training Centers [TRACEN], the Coast Guard Institute, and the Coast Guard’s Performance Technology Center, I also serve as the Headquarters focal point for the Coast Guard’s performance, training and education system.

What all this means is that I am responsible for ensuring Coast Guard men and women have the prerequisite skills and knowledge they need in order to be successful in the field and ultimately, accomplish the mission. We do this through use of a human performance cycle that accurately analyzes the need in the field, designs and develops the most cost efficient training intervention, and then conducts that training either in the field or at one of our training centers.

Q: How does your past experience in the Coast Guard shape your decision making as chief of FC-T?

A: Training and education have largely shaped my career in the Coast Guard. I was an instructor, a master training specialist, and a commanding officer of a training center early in my career, and then I was chief of the training managers at Headquarters. Later on in my career, I was chief of the Performance Technology Center where the Coast Guard conducts most of its analysis work and then the executive officer of one of the major TRACENs. This is all in addition to being assigned as a commanding officer to cutters and service centers. So I’ve had an opportunity to see every aspect of the human performance technology cycle.

What this past experience has shown me is the importance of staying focused on outcomes. Training and education are not done for their own sake; they tie directly to Coast Guard missions. Keeping that in mind helps me make decisions as the chief of FORCECOM’s training division.

Q: Could you describe the role of the Coast Guard Institute in voluntary education?

A: The Coast Guard Institute plays a vital role in voluntary educa-tion. Besides the formidable job of processing tuition assistance [TA] and education grant requests, it is also the hub where Coast Guardsmen can get assessments and official transcripts of Coast Guard training they have completed. These assessments of prior learning go a long way to reducing the amount of college courses members need to take to get a degree which results in significant savings for both the Coast Guard and the members.

Q: In your opinion, what makes a school truly military-friendly?

A: I think what makes a school truly military-friendly is one that is willing to go that extra mile to help service men and women reach their goals. Examples would include their willingness to consider military training and credit-by-examination when enroll-ing students; the flexibility of their professors and administrators when students are temporarily unable to complete class work due to service requirements; and most importantly, the provision of a high-quality education that gives our servicemembers the skills and knowledge they need to complete Coast Guard missions in the short-term. Another huge element of education is preparing members for success in transition between workforces such as

enlisted to officer paths. An additional service for the greater good of the entire country is preparing our members for transition out of the Coast Guard and into the public workplace.

I also want to throw a plug out there for SOCCOAST. The Coast Guard has already set up a system for determining if a college or university is Coast Guard friendly. SOCCOAST’s Degree Network System provides our members a student agreement that initiates a complete evaluation of the member’s prior learning, including courses from other colleges and universities, training courses, Coast Guard rating occupational experience and nationally-recognized tests. The process clearly identifies requirements for completing the degree. Many of the courses are guaranteed trans-ferable, making it easier for our members to complete a degree no matter where they move during their mobile careers.

Q: What advice would you give a Coast Guardsman that may have some college credit but who does not yet hold a degree?

A: Get in contact with a full-time Coast Guard education ser-vices officer and schedule some time to discuss your educational goals. Coast Guard ESOs are best positioned to assist members in obtaining an assessment of their military experience, review-ing any transcripts they might have already from other colleges, and really helping assist Coast Guardsmen find out exactly what they already have completed. Then an ESO can help the member determine which goals can be met while still in the service, as well as the best way meet those goals after transitioning out.

I would also ask them to investigate SOCCOAST. For all the reasons listed in the previous question, I urge every Coast Guard-man to at least consider a SOCCOAST college before selecting a college to attend.

Many of our men and women don’t realize how easy it is to turn a few college credits, some credit-by-examination tests, and a transcript from the Coast Guard Institute into an associate degree.

Q: Although it won’t be held this year because of DoD World-wide, what are the benefits of attending the Coast Guard ESO Symposium, on both the ESO and school side?

A: As a cost savings measure, the Coast Guard is suspending holding the Coast Guard ESO Symposium for the near term. We feel the Council of College and Military Educators Annual Symposium could fulfill some of the professional development that the Coast Guard ESO Symposium would have provided. So we are focusing ESOs on attendance at these venues as profes-sional development opportunities. We will also add CG focused presentations to share CG policy and programs information with our field ESOs. Also, the Coast Guard Institute is increasing quotas to its ESO orientation workshop to train newly assigned part-time ESOs.

Q: Overall, do you think Coast Guardsmen are aware of the educational benefits available to them?

A: I think they are aware, maybe even too aware [laughs]. We have promoted the heck out of voluntary education over the last 10 years. In 2001, our tuition assistance expenditures were less than $3 million. Now we are over $20 million. This sevenfold


increase shows we did a pretty good job of getting the word out. Currently, about 24 percent of Coast Guard men and women are utilizing TA on a yearly basis. I am not sure how long we can sustain these num-bers in a difficult budget climate.

I think there is room for improvement with the Coast Guard members under-standing of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Many still don’t realize the benefits and conse-quences of transferring those benefits to their spouse and children and although we have all worked hard to spread the word, the law is complicated and members are still surprised at what they can and can’t do.

Q: How does the Coast Guard work to promote the pursuit of higher education among its members and what role should leadership play in encouraging education among junior members?

A: Certainly leadership plays a top-down role in promoting education among our members. From the commandant’s vision and directions, to our voluntary education service chief and program manager’s oversight of the program, to individual education service officers making the one-on-one career counseling, to our Coast Guard Institute issuing offi-cial transcripts and processing tuition assist claims, we are all involved in supporting members reach their off-duty education goals.

