Journal of Higher Learning for Today’s Servicemember
Army Educator Dr. Pamela Raymer Director Army Continuing Education System U.S. Army Human Resources Command
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May 2012
Volume 7, Issue 4
Online Honesty O Credit by Exam O Health Care Degrees iCollege Commencement
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Military Advanced Education
May 2012 Volume 7 • Issue 4
Features
Cover / Q&A University Roundtable: Health Care Degrees
An ever-growing field, health care offers transitioning servicemembers the opportunity to apply their years of medical experience to a civilian career and to continue on a path of service.
5 Army Women's Foundation Honoring Army Women
8
10
On March 13, 2012, the Army Women’s Foundation hosted its 4th annual Army Women in Transition Symposium and Hall of Fame luncheon to honor Army women who served in Vietnam. The foundation also awarded seven Legacy Scholarships. By Maura McCarthy
16
Virtual Integrity
Dr. Pamela Raymer Director Army Continuing Education System U.S. Army Human Resources Command
There is no arguing the fact that maintaining academic integrity in a virtual classroom environment can be a bit of a concern. While critics often cite the ways one might cheat the system as a reason for dismissing its relevance, professors and administrators who work in the world of cyber schooling see things quite differently. By J.B. Bissell
Counting Credits
18
Earning credit by examination is a smart strategy for students looking to capitalize on work and life experience, as well as prior coursework. For veterans and military students, CLEP, DSST and institution-specific exams provide the opportunity to save time and money while working toward their diplomas. By Kelly Fodel
Graduating Global Information Leaders
23
Military and civilian leaders view the National Defense University’s iCollege as the premier institution for acquiring the knowledge necessary to be successful in the information age. In a ceremony on Friday, April 27, the college honored the newest class of 200 graduates. By Maura McCarthy
Departments 2 Editor’s Perspective 3 Program Notes 4 People 14 Class Notes 25 CCME Grapevine 26 Money Talks 27 Calendar, Directory
University Corner
28 Dr. Andrea Allen Interim Dean School of Adult and Continuing Education Barry University
Military Advanced Education Volume 7, Issue 4 May 2012
Journal of Higher Learning for Today’s Servicemember Editorial Editor Maura McCarthy mauram@kmimediagroup.com Managing Editor Harrison Donnelly harrisond@kmimediagroup.com Online Editorial Manager Laura Davis laurad@kmimediagroup.com Copy Editor Laural Hobbes lauralh@kmimediagroup.com Correspondents Celeste Altus • J.B. Bissell • Kelly Fodel Kenya McCullum Art & Design Art Director Jennifer Owers jennifero@kmimediagroup.com Senior Designer Jittima Saiwongnuan jittimas@kmimediagroup.com Graphic Designers Amanda Kirsch amandak@kmimediagroup.com Scott Morris scottm@kmimediagroup.com Kailey Waring kaileyw@kmimediagroup.com Advertising Associate Publisher Glenn R. Berlin glenn@kmimediagroup.com
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EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE Although some in Congress had already introduced legislation to address the educational challenges unique to veterans and servicemembers, on April 27 President Obama took the lead on the issue and signed an Executive Order aimed at protecting the nation’s servicemembers from deceptive practices by some higher education institutions and to help servicemembers make more informed financial decisions when enrolling in school. The president noted that “even though the vast majority of schools do the right thing, we need to guard against the bad actors who don’t.” Regardless of what side of the aisle you sit on, protecting servicemembers from predatory and deceptive targeting is the Maura McCarthy right thing to do. Editor The Order directs the administration—specifically the Departments of Defense, Education and Veterans Affairs—to develop Principles of Excellence to strengthen oversight, enforcement and accountability within federal military and veterans education benefits programs. Among other goals, these Principles will increase oversight by requiring that students be provided with meaningful information regarding the true cost of their degree through a Know Before You Owe form, which outlines tuition and fees, availability of federal financial aid, estimated student loan debt and information on graduation rates. Additionally, new rules will be established regulating the presence of recruiters on military installations, and the VA will undertake efforts to register the term “GI Bill” to prevent its fraudulent use by some online schools when marketing their websites. In order to help future students make informed educational decisions, the VA, DoD and Department of Education will develop improved metrics for tracking student outcomes, such as completion rates for veterans. Lastly, enforcement and accountability will be increased by the establishment of a centralized complaint system for those receiving education benefits. Last year, over half a million veterans and over 300,000 servicemembers pursued higher education thanks to the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Tuition Assistance. However, in his weekend address where he discussed the Order, the president emphasized that “it’s not enough to just help our veterans and servicemembers afford school—we need to make sure they have all the tools they need to make an informed decision when it comes to picking the right program.” Military Advanced Education strives to be a valuable tool for veterans and servicemembers who are making important decisions regarding their education and future.
