DANTES INFORMATION BULLETIN (2) FEB 2020

DIB

FEB

DANTES INFORMATION BULLETIN

2020

Preparing for College Through Academic Skills In this issue: Academic Skills

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Virtual Customer Service

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Hot News

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Troops to Teachers

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Contact Information

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DANTES Information Bulletin

Academic Skills: Similarities, Differences and Program Assistance Kiwanis Short, Voluntary Education Enterprise Support

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n the military, strong academic skills are needed to succeed in training and for advancement in every occupational field. The Department of Defense (DoD) offers several options to support military students seeking to improve their academic skills. The Online Academic Skills Course (OASC) and College Placement Skills Training (CPST) are designed for individuals who want and need to build their

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reading comprehension, vocabulary, and math skills to pass exams, excel in their jobs, advance in their careers, or continue their education.

Through simple and quick registration, service members, DoD civilians, and their family members have access to both courses online 24/7, at no cost.

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Academic Skills: Similarities, Differences and Program Assistance

How are OASC and CPST different?

OASC includes 71 online lessons designed to address basic academic skills. More than 26,000 service members used OASC to improve reading comprehension, math, and vocabulary skills in FY19. Many have used their new skills to improve their word knowledge, paragraph comprehension, arithmetic reasoning, and mathematics knowledge scores on the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT). Improving AFQT scores often helps service members qualify for advanced training opportunities in their current occupation, reclassification into a new occupational field, or to become eligible for officer and warrant officer candidate training. CPST is designed to prepare Service members for college level coursework with 116 available lessons. More than 10,000 Service members used CPST last year to improve their skills in English and language arts, essay writing, and college level math.

The goal of CPST is to ensure that students are able to successfully place into college level math and English courses and avoid the extra time and tuition costs associated with taking non-credit bearing, developmental courses.

How are they the same?

OASC and CPST are two different courses with one registration. Although they are separate courses, they

DANTES Information Bulletin

have the same design. Both courses offer pre-assessments to determine a student’s strengths and weaknesses. The courses are self-paced and customized according to answers on the pre-assessment. Personalized learning paths are designed for each student with lessons that specifically address their weaknesses. Participants may choose an abbreviated review with shortened lessons or add to their customized lesson path. Lessons are supported by interactive exercises such as drag-and drop matching, video game style multiple choice and dynamic flash cards. Quizzes and practice problem sets also help students gauge their mastery of the material.

OASC and CPST post-assessments demonstrate how well a student has improved after taking the courses.

OASC and CPST not only offer skill-building lessons, quizzes and tests, but also provide helpful articles covering such topics as “How to Beat Test Stress” and “Last-Minute Study Tips ” that support military student success. Both courses are available at no cost to all active duty, Guard, and Reserve military members (Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard), DoD civilians, and their family members.

Users have the ability to take both courses with the same login and they can return and access the course at any time.

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Academic Skills: Similarities, Differences and Program Assistance

Questions? Help is Available Education center personnel have the ability to manage their students progress and receive additional training as OASC and CPST course administrators. As an administrator, personnel can run reports to see how students on their installation are progressing through the courses and how they are performing on the pre-assessments, practice sets, and post-assessments. These reports cover all service members, DoD civilians, and family members assigned to the military installation. In addition to reporting, administrators can also access course content such as assessments, lessons, quizzes, and practice tests. Detailed explanations for each question in the course are available to assist in providing students additional support. Online training is available to teach administrators how to use both the student and administrator portals. For more information, go to: dantes.doded.mil/ser-

CPST courses, including webinars and new supplemental content. If you have questions, you can email the program manager at DANTES_AcademicSkills@navy.mil or call 850-452-1913.

vice-members/prep-for-college/oasc-cpst.html

The Program Manager, Kiwanis Short, states, “DANTES is excited to incorporate new research findings into the future Academic Skills training model for service members. This will take at least a year to develop, so please call or email us your ideas, so that we can ensure we are meeting the needs of the service member.� In the coming months look for exciting additions to the OASC and

DANTES Information Bulletin

Kiwanis Short, Academic Skills Program Manager

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Virtual Customer Service for DANTES Programs reviewing and reprinting by logging in to their account on the testing platform. DSST scores are automatically and electronically reported to the Joint Services Transcript (JST), Air Force Automated Education Management System (AFAEMS) and Community College of the Air Force (CCAF). Refer students to CCAF when scores are missing from a CCAF Progress Report.

Customer Service Specialist by: Kirstin Savage For the last few years, visitors have been coming to the DANTES website and submitting questions to find information about DoD VolEd programs. This article shares the top 5 trending topics for 2019, with information that education counselors can use to help minimize confusion and facilitate the challenging processes faced by military students.