But in my opinion, no one plays a more crucial role in elevat-ing our members than individual commanding officers and front line supervisors. Without deck-plate level support and encourage-ment, the program couldn’t be nearly as successful as it is today. One of the tools the Coast Guard has is an individual development plan that compels the members to outline their educational goals and lay out the steps they have taken so far to achieve them. It also provides supervisors a chance to review those goals, mitigate barriers and periodically prod members toward their goals.

Q: What DoD voluntary education initiatives do you find most promising?

A: I like what DoD is doing with regards to certification and licensing. I think we all realize that not every job in the civil-ian sector requires a college degree, but just about every high paying job requires advanced skills and experience. A lot of our members have this experience and skill, but not the certification and licenses require to be hired the day they transition out of the service. Currently the Coast Guard only provides voluntary edu-cation money to members in degree seeking programs, but I am very interested in seeing how DoD integrates certifications and licensing into their military training programs.

Q: What effects could cuts to education benefits have on the overall strength of the Coast Guard, in terms of the quality of the force and on recruitment and retention?

A: As far as recruitment and retention goes, for the near term the Coast Guard would do fine if there were some modest cuts to education benefits. The Coast Guard is turning away many promising recruits because we have already met our need for the year and we are achieving record retention rates these past several years.

My concern is how cuts to education benefits will affect over-all Coast Guard readiness. We know that educational achieve-ment positively affects a member’s morale. Beyond that obvious benefit, I think a better educated workforce is a higher perform-ing workforce. That is hard to fully quantify in hard data and our obligation to work within the congressional budget makes anything less than fully justified easy reduction targets.

Our most pressing challenge in Coast Guard voluntary education is accurately justifying the benefits of voluntary education to overall Coast Guard readiness. Our senior leader-ship must be convinced of this in this ever tightening budget environment.

Q: Do you have any closing thoughts?

A: I appreciate Military Advanced Education giving me this opportunity to introduce myself and would like to use this occasion to thank both our full-time and collateral duty ESOs out there that are helping our members on a day-to-day basis. I appreciate their commitment to the personal and professional development and the mission readiness of the Coast Guard.

As a former enlisted guy who utilized tuition assistance to get a bachelor’s degree, went to officer candidate school, quali-fied for a Coast Guard advanced degree program, went back to school and now heads the education program, I’d like to think I’m a positive example of the Coast Guard’s return on invest-ment. As the Coast Guard’s newest chief of training, I consider it an honor to have been given this opportunity to “pay it forward” as an advocate for the value of education to our members. O

U.S. Coast Guard men and women put their knowledge to the test.

N A M E H E R E


In 2009, 12.8 million students received Title IV aid and approximately 18 million tax filers claimed a higher education tax benefit for current expenses.

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) analysis of 2009 IRS data for selected returns with information on education expenses found that tax filers do not always choose tax expenditures that maximize their potential tax benefits. The number of students receiving Title IV aid increased from 10.4 million to 12.8 million, or 23 percent, from 2006 to 2009. The number of tax filers benefiting from an education tax expenditure was larger, and increased from 14.4 million to 18 million, or 25 per-cent, from 2006 to 2009. Recent increases in both Title IV aid and tax expenditures from 2008 to 2009 may be because of enrollment increases and legislative actions, among other factors.

Title IV grants tend to benefit students and families with incomes below the national median (about $52,000 from 2006 to 2010), while loans and work-study serve these students as well as students at family incomes above the median. Most tax benefits from the tuition and fees deduction and the parental exemption for dependent students went to families with incomes above $60,000, whereas the majority of benefits from the other higher education tax expenditures in our review—such as the American Opportunity Credit—went to families with lower incomes.

Supporting Research*

Federal Assistance for Higher Education

Attendance Choice Persistence Completion

Grants X X X

Student loans X X

Work-study X

Tax expenditures

Tuition and Fees Deduction X X

Student Loan Interest Deduction

Parental exemption for students age 19 to 23

American Opportunity Credit

Hope Credit X

Lifetime Learning Credit X X

Earned Income Tax Credit for students age 19 to 23

Coverdell Education Savings Account

529 Qualified Tuition Program

*By the GAO’s own admission, the degree of research on the effects of federal assistance is limited and cannot be generalized.

a recenT rePorT by The governmenT accounTabiliTy office findS ThaT many are noT Taking full advanTage of Tax benefiTS ThaT could helP Pay for a higher educaTion.

More Education Helps Pay for More Education

N A M E H E R E


The GAO found about 14 percent of filers (1.5 million of almost 11 million eligible returns) failed to claim a credit or deduction for which they appear eligible. On average, these filers lost a tax benefit of $466. They estimated that the total amount of tax benefits filers did not claim was approximately $726 million in 2009. They found no cases where filers’ combined state and federal tax liability would have been higher if they had claimed one of those benefits on their federal return. Taxpay-ers might not maximize their tax benefits because they are unaware of their eligibility for the provisions or confused about their use.

The IRS and the Department of Education (DOE) have taken steps to provide information on these provisions, but the number of filers failing to claim a higher education tax provision suggests more could be done. For example, the IRS stated that it coordinated with tax preparation software providers to provide links to relevant higher education forms, while DOE’s federal student aid website provides a link to IRS’s Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education. Developing a coordinated, comprehensive strategy to better inform eligible students could improve take-up of these tax provisions.

The GAO also reported that despite DOE’s research efforts, evalu-ative research on the effects of federal assistance for higher education on student outcomes—such as the likelihood students will complete their education—remains limited (see table on page 19). Research-ers have examined the effects of federal assistance on a limited basis, such as only for certain states or groups of students, but these studies provide an incomplete view of the effects of federal assistance. DOE’s efforts to sponsor and undertake research represent an important step, but the available research still lacks evaluative information on the effects of federal grants, loans and work-study.