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PROGRAM NOTES
Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
GI Bill Consumer Awareness Act of 2012 Prior to President Obama's Executive Order aimed at protecting veteran and military students, Senator Patty Murray, chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, joined with Senators Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), Mark Begich (D-Ark.), and Iraq and Afghanistan veterans from across the country to unveil the GI Bill Consumer Awareness Act of 2012. The bill, which was introduced in the Senate, will give servicemembers and veterans using the GI Bill and other VA education benefits access to information that would help them make informed decisions about the schools they attend so they get the most out of the benefit. This bill would also require that VA and DoD develop a joint policy to curb aggressive recruiting and misleading marketing aimed at servicemembers and veterans using the GI Bill. “The Post-9/11 GI Bill has offered tremendous opportunity to so many veterans since it was passed in 2008,” said Senator Murray. “But like any benefit, we need to constantly monitor and improve on it to ensure that our veterans are getting the treatment that they deserve. This bill is designed to ensure that
our veterans have the facts to make their own decisions and to defend themselves from being taken advantage of. We can’t allow them to get anything less than the full potential of this benefit—because so much is riding on it.” The GI Bill Consumer Awareness Act of 2012 complements veterans’ educational assistance programs by requiring VA to provide beneficiaries with easy-to-understand information about schools that are approved for GI Bill use. The bill requires: • Information Availability: Calls for disclosure of, among other data, statistics related to student loan debt, transferability of credits earned, veteran enrollment, program preparation for licensing and certification, and job placement rates. • Information Dissemination: Requires VA to provide educational beneficiaries with easy-to-understand information about schools that are approved for GI Bill benefit use. • Staffing and Training: Requires educational institutions to have at least one employee who is knowledgeable about
benefits available to servicemembers and veterans. This legislation further requires that academic advising, tutoring, career and placement counseling services, and referrals to Vet Centers are available and that institutions offer training to faculty members on matters that are relevant to servicemembers and veterans. • Curbing Misleading Marketing and Aggressive Recruiting: Requires VA and DoD to develop a joint policy on aggressive recruiting and misleading marketing aimed at servicemembers, veterans and other beneficiaries. • Educational Counseling: Makes educational counseling available to more beneficiaries. In 2012, over 590,000 servicemembers, veterans and other beneficiaries are expected to enroll in educational institutions using the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The VA is expected to spend over $9 billion in 2012 on Post-9/11 GI Bill payments and over $2 billion for the nearly 400,000 beneficiaries of VA’s other education programs.
NDU Earns Innovation Award The National Defense University’s Information Resources Management College (NDU iCollege) received the prestigious Elearning! 100 Award for innovation at the Elearning! 100 Awards dinner, held on March 20, 2012, at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town hotel, located in Alexandria, Va. Dr. Paulette Robinson, assistant dean of teaching, learning, and technology for the NDU iCollege accepted the award on behalf of the college. Finalists are evaluated against three
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criteria: Aberdeen’s Best-in-Class Learning and Development study, Elearning! Media Group (EMG) Learning Culture index, and overall organizational performance. The award submissions were open to government, corporate and nonprofit organizations. This is the second year in a row that the NDU iCollege has received this coveted award. The Elearning! 100 Award recognizes 100 (60 corporate and 40 public sector organizations), for their outstanding learning culture,
innovation, and collaborative efforts that drive excellence and performance. The NDU iCollege is a DoD educational institution. Although a majority of the students come from DoD (military and civilian), the college also accepts other federal, state and local government students, private sector students and international military students. Education is focused around CIO, CFO, cyber security, cyber leadership, enterprise architec-
ture, IT project and program management, and the government information leadership (GIL) Masters of Science Degree program. The NDU is the nation’s premier center for Joint Professional Military Education. It is an accredited graduatelevel institution that provides an educational and research environment to prepare future leaders of the armed forces and civilian agencies for highlevel policy, command and staff responsibilities.