CREDIT BY EXAM 1. DSST We receive numerous inquiries about the DSST exams, including questions about registration, scheduling, where to find test prep materials, free retesting, scoring and reporting.

Prometric owns the DSST exams and delivers free and for purchase DSST exam preparation resources online. They offer in-depth courses, practice tests, videos, flash cards, as well as the DSST Mobile Prep App, all with 24/7 access.

Students will complete the registration and verification of DANTES-funding eligibility at the testing center within the testing platform on the day of the exam.

Exam results are available to the test taker immediately after administration, except for those taking the Principles Public Speaking exam. Prometric emails scores for the public speaking exam to the address provided at the time of registration. Test takers can access their scores at any time for

DANTES Information Bulletin

If a student is registered with other academic institutions, Prometric will mail a paper score report when the school’s 4-digit DSST code has been entered at the time of testing. Advise students to check with their school 4-6 weeks after testing to verify that their score has been received. Get start-

ed taking DANTES-funded DSSTs by visiting www. myvoled.com/dsst Refer any questions about scoring and reporting to Prometric at www.getcollegecredit.com/contact/

2. CLEP

The most common questions that military students ask about the CLEP program are; where to order free Examination Guides, how to register as a DANTES-funded candidate and what happens if a registration ticket expires.

Information on the DANTES website provides a complete overview of the CLEP program and includes step-by-step instructions you can use to help students begin the process of testing.

The College Board owns the CLEP exams. Military students are required to create a MyCLEP account and specify their DANTES-funded eligibility status under the “Edit Personal Details” section of the registration process. The College Board automatically cancels a CLEP registration ticket for a DANTES-funded student, 6 months from the date of “purchase.” There is no penalty for cancelling a registration; however, once a ticket is cancelled, the student will need to re-register to take the exam.

Get started taking DANTES-funded CLEP exams by visiting www.myvoled.com/clep Refer students to the College Board for help with their registration process https://pages.collegeboard.org/contact-us

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Virtual Customer Service for DANTES Programs

3. Transcripts

The most frequently asked transcript questions are “How do military students access free, unofficial scores of CLEP and DSSTs for potential credit review and purchase official transcripts of these exams, for reporting scores to a school for credit award?”

Recent changes have made it more convenient for students to retrieve unofficial scores for review, guidance and counseling purposes.

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Refer members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard to JST’s website to register for an account to access scores at https://jst.doded.mil.

Air Force students can view their records in AFAEMS at www.au.af.mil/au/ccaf/transcripts.asp

Find a complete list of transcript resources at www. myvoled.com/transcripts

DANTES Information Bulletin

4. SAT

Perhaps the greatest concerns that military students report about the SAT program are: Where to take the SAT? What are the testing dates? How will they be funded or reimbursed for test fees?

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The exam is available paper-based, on a DANTES-funded basis at DANTES test site locations, worldwide. There are less than 50 test sites in operation and availability of these locations will continue to decrease over time, as the SAT program transitions to a reimbursement-only option.

The SAT is widely available on a reimbursement basis at National/International SAT Test Centers.

Learn more about the up-front funded and reimbursement options at www.myvoled.com/sat

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Virtual Customer Service for DANTES Programs 5. Reimbursements Questions about Exam reimbursements was the fifth most frequently asked by military students: What type of exams qualify? Who is eligible? How and when are reimbursement funds disbursed?

What is the status of a submission? Who do I contact for assistance?

DANTES reimburses test fees for exam administration at National Test Centers for the GED, ACT, SAT, GRE General, GRE Subject, GMAT and Praxis Exams.

Test fees of exams for certification and credentialing programs are not authorized for reimbursement by DANTES. However, members may be eligible for support through the Veteran’s Administration (VA), under their GI Bill/Education & Training Benefits: www.va.gov Reimbursement Eligibility •

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Eligibility is restricted to military personnel with a valid Common Access Card (CAC), identifying their affiliation as UNIFORMED SERVICES. Applications are submitted via the CAC-enabled, Electronic Reimbursement Request.

DANTES Information Bulletin

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Requests for reimbursement must be submitted within 90 days of exam completion.

Uploaded, electronic files of a score report and payment receipt are required.

Members should expect a DFAS disbursement action into their military pay bank account, approximately three weeks after their application is received and approved for payment.

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Funds for the reimbursement action are not reflected on the member’s Leave and Earnings Statement (L.E.S.).