Continuing gaps in research on the effectiveness of federal assis-tance may be partially attributed to data and methodological chal-lenges that have proved difficult to overcome. Recent changes in Title IV aid and tax expenditures—such as the introduction of the American Opportunity Credit in 2009—may provide opportunities for evaluative research, but DOE officials told the GAO that they have not conducted such research due in part to the level of resources that DOE officials reported they devote to such research. In an environment of con-strained budgets, evaluative research can help inform policy decisions.

Finally, the GAO identified factors that contribute to effective and efficient higher education assistance programs to help policymakers allocate limited resources among multiple programs. These factors can be used as a policy tool for considering improvements to current programs, consolidating programs, eliminating programs, or design-ing features of new programs. They can be used as a framework for assessing whether a higher education program does the following:

• achieves program goals and produces demonstrable results • provides appropriate incentives for targeted populations • facilitates beneficiaries’ use of the program• interacts effectively with other programs • minimizes costs and risks, and • establishes monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.

The GAO, based on their work, recommended the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the Secretary of Education work together to:

• identify characteristics of tax filers who are not claiming a higher education tax expenditure when they appear to be eligible for one and possible reasons for this, and

• use this information to identify strategies to improve information provided to eligible students and families.

They also recommended that the Secretary of Education take advantage of opportunities presented by recent and anticipated sub-stantive program changes to sponsor and conduct evaluative research into the effectiveness of Title IV programs and higher education tax expenditures at improving student outcomes.

The DOE and IRS agreed with these recommendations. DOE noted that while it does not have access to tax data, it will work with IRS to assist in taxpayer outreach. O



From soldierto civilian

take command oF your educationA public institution serving our Armed Forces for 40 years.

• Top national ranking among military colleges for undergraduate and graduate studies

• Flexible solutions designed for military personnel and their spouses

• Easy credit transfer; credits awarded for military training

To learn more visit tesc.edu/militaryinfo or e-mail [email protected] by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

TESC3985-67_Camo_SoldierToCivilian_MilAdvEdu.indd 1 5/25/12 1:18 PM


These days, the vast majority of college students have mobile devices. Handheld devices like smartphones and tablets are fast becoming the primary way many people use the Internet. These devices are as integral to students’ educations as textbooks or com-puters, as students rely on them to obtain important information about their courses, campus news and social activities. As a result, colleges and universities are responding to need and developing mobile websites and smartphone applications that better serve the student population.

Recognizing that mobile devices are simply not small desktop computers, many schools are working to create cohesive mobile platforms that are intuitive and responsive to the students’ needs via mobile websites and apps. How each particular school is developing its mobile platform, however, seems to depend on the institution’s unique needs and budget.

“We have a mobile site at http://m.ucsd.edu/ and we also support mobile apps in the app stores for the iPhone/iPad and Android,” said Brett Pollak, University of California San Diego (UCSD), director, campus web office. “Our iPhone and Android apps are basically app containers that point back to the mobile site. This allows us to get the biggest bang for the buck in terms of having multiple distribu-tion channels with minimal maintenance. In addition, we converted our campus website to use Responsive Web Design (RWD) in January of 2012. Since then, we have begun retrofitting all of our campus websites and applications to utilize RWD. RWD allows the site or app to automatically conform to the resolution of the device accessing the content. So as new devices are developed, such as different-sized tablets and phones, our web properties look great on all of them.”

In 2008, UCSD contracted with a vendor to build a single app exclusive to the iPhone, as that is where demand was at the time. When having an app for one platform stopped meeting the demand, the university chose to partner with UCLA to develop a device-agnostic mobile framework. Pollak explained, “We used that baseline framework to build our mobile website. The mobile website is a col-lection of mobile apps using the UC mobile web framework. Because we have a distributed IT environment, the mobile web framework

allows IT units on campus to build and host their own mobile apps but have them tie back to a common look and feel. We then devel-oped the iPhone/iPad and Android apps to point back to m.ucsd.edu. So whether you are using the app or the mobile website, you get the same experience.”

Indiana University uses a hybrid solution: an app that can be downloaded from the Apple app store and from the Google Market-place under the name IU Mobile, but the primary portion of the app is really just HTML5 based technology being served like a typical web application. “We wrap that with a technology called PhoneGap that is owned by Adobe which allows for us to create an actual distribution that we can put into the app stores,” said Brian McGough, Indiana University, director of enterprise integration and chief software architect. “We went this direction because we believe it is important from a marketing perspective to actually have a presence in the app stores, but for maintenance across all of the different platforms that exist we wanted to leverage HTML5 standard web-based technologies that allow for the write once, run anywhere approach.”

“A traditional website with all the graphics and content on a 2-inch-by-4-inch screen can be very frustrating to the user, caus-ing the user to leave our site in search of a more efficient one,” said Janice Sheppard, interim assistant vice president, University of Wisconsin System. “The mobile site makes our comprehensive, very detailed website also usable when all that is available is a smart phone or small tablet. We expect students and others to access the mobile info for contact information or a quick check on something, but to continue to use the comprehensive website from a computer for more thorough research.”

Linda Martin, executive director of web and new media strategies at the University of Maryland (UMD), said UMD is currently placing

collegeS and univerSiTieS are increaSingly uSing mobile aPPS and webSiTeS To enhance The STudenT exPerience.by kelly fodel

mae correSPondenT


more focus on the mobile website. “We know from our web analytics that many more folks were coming into our site with mobile phones. If people are using their cell phones for viewing on the web, the web-site should be able to adjust to their sized screen.”

