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Education Support on Deployment
In these locations, CTC and UMGC provide direct support to Service education centers and offer a variety of services to service members to assist in furthering their education, improving their academic skills, increasing their language and culture proficiency and fostering profes sional development. The following section highlights the education services provided in the CENTCOM/AFRICOM AORs.
Education and Academic Counseling Services
In most locations, CTC provides education counselors to serve as a force multiplier for local Service-sponsored education centers. Under the oversight of a government Education Ser vices Officer, contracted education counselors provide academic advisement to service mem bers in various stages of their education journey. Examples of this type of support include: • Assessing interests and helping service members develop education pathways • Helping service members secure an educa tion plan before enrolling in their first class • Informing service members of federal and institutional financial aid for which they qualify and provide assistance in applying for the aid • Ensuring service members have a formal degree plan for a certificate, Associate, Bach elor’s, or Master’s degree after completion of six semester hours of credit Providing service members with an evalua tion of all prior learning Coordinating communication between local sites and the home campus to facilitate communications between faculty, service members, and program administrators.
Access to National Testing Centers (NTCs) and mobile Testing Services
UMGC facilitates the availability of academic ex ams by operating National Test Centers (NTCs). These NTCs offer service members and eligible civilians access to College Level Examination Program (CLEP) and DSST internet based testing (iBT) exams, on-line credentialing examinations, and other DANTES-funded electronic exams. Contracted test examiners also proctor elec tronic exams for service members enrolled in distance education courses with non-contract ed colleges and universities on a space available basis. CTC offers mobile testing support to service members deployed at forward operating lo cations that do not operate a NTC or a military education center. CTC provides a mobile testing platform and internet connectivity that allows for computer-based testing to occur at various remote locations throughout the CENTCOM/ AFRICOM AORs.
Both CTC and UMGC offer opportunities to earn college credit and meet certification requirements through face-to-face and on-line courses. These courses include: • Vocational Technical courses leading to a Certificate or Associates of Science Degree • Lower Level Liberal Arts courses leading to award of Certificates and Associate of Arts Degrees • Upper Level Liberal Arts courses leading to award of Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts Degrees • Graduate courses leading to award of a Graduate Certificate or Master’s Degree The degree programs offered in the CENTCOM/AFRICOM regions are consistent with the degree pro grams available at CTC and UMGC home campuses. Service member participation in the degree programs are funded through military Tuition Assistance (TA) based on Service policy, the GI Bill, federal financial aid, or funded individually by an eligible student.
Academic Skills Training and Tutoring
Service members have access to three types of academic support: Functional Academic Skills Training (FAST), Advanced Skills Education Program (ASEP), and Army Learning Center (ALC) Academic Tutoring.
Functional Academic Skills Training (FAST) provides instruction for academic skills training to improve math, English language, and science proficiency for military personnel. FAST is provided in a tradition al face-to-face, hands-on format in a classroom setting, ranging from twenty to eighty hour blocks of instruction.
Advanced Skills Education Program (ASEP) is an Army professional development course that provides instruction to enhance the communication, management, and supervisory skills of personnel. Instruction takes place in a traditional face-to-face classroom format in twenty hour blocks of instruction.
Army Learning Center (ALC) Academic Tutor
Support provides academic tutoring services at Army Learning Centers in the CENTCOM/AFRICOM regions. Service members are offered academic tutorial assistance using ALC resources, prerequisite study for Service schools and college-level general classes (e.g., Math, English or Science) and prepara tion for tests.
Local Language and Culture Classes
The U.S. CENTCOM AOR spans more than 4 million square miles and is populated by more than 550 million people from 22 ethnic groups, speaking 18 languages with hundreds of dialects which tran sect national borders. To help service members acclimate, Foreign Language, Culture, and Customs Instruction is offered. CTC offers non-credit foreign language instruction in Host Nation language or other foreign language requested by the ESO, and culture and customs training.
Instructors provide instruction up to and including Level 2 proficiency on the Inter-agency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale using Defense Language In stitute (DLI) electronic course materials for delivery of foreign language, culture and customs training.
Downrange Education Support Benefits
Here are some highlights on downrange education results for service members in FY19: • 112 service members completed various degrees while downrange • 8,182 service member enrollments in college level courses while in the CENTCOM/AFRICOM regions • Education counselors worked over 68,694 hours at the various education centers and Navy College offices to advise service members • 3,503 college level examinations were successfully passed by service members at NTC National Testing Centers in the CENTCOM/AFRICOM
AORs
The goal downrange is to foster the completion of postsecondary and vocational degree requirements through face-to-face, on-line course offerings and academic testing. For locations without NTCs, mobile testing teams increased the capacity to test service members in remote areas. The additional education support in these areas is a win-win for the Department and for service members. The Department saves money through the provision of shared services through DANTES contract management with CTC and UMGC. Service members have continuity of their education support, regardless of where they serve fostering continued personal/professional development and resiliency.
CONTINGENCY AREA EDUCATION SUPPORT
PROGRAM OVERVIEW:
The Department of Defense (DoD) Voluntary Education (VolEd) Program, through the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) ensures Contingency Area Education Support for deployed military members and those stationed overseas in the USEUCOM, USCENTCOM and USAFRICOM AORs (areas of responsibility).
THE DANTES EUROPEAN ADVISOR:
Manages institutional partnerships that provide contingency area education support Coordinates mobile testing opportunities at down range locations Conducts training workshops and attends local education fairs Encourages military components to stay updated on DANTES education programs Obtains feedback from education center staff about DANTES material and operations
CONTINGENCY AREA STUDENT EDUCATION BENEFITS:
Access to face-to-face academic counseling services Opportunities to earn college credit and meet certification requirements Expanded test center accessibility for military members Academic skills and foreign language instruction Availability of undergraduate and graduate academic programs
PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY:
All active duty, enlisted, officer and warrant officers, National Guard and Reserve components, in all military services, including the U.S. Coast Guard are eligible to use Contingency Area Education Support services.