Check with a bank representative to determine receipt of a disbursement action titled “DFAS VENDOR PAY” prior to contacting DANTES. Coast Guard members receive reimbursement via a U.S. Treasury Check that is sent to a valid address, approximately 6 weeks after their application is received and approved for payment.

Learn more about the reimbursement program by visiting www.myvoled.com/reimbursement

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Hot News

Hot News Kuder Journey Webinar: Feb 19

What is Kuder Journey? It’s a comprehensive online resource that helps service members plan for the future by learning about their interests, skills and work values. Students receive a personal career plan, options to explore occupational and educational information, and guidance to plan for transition and future employment success.

tive component of the website to better support service members better.

CLEP Webinar: Apr 1

Join the DANTES Kuder Webinar: Kuder Journey 101 for Counselors Wednesday, February 19, 2020, 1000/1100 CST/EST

College Board’s College Level Examination Program (CLEP) has served thousands of military service members over the past 40 years. Discover how to support service members’ educational goals with this Credit-by-Examination program, and find out what’s new with CLEP, where to find helpful resources, and how to strengthen your CLEP program.

Register at https://kuder.webex. com/kuder/onstage/g.php?MTID=e02c8e53983dd5210010d8c09d448563a or go to www.kuder.com/events and in the “search the calendar” box, type DANTES, and register.

Join the College Board CLEP Webinar: CLEP 101 for Counselors Wednesday, April 1, 2020, 1000 CST (the session will be recorded for those who are unable to attend at this time).

We encourage all VolEd professionals to attend and learn how to use the DANTES-sponsored College & Career Planning System, known as Kuder Journey. The webinar will assist you in helping service members with career and education planning. You’ll also learn how to use the administraDANTES Information Bulletin

Registration link: CLEP 101: Benefits and Steps to Executing a Successful Credit-by-Exam Program. Password: iCLEP20 Register today! https:// collegeboardtraining.webex.com/collegeboardtraining/onstage/g.php?MTID=e15bcd2f9f5c1a8adccb39f6e551f31c3 http://www.dantes.doded.mil

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Troops to Teachers: Meet our State Grant Offices

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roops to Teachers (TTT) is a DANTES-managed, DoD-transition program to help service members and veterans begin new careers as K-12 school teachers in public, charter, and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. The program provides eligible members with counseling, employment assistance, and financial support to help members meet education and licensing requirements to secure a teaching position. Since 1993, more than 21,000 veterans have successfully transitioned to a career in education.

Last month, we introduced you to the new TTT Director, Taheesha Quarells, and the Program Office team.

For the rest of 2020, we will introduce you to all 31 state grant offices and their personnel.

Troops to Teachers has 31 states offering local assistance to program participants via grants received in 2018. The 2018 grants provide services for a 5 year term ending in May 2023. The main benefit of the TTT state grants is that local state education departments and agencies are able to assist military members, veterans and TTT participants with local counseling and guidance. These local offices become the frontline for certification and hiring information, reDANTES Information Bulletin

sources, and technical assistance on meeting teacher requirements related to each individual state.

Throughout this year, we will highlight our state grant offices and provide the following information: • • • •

Websites Social media pages College or state education dept affiliation Monthly programs

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State incentives for military members

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Certification information

This month, we are proud to introduce you to the following state grant office teams: • • •

Missouri Iowa North Carolina

Next month look for information on these teams: •

Florida

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Alabama

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Michigan

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Troops to Teachers: Meet our State Grant Offices Troops to Teachers Missouri/Iowa (Consortia)

Program Counselors (Left to Right): James Henley, Program Coordinator, TTT Grantee Program, located in Jefferson City, MO Elijah Root, Assistant Director, TTT Grantee Program, located in Kansas City, MO. Turner Shipman, Supervisor, TTT Grantee Program, located in Kansas City, MO. Laura Boddicker, TTT Iowa State Grantee Position (part-time), located within the I-SERVE office, College of Education, University of Iowa.

Office Websites, Social Media Accounts: • • • •

dese.mo.gov dese.mo.gov/adult-learning-rehabilitation-services/troops-to-teachers twitter.com/TTT_Central facebook.com/TTTCentralStates/

College or State Education Dept Affiliation: • •

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education University of Iowa, College of Education