Both mobile apps and websites have their own unique advantages and disadvantages. Apps that are not tied back to a mobile website can be harder to create and update because those apps require the synchronization of many campus departments. On the upside, mobile apps can be more user friendly than websites and allow students to interact more, uploading comments and photos in an easy-to-use fashion. “Apps will always be around because they are more engaging, but are limited by the platform they are built on,” explained Sheppard.

“The advantage to apps is that people still go to the app stores to find information on their mobile devices and with our approach of having the apps point back to the mobile site, there is little overhead or downside to this approach,” Pollak said. “A native app utilizing the vendor’s explicit technologies to this point will be more responsive for the end-user. You just have to weigh the cost of supporting multiple platforms utilizing multiple technologies with a more ubiquitous approach. We feel we have struck a good balance.”

McGough from IU noted, “The mobile app advantages are primarily marketing and perception related. Due to the wonderful marketing that Apple did with their ‘There’s an app for that’ campaign, it became the expectation of consumers that institu-tions would write an app that would work natively on their device.”

Many schools still opt to focus on the mobile website, for a vari-ety of reasons. First, the mobile site is often more cost effective. Also, according to Pollak, “With the maturation of HTML5 and CSS3, the mobile web is where things are going. You can now create a very native-app-like experience on the mobile web browser. In addition, mobile devices have some of the most sophisticated browsers that support these newer technologies.”

There is an added ease of mobile websites, according to McGough. “Mobile website technology is great because we already have plenty of web programmers who are proficient and so there is not a need to learn a new programming language for each platform that you would write an app for. In addition, you get the value by the virtue that because it is HTML-based and that is a standard, you can write the code once and it will work on all kinds of different devices. It comes down to money and skillsets.”

Whether a school is using the mobile app, mobile website or a hybrid approach, there are significant benefits for students. Indiana University’s mobile app provides some class information, events calendars, news, classifieds, dining menus, bus schedules, library services, campus 411, maps, athletics information, computer lab availability, person lookup, technology notices, a knowledge base, an ask IU service, emergency contact info and campus feedback. Talk about information right at your fingertips!

The same goes for UCSD. “Based on the analytics for our mobile site, the student apps are by far the most used,” said Pollak. “Our student portal is now optimized for mobile. Students can now log in and get their complete course list. The locations of the courses are linked to our mobile campus map. So on the first day of classes, stu-dents can get personalized walking directions to each of their classes

using the GPS on the phone. Units on campus have also used the mobile framework to build student event calendars and schedules for campus events. They have tied these in to social media to cultivate engagement.” UCSD students have provided positive feedback about the student portal now being optimized for mobile devices, which has helped students arrive on-time during the first day of classes each quarter. The registrar has also seen a tremendous reduction in foot traffic during this time as the students are now relying on their devices to direct them to their classes versus asking for help.

Thanks to the mobile website, some veterans now have access to higher education resources through their mobile devices. The University of Wisconsin System, University of Wisconsin-Extension, and the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) released a

smartphone-friendly version of the Veterans Education Portal (www.veterans.wisconsin.edu). Veterans who want to take the first step toward completing their education will find information about Wisconsin’s veteran educa-tion benefits, academic programs and support—all in one place, tailored for display on a small screen. The new ver-sion also automatically detects what kind of smartphone is being used and customizes the display for the best view. “It helps veterans make the transition from military service to college life,” explained Morna Foy, spokesperson for the Wisconsin Technical College System. “The site guides Wisconsin veterans toward finding the right fit among Wisconsin’s public colleges and universities.”

With a Wisconsin GI Bill that offers generous education benefits, veterans are increasingly looking to complete their education. For some veterans though, knowing where to start can be a challenge. The new portal helps by providing a single point of entry to the resources, services and benefits available at all of the UW system campuses and the Wisconsin technical colleges. In addition, veterans can call a dedicated, toll-free UW phone line and speak directly with an adviser.

Air Force reservist Joe Ahlers, a UW-Madison law student, served on the committee to design the new portal. “The hardest step is the first step, and a lot of veterans don’t know how to take that first step,” Ahlers said. “Before this portal existed, we had to look at 10 different pamphlets and make dozens of calls to find the right resource. Now, vets can take advantage of all the information in one place.”

As more and more students acquire and depend on their mobile devices, schools can expect to place even more significance upon their mobile platform offerings. “They are increasingly important for students, visitors, parents, faculty and staff,” McGough acknowl-edged. “Smartphones and apps have fundamentally changed the expectations about how information systems should be delivered, and forced IT to ensure that they take mobile device delivery into account for things they do going forward.” At Indiana University, Pol-lak noted, “We are seeing about a half percent increase per month in traffic to the home page from mobile devices. We have entered a new era of computing and if we are not making sure our web properties are optimized for the devices people are using, we are missing the boat.” O



Janice Sheppard


For most, being in the service is a full-time job—and for many, it is far more than the typical 9-to-5. There is a laundry list of reasons that can get in the way of a starting and finishing a college education. Although the challenges are difficult, the ultimate rewards in terms of personal satisfaction and career advancement are measurable.

Military Advanced Education recently had the chance to ask education pro-fessionals with military backgrounds what guidance they give military students on the benefits and rewards of going to school, working and living life. Each was asked:

Birmingham-Southern CollegeGeneral Charles Krulak (Retired)President

North Georgia College & State UniversityColonel Todd WilsonProfessor of Military Science

Most military members are very famil-iar with the importance of training in the development of their professional lives. At the same time, many are unaware of the importance of education and often do not understand the difference between the two. Training is preparation for the expected. Education is preparation for the unexpected. As military professionals, we live in a world of the unexpected and thus education is critical if we are to succeed.

Too often we hear the excuse that we just are too busy to seek a college education. Deployments, lengthy training exercises, and day-to-day responsibilities all provide reasons needed to beg off seeking a college degree. These excuses are real. They do limit options.

At the same time, the methods and oppor-tunities to obtain a college education are so many and varied that with some investigation and planning, college can be a reality to most.

Education is a critical key to unlocking the door to advancement in either the mili-tary or civilian life. Simply put, education plus the leadership training coupled with hands-on experience obtained while serv-ing in the military make the service man or woman a sought-after commodity in either the military or civilian world. Education pro-vides the fertile soil in which the individual’s talents can take root and grow.

As the commandant of the Marine Corps, I always counted it a solid plus when I met enlisted and officers who had the motivation

to pursue higher education. Their desire to “prepare for the unexpected” always sent the signal that they were interested in personal improvement for the eventual good of their comrades.

As the president of Birmingham-South-ern College, I am even more convinced that a college education is critical. We live in a complex world … a world that requires us to think analytically about problems, come to viable solutions to address those problems, and be able to articulate those solutions either verbally or in writing. A college educa-tion provides the tools to do just that. With the GI Bill available to most servicemembers, the opportunity for college is a reality. Take advantage of it.

Higher education gives servicemem-bers the opportunity and the skills to place themselves in a position to be suc-cessful. Having earned both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree, I person-

ally have reaped the benefits of higher education in my military career.

It is my belief that people who find success in military or civilian life also are good leaders who have learned the

skills necessary to create the positive environment found at most high-per-forming organizations. This belief is the basis of the command vision and endur-ing priorities I have shaped during my

Plan and Execute

There is no doubt a college degree opens doors, military and civilian, yet some servicemembers are still hesitant to take the leap and enroll. As a former military officer and current education professional, what advice could you offer to current servicemembers debating college?

your career and life can be obSTacleS To furThering a college educaTion—buT only if you leT Them.


Troy UniversityJack Hawkins, Jr., Ph.D.Chancellor

My advice to servicemembers is identical to the advice I gave a student from Inner Mongolia University asking about the pur-pose of obtaining an undergraduate educa-tion. The real purpose of an undergraduate education is to prepare one to make a life and not just a living. Data show that an individual with a college education will earn at least $1 million more than those earning only a high school diploma. For many, however, a college education will mean so much more than that. I believe the real value of a college education is not only found in dollars but in quality of life it provides.

As the world’s economic forces come together and as we continue to advance tech-nologically, we are finding that we are more

closely connected today than at any time in our history. This connectivity requires the U.S. to be competitive on a global level, and higher education plays a key role in that process. At Troy University, we strive to equip our students with that wider consciousness and experience because we know that being well prepared to function in a global environ-ment is a necessity.

Aside from the obvious personal benefits of higher education, the need for leadership in America and around the world is greater today than ever before.

Some 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson said one of the great challenges we’ll face in the preservation of this democracy is having enough principled leaders with vision and

integrity. We need leaders, and our current servicemen and women have already dem-onstrated those qualities through service to country and fellow man.

Military service has equipped them with the discipline and tools necessary to enjoy a successful college experience and a reward-ing life, military or civilian.

I encourage current servicemembers to pursue a college education from a university that will stand behind the degree. Troy is known as a best buy by Forbes, and its aca-demic programs are widely recognized for excellence.

There is an ancient proverb that says: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Take that first step today. O

Thomas Edison State CollegeColonel Dennis Devery (Retired)Vice President for Planning and Research

My advice to servicemembers debating college is to take the leap and enroll. It will change your life. The military person-nel that I served with in Afghanistan and throughout my 30-year career are some of the smartest people I have ever met. They have experience and knowledge well beyond their contemporaries in the civilian sector. The planning, coordination and execution of missions, which military junior leaders accomplish on a daily basis, would chal-lenge the skills of the best MBA students.

When I first enlisted in the service, I had no intention of going to college. I was not the best student in school and I thought college was for people who wanted to work in corporations or office jobs. I also didn’t

have a lot of money and thought college would be too expensive. Fortunately, a ser-geant took the time to explain the value of college to my military career and life after the military. He also explained how military education benefits could help pay for col-lege. His advice changed my life. I started at community college and then transferred to Rutgers University. Later in my military career, I attended graduate school and I am now working on my doctorate.

Aside from the credentials that a col-lege education provides, which helps with military promotion points and civilian job interviews, the critical-thinking skills and the diverse concepts you learn while attend-ing college makes you more valuable as a

servicemember and as an individual. Today, I am the vice president for institutional planning and research at Thomas Edison State College. The credentials I obtained from my college degrees opened the door for this opportunity, but it was my military experience coupled with the skills learned in college that qualified me for the position.

Finally, I advise all servicemembers to take advantage of your education benefits. The GI Bill and tuition assistance programs provided by the services are America’s way to say “Thank You” for your service. Use these benefits to invest in yourself and your future. You can succeed, as I have, and America needs you on our college campuses.

24 years of commissioned Army service and throughout my career of mentor-ing and training young soldiers.

Organizations succeed when they have competent individuals in their ranks who foster trust and teamwork. These three factors—trust, teamwork and competency—are interdependent

and having educated leaders and per-sonnel is a precondition to success for any organization, military or civilian.

Higher education can help servicemembers gain, sustain and improve the skills that successful organizations seek. A college degree builds upon military training, further

honing intelligence, leadership and critical thinking.

Furthermore, many aspects of college life, from financial aid to flexible or online degree programs, are being geared toward helping servicemembers who wish to pur-sue higher education as more colleges and universities become military-friendly.


The “Credit Hour” War Part of the CCME mission is to serve

as a forum to discuss those legislative and regulatory issues that could impact voluntary military education. The ongoing controversy surrounding the definition of a credit hour is the subject of this month’s Grapevine.