Monthly Programs: Pre-Retirement Briefing, Fort Leonard Wood, MO State Incentives for Military: Missouri Returning Heroes’ Education Act All Missouri public institutions of higher education that receive any state funds appropriated by the general assembly shall limit the amount of tuition such institutions charge to combat veterans to fifty dollars per credit hour, as long as the veteran achieves and maintains a cumulative grade point average of at least two and one-half on a four-point DANTES Information Bulletin

scale, or its equivalent. The tuition limitation shall only be applicable if the combat veteran is enrolled in a program leading to a certificate, or an associate or baccalaureate degree. dhewd.mo.gov/ppc/returningheroesact.php Iowa National Guard Service Scholarship (INGSS) The Iowa National Guard Service Scholarship provides annual awards to Iowa National Guard members who attend eligible Iowa colleges and universities. Maximum individual awards cannot exceed the current maximum resident tuition rate at Iowa Regent Universities. National Guard officials have determined that they will pay 100 percent of the average Regent tuition rate for the 2019-20 academic year, an amount of $8,073. The Iowa Adjutant General determines eligibility. https://www.iowacollegeaid.gov/IowaNationalGuard Certification Information: • •

Missouri: dese.mo.gov/educator-quality/certification Iowa: boee.iowa.gov/license-types-and-applications/license-and-authorization-information

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Troops to Teachers: Meet our State Grant Offices Troops to Teachers North Carolina

Program Counselors (Left to Right):

Douglas Taggart is a US Army Veteran, who served with the Old Guard (Alpha Company). You can contact him via email at doug.taggart@dpi.nc.gov or call 919-807-3346.

Matthew Canon is a US Army Reservist. You can contact him via email at matthew.canon@dpi.nc.gov or call 919-807-3376, Toll-Free: 888-878-1600

Office Websites, Social Media Accts: • • •

dpi.nc.gov/troops facebook.com/TTT.NorthCarolina/ linkedin.com/in/douglas-taggart-68440913/

Office Address: NC Troops to Teachers, Department of Public Instruction, 6307 Mail Service Center, 301 N. Wilmington St., Raleigh, NC 27699-6307 College or State Education Dept Affiliation: Department of Public Instruction Monthly Programs: NC TTT offers webinars, socials, mentoring events, base visits, etc.

Fort Bragg: monthly pre-retirements and a bi-monthly “Teaching as a Second Career” seminar offered at the Base Training and Education Center, Room F116, 1pm-3pm

instructor experience from the military, a member can get one year of credit on the state salary schedule. For a 20-year retiree, with 18 years of leadership experience, that equates to a $9,000 annual salary boost when becoming a teacher in our state. https://www.dpi.nc.gov/educators/troops-toteachers/corporal-pruitt-rainey-brass-to-classact Certification Information: If a member doesn’t have a teaching license, there may still be options for employment as a teacher.

If the member has a technical skill, he/she may only be required to show work experience in the trade with a HS diploma or up to a bachelor degree for non-trade areas within career and technical education (CTE).

Career Technical Education Manual: Click here to download: files.nc.gov/dpi/cte_licensure_policies_and_procedures_manual_eff._7-119.pdf

For academic teaching and other CTE areas requiring a bachelor degree, a residency license path may allow a member with a four-year degree to be hired Camp Lejeune: bi-monthly “Teaching as a Second Ca- as a teacher, if they have a good GPA (2.7) and can reer” seminar offered at the John Lejeune Education show knowledge in a related K-12 area (relevant major, 24 semester hours, or a content exam(s). An Center, Room 112, 1pm-3pm individual also has to affiliate with an “Educator Preparation Program” in order to get the residenDates: March 19, May 21, July 16, September 17, cy license, concurrently with getting employment November 19 through this pathway.

State Teaching Incentives for Military: Residency License: The Corporal Pruitt Rainey Brass to Class Act: Click here for more info; dpi.nc.gov/educators/ Provides a salary credit to veterans that become troops-to-teachers/residency-license teachers in NC. For every two years of leadership or Dates: March 18, May 20, July 15, September 16, November 18

DANTES Information Bulletin

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DANTES Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support

DANTES OCONUS European Advisor (Contingency Operation Support)

6490 Saufley Field Road, Pensacola, FL 32509 (850) 452-1901

DANTES_Outreach@navy.mil

011-49-611-143-511-1230

usarmy.badenwur.usareur.mbx.dantes-euro@ mail.mil

www.DANTES.DoDed.mil www.proudtoserveagain.com

DANTES INFORMATION BULLETIN

DANTES Information Bulletin The DANTES Information Bulletin is published monthly to inform education personnel about DANTES programs and to help promote more efficient customer service to service members.

Email all inquiries to DANTES_Outreach@navy.mil.

Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted for any purpose of the United States Government, except that copyrighted materials cannot be reproduced without written permission from the copyright owner. The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by DANTES of the linked websites, or the information, products, or services contained therein.

Jeff Allen, Director Michelle Alexander, Editor DANTES Information Bulletin

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