This topic first made headlines late in 2009 when the inspector general of the department of education issued reports highly critical of three regional accreditors: Southern Associa-tion of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the Mid-dle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), and the Higher Leaning Commis-sion of the North Central Association of Col-leges and Schools. The following taken from the December 14th, 2009, MSCHE Depart-ment of Education (DOE) IG report captures the primary concern expressed.

“We found that Middles States does not have minimum requirements specific for pro-gram length and does not have minimum requirements for the assignment of credit hours. The lack of requirements could result in inflated credit hours, the improper designa-tion of full-time student status, and the over-awarding of Title IV funds.”

Here is the MSCHE response: “Recent research and evidence indicates that the fundamental concern of higher education’s constituencies—students, their families, gov-ernment policy makers, and employers … is whether students graduate with appropriate knowledge skills and competencies, and not how many hours they spend in a classroom.”

SACS responded by saying, “It is the prac-tice of SACS … to hold institutions account-able for the academic quality of any and all course work … It does this by engaging evalu-ators from peer institutions and training them to make professional judgments using as a framework the expectation that the institu-tion makes these decisions consistent with its mission and ensuring that the courses work and learning outcomes are at the collegiate level and that all degree programs offered by the institution are comparable.”

The crux of the issue is that the DOE views credit hours as a financial aid/Title IV funds issue and the accrediting bodies view credit hours from an academic perspective—that is, as a learning outcomes metric.

On June 18, 2010, the DOE published its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Program

Integrity). The primary purpose was to address potential fraud and abuse in federal financial aid programs. The inclusion of the credit hour definition among the rules was a surprise to many. According to the National Associa-tion of Independent Colleges and Universities, “During the negotiated rulemaking, everyone agreed to strike the definition. However, when the department issued the proposed rule, it put the definition back in.”

A number of academic organizations called for the removal of the definition dur-ing the 45-day comment period. Here is the concern of the Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA): “The proposed rules on credit hour undermine accreditation’s key function to provide peer/professional review of academic matters based on institutional mission by standardizing the concept of credit hour and forcing compliance independent of institutional purpose.”

When the final regulations were pub-lished, the definition remained and was left largely intact with an effective date of July 1, 2011.

On February 16, 2011, the president of the American Council on Education (ACE) sent a letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan requesting that the credit hour definition reg-ulation be rescinded. The letter was endorsed by over 70 higher education associations and accrediting bodies.

From the ACE letter: “The Department of Education has federalized a basic academic concept and, at the same time, developed a complex, ambiguous and unworkable defini-tion … the issue is that with little evidence of a problem and no evidence that Congress wants the federal government to intervene in this area, the department intends to use accredi-tors to extend federal authority over academic decision making on local campuses.”

Since the DOE failed to comply with the request, ACE took its case to Congress. The Congressional hearing, “Education Reg-ulations: Federal Overreach into Academic Affairs” was held on March 11, 2011. The fol-lowing is from the testimony of Blair Dowden, president of Huntington University: This reg-ulation “inserts the federal government into one of the most sacrosanct elements of higher education. The effort to transform the credit hour into a simple accounting unit used for

bookkeeping shows, I believe, a fundamental misunderstanding of the credit hour. A credit hour is not only different from institution to institution, but is different even within an institution from program to program. A scientific laboratory class is different from practicing a music instrument which is differ-ent from engaging in a business practicum.”

Speaking in support of the regulation was Kathleen Tighe, the inspector general of the Department of Education, who said, “A credit hour is a proxy measure of a quantity of stu-dent learning in exchange for financial assis-tance. It is in the federal interest to ensure that students are receiving an appropriate amount of funding and instruction and that taxpayer money is being used properly.”

In June of last year, Representative Vir-ginia Foxx (R-N.C.) introduced legislation, H.R. 2177: Protecting Academic Freedom in Higher Education Act. This legislation would prohibit the DOE from overreaching into academic affairs. It would rescind the Credit Hour Definition and State Authorization pro-visions. On February 28, 2012, the House passed H.R. 2177 by a vote of 303-114.

A Senate version of the bill, S.1297, faces more of an uphill battle for passage since the Democrats have a majority and Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, supports the Education Department’s initia-tives. In the unlikely event that it does pass, it faces a presidential veto.

So how does all this impact the voluntary military education community? Given that our students are predominantly non-tradi-tional and our delivery modes are predomi-nantly non-traditional, the effort needed to demonstrate compliance will likely be greater on us than it will be for any other sector of higher education. While legislation to rescind is pending, we need to be aware that the regulation actually went into effect a year ago on July 1. CHEA made this recommendation after the rules were finalized: Institutions must use the federal definition of a credit hour as their starting point for making academic judgments about the credits associated with courses and programs if the schools are to continue to be eligible for federal funding. O

Michael Heberling is the CCME vice president.

CCME GRAPEVINE

by michael heberling


MONEY TALKS Compiled by KMi Media Group staff

Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation Awards $6,000,000

in Scholarships

On July 10, the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, the nation’s oldest and largest provider of need-based scholarships to military families, awarded more than $6,000,000 in college scholarships to 1,909 Marine Corps children at its 2012 Scholarship Announcement ceremony. In its 50th anniversary year, the Scholarship Foundation has responded to a growing number of applications for educational aid and increased scholarship awards by 17 percent.

Since 1962, the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation has provided more than 30,000 awards valued at over $70,000,000. The Scholarship Foundation honors the selfless service of Marines by educating their children, with particular attention given to those whose parent has been killed or wounded in combat, or who have demonstrated financial need.

This year, the Scholarship Foundation saw a 25 percent increase in applications, representing the growing needs of our nation’s military families. “We are a lynchpin in reducing student debt loads of those Marine families who have already sacrificed so much. The Scholarship Foundation honors Marine families by educating their children-in-need, fulfilling family dreams, and making America stronger,” said Margaret B. Davis, president and CEO of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation.

Among the 2012-2013 recipients are the first 10 students to receive scholarships established by Medal of Honor recipient Sergeant Dakota Meyer in honor of the Marines, Navy Corpsmen and Afghans with whom he served in Afghanistan. The scholarships will be awarded annually in perpetuity to the children of wounded Marines from all conflicts and supported by funds raised through The Dakota Meyer Challenge to America.

“I am honored to work with the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation and I renew my challenge to America to help me raise an additional $1,000,000 to help give Marine children a brighter future,” said Sergeant Meyer.

The 2012-2013 Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation recipi-ents comprise families that are honorably discharged, active duty, wounded in combat and killed in action. For 50 years, the Scholarship Foundation has honored wounded and fallen Marines with scholar-ships. This year, 97 students received Heroes Tribute for Children of the Wounded Scholarships and 13 students received Heroes Tribute for Children of the Fallen Scholarships.

Over the years, the support of corporate donors has helped schol-arship recipients afford not only college tuition but the many costs associated with higher education. For the second consecutive year, Hewlett-Packard (HP) will award mini HP computers to 50 scholar-ship recipients, allowing them to make the most of their studies at their academic institutions.

Deputy Secretary of Education Anthony Miller addressed Marine Corps families and scholarship recipients at this year’s Scholarship Announcement Ceremony, paying tribute to their incredible resil-ience and significant academic achievements.

CCME Announces ScholarshipsThe Council of College and Military Educators (CCME) is pleased to offer $1,000

scholarships each year to U.S. servicemembers (active duty/veterans) and spouses of servicemembers who are working toward the completion of higher education degrees. All applicants must submit the online CCME scholarship application, available at: www.ccmeonline.org/scholarship. The deadline for scholarship applications is October 1, 2012. Questions should be e-mailed to [email protected].

EligibilityRequirements:

CCME Joe King Scholarship (5 awards) applicants must:• be a uniformed servicemember (active, reserves, guard)• be currently enrolled in an educational program at a regional or national

accredited institution that is a member institution of CCME• first-time associate, bachelor, or graduate degree seeker• have a minimum of 12 or more hours (units) with a cumulative 2.5 GPA

(undergraduate) from a CCME member institution; minimum six or more hours (units) with a cumulative 3.0 GPA (graduate) from a CCME member institution

• submit an unofficial college or university transcript from all colleges• submit two letters of recommendation to be completed by persons unrelated

to applicant, who will attest to their motivation, character, integrity and educational pursuit. One recommendation must be from a faculty member or academic advisor.

CCME Spouse Scholarship (5 awards) applicants must:• be the spouse of a uniformed servicemember (active, reserves, guard, veteran)• be currently enrolled in an educational program at a regional or national





CCME Veteran Scholarship (5 awards) applicants must:• be a prior uniformed servicemember (active, reserves, guard)• be currently enrolled in an educational program at a regional or national





Essays will be judged on written content and writing skills, and should be at least 400-750 words in length. Applications that are incomplete or are from individuals that do not qualify will not be considered. Finalists will be required to provide documentation of service.


calendarOctober 8-11, 2012GEOINTSymposium2012Orlando, Fla.http://geoint2012.com

October 29 – November 31, 2012AmericanAssociationofStateCollegesandUniversitiesNew Orleans, La.www.aascu.org

advertiSerS indexTheArtInstitutes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 www.veterans.artinstitutes.eduAshfordUniversity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 www.military.ashford.edu/maeBakerCollegeOnline.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3 www.bakercollegeonline.comCapitolCollege. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 www.capitol-college.edu/maeParkUniversity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 www.park.edu/maeThomasEdisonStateCollege. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 www.tesc.edu/militaryinfoUniversityofMarylandUniversityCollege. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 http://military.umuc.edu/accomplishUniversityofPhoenix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C2 www.phoenix.edu/milUSGIF.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 www.geoint2012.com

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NATION’S LARGEST INTELLIGENCE EVENT

geoint2012.com

A LEADER IN CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION SINCE 2001

Capitol College offers affordable, live, online master’s and doctorate programs in information assurance.

www.capitol-college.edu/mit

Special SectionVeterans on CampusStudent Veteran Roundtable

FeatureS:• Serving Those Who Served• MOOCs• M.B.A.s

October 2012Vol. 7, Issue 8NEXTISSUE


Insertion Order Deadline: September 13, 2012

Ad Materials Deadline: September 20, 2012

Brig. Gen. Allison A. Hickey (Ret.) Under Secretary for Benefits at the Department of Veterans Affairs (Invited)

Cover and in-Depth Interview with:


Q: Tell me about Capitol College.

A: Capitol College was founded in 1927, in Washington, D.C., as a technical institute, training Navy radio operators in telecom-munications. In the 1960s, the campus moved to Kensington, Md., and in the early 1980s to Laurel, Md. It grew to a college, retaining its focus on engineering and telecommunications, and expanding into business fields. We currently offer bachelor, master and doctoral degrees in engineer-ing, information technology and business.

Our mission is to provide a practical education in engineering, computer sci-ence, information technology and business that prepares individuals for professional careers and affords them the opportunity to thrive in a changing world. Job placement exceeds 95 percent, and bachelor gradu-ates who do not get competitive jobs can take up to 36 additional credits free until they do.

The college emphasizes access and affordability. Undergraduate tuition is locked for five years. Our programs are offered in central and southern Maryland, and globally via the Internet.

Q: What is your role with the military?

A: Capitol started by educating the mili-tary—those Navy radio operators. As it has grown, the college has remained commit-ted to active-duty military and veterans.

Over 15 percent of our students are military or veterans, and we have the high-est number of Yellow Ribbon participants of any independent university in Maryland.

Since 2006, we have had a partnership with the Maryland National Guard, subsi-dizing the half of their members’ tuition that the Guard does not pay. We also have articulation agreements with the National Defense University. We emphasize quality, and have been named a best buy by getedu-cated.com in computer science, electrical engineering and information assurance.

We are affiliated with the Service Members Opportunity Colleges and the DANTES Catalog School, and are approved by Veterans Affairs.

Q: And your online programs?

A: All of our graduate programs are online, with the Capitol Live platform, providing synchronous online education participation of faculty and students.

Those programs are principally in electri-cal engineering, information assurance and business administration [MBA]. The Doctor of Science in Information Assurance is also online, with a residency requirement.

We are designated a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Educa-tion, by the NSA and the DHS. We were one of the first 10 schools so designated, and we have increased our level of designation in successive re-applications. We also host a Space Operations Institute, with degrees in astronautical engineering [B.S. and M.S.], and practical experience with NASA Earth Science missions.

Our online certificate programs include preparation for the Computer Information Systems Security Professional exam and other cyber security programs, like Secu-rity+, digital forensics, design and testing, and the FISMA Certificate. We also offer the Government Marketing Masters series, and programs in project management and acquisitions.

Through the support of the Maryland Higher Education’s BRAC grants and pri-vate industry, we have formed a cyber battle lab, which, among other things, has fielded successful student teams in national cyber competitions.

Q: From your perspective, what are key issues facing higher education?

A: Higher education must preserve and increase quality in preparing young,

mid-career and later-life people for careers, citizenship and personal success in the face of an increasing trend toward the commod-itization of the higher-education credential.

We must provide broader access to peo-ple, who, with support, can succeed. We must be efficient and not price ourselves out of the market. We must be constantly in tune with what needs to be learned and how students can best learn.

Q: What are your most popular programs?

A: Our signature program is in information assurance/cyber security, with over 300 bach-elor and master students and 90 doctoral students. On-campus and online students, and faculty, work together through our cyber lab systems. These are the most appealing programs to students from the military. Also popular are the B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering, programs in electronics and telecommunications, computer science, and the MBA. Our undergraduate programs are popular in part due to internships and other practical experiences we provide.

Q: How important is distance learning?

A: Capitol was one of the early adopters of the synchronous online learning platform, and we have kept pace and adapted to new learning management systems and delivery vehicles. Both our academic leadership and information technology staff are constantly engaged in distance-learning professional development, and distance learning has its own director position.

We currently use Adobe Connect and Blackboard platforms. The campus is also wireless for residential students taking courses or doing work online.

Q: Any closing thoughts?

A: At Capitol, we intend to grow, serve and excel. Our purpose is to educate, innovate and inspire. As we look to the near-term future, we are focus-ing on preparing the next generation of cyber warriors [defense and offense], and reaching out to involve more people in STEM [science, tech-nology, engineering and math] professions. O

UNIVERSITY CORNER Military Advanced Education

Dr. Michael T. WoodPresident

Capitol College


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ATTENTION ESOs:Visit bakercollegeonline.com or call (800) 469-4062 for information about our programs or to schedule a face-to-face meeting on your base.

To help your servicemembers see how online classes work, watch our multimedia demo at bakercollegeonline.com.

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We’re here to help your servicemembers shine. Whether the plan is to continue in the military or transition to civilian life, Baker College® Online can help your military personnel receive a regionally accredited college degree. Our programs are available 100% online with 24/7 access from anywhere in the world.

WhaT “MiliTary FrieNDly” MeaNS TO US.• The application fee for qualified military students is waived at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

• at the undergraduate level textbooks are included for qualified active duty students.

• The course fee for your first course, COl112 College Success Online (regularly $60.00) is waived.

• Free and honest evaluations of your military experience, testing, and training credits.

• Six-week quarter structure helps you finish your degree faster.

• regionally accredited, founded in 1911.

• Being a not-for-profit institution allows us to invest in our students rather than focus on shareholders.

• all Baker graduates receive lifetime employment assistance—free and forever.

“With Baker Online, I was able to complete my degree while I was deployed in Kuwait.”

Nicholas J. Waldo— Baker College, BBa, ‘11

OVER 100 YEARS of successfully preparingpeople for new careers.

An Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Institution. Baker College is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association / 30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60602-2504 / 800-621-7440 / www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org. Baker Center for Graduate Studies’ MBA program is also accredited by the International Assembly of Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). For more information about our graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program, and other important information, please visit our Web site at www.baker.edu/gainfulemployment.

NATIONALLY RECOGNIZEDNOT-FOR-PROFIT 100% ONLINEREGIONALLY ACCREDITED

Baker College is a member of the Goarmyed and aU-aBC programs as well as DaNTeS, SOC, and Va approved.

militaryfriendlyschools.com

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Some people only See a camp. We See a campuS.

at your Service Since 1947

Learn more • 877-275-UMUC • military.umuc.edu/accomplish

Since 1947, we’ve been creating learning opportunities—from a hotel ballroom in Wiesbaden to online classes at sea, to forward bases in Afghanistan. Today, University of Maryland University College (UMUC) offers more than 90 undergraduate or graduate programs entirely online. We’re on base or on-site in more than 25 countries, because we can turn just about anyplace into a campus.

University of Maryland University College is the nation’s largest public university.

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mae 7-7 (sept. 2012)

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