MAE 7.4 | 3
PROGRAM NOTES
Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
New Jersey Establishes Landmark Teaching Program for Veterans Legislation establishing the nation’s first condensed teaching certification program designed specifically for a veteran cohort was signed by New Jersey Acting Governor Kim Guadagno. The program was initiated through legislation sponsored by Senator James Whelan (D-Atlantic) and Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-Essex). The VETeach pilot will be housed at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and is slated to launch in September 2012. “Stockton College is proud to host the inaugural VETeach class. The signing of this law further demonstrates the commitment of Governor Christie and Acting Governor Guadagno and the Legislature in seeking innovative ways to support the transition of our veterans,” said Stockton President Herman J. Saatkamp. “As a result of the passage of this legislation, with strong bipartisan support, veterans in New Jersey and across the United States will have access to one of the most innovative programs available for those seeking a teaching degree.”
VETeach is the first of a number of education-to-employment initiatives being developed by Operation College Promise (OCP) in collaboration with partner colleges and universities. OCP is researching condensed degree programs that optimize the distinct skills honed in the military in fields with potential for long-term employment. “OCP would like to extend our sincere thanks to Senator Whelan and Assemblywoman Jasey for sponsoring this initiative to accelerate our mission of developing condensed degree plans for student veterans,” said Wendy A. Lang, director of OCP. “Today, with the signing of this legislation by Acting Governor Guadagno, New Jersey is sending a powerful message of mutual commitment to the veteran community that their service to our nation is acknowledged with viable education and employment options. The VETeach pilot program will do just that.” The legislation, S-1026, creates a 36-month teacher preparation pilot program.
Veterans who successfully complete the program will receive a bachelor’s degree and satisfy the necessary requirements to apply for a certificate to teach kindergarten through grade 8. Stockton plans to prepare future educators in the critical fields of science, technology, engineering and math. Veterans under the Post-9/11 GI Bill are receiving the most generous package of benefits since World War II; however, the time constraints of the measure—36 months— limit the ability of student veterans to pursue professions—such as teaching—which have requirements that exceed the traditional fouryear degree plan. “I could have benefitted from this program; I would have been a better prepared teacher. I hope many veterans take advantage of this opportunity to better the students of New Jersey,” noted Sergeant Matthew Generally, a Stockton graduate and member of the New Jersey Army National Guard.
PEOPLE Colonel Dennis W. Devery (Ret.), former commander of New Jersey National Guard, has been named as acting vice president for planning and research at Thomas Edison State College, in New Jersey. Frank Chong, deputy assistant secretary for community colleges at the U.S. Department of Education, has been named president/superintendent of Santa Rosa Junior College, in California. Andrea Backman, director of new program development and
4 | MAE 7.4
Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
academic approvals at the University of Virginia's School of Continuing and Professional Studies, has been chosen as chief academic officer of Rasmussen College, in Minneapolis. Michael A. Driscoll, provost and executive vice chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage, has been selected as president of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Bruce Jarrell, executive vice dean at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has been named chief academic, research
officer and senior vice president at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. Mark Volk, executive vice president of Lackawanna College, in Pennsylvania, has been chosen as president there. James Limbaugh, vice president for strategy, planning and policy at Angelo State University, in Texas, has been appointed chancellor of Montana State University-Northern. Joyce Ester, associate vice president for student services at Bakersfield
College, in California, has been appointed as president of Kennedy-King College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago. Lyle D. Roelofs, provost and dean of the faculty and professor of physics at Colgate University, in New York, has been selected as president of Berea College, in Kentucky. Kim Schatzel, dean of the College of Business at University of MichiganDearborn, has been chosen as provost and vice president at Eastern Michigan University.
Liang Chee Wee, interim president of Northeast Iowa Community College, has been named to the position on a permanent basis. Shannon Beets, vice president of institutional effectiveness at Sierra Nevada College, has been promoted to executive vice president and provost there. Richard Cox, chief operating officer at Jones International University, in Colorado, has been promoted to president there.
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University Roundtable: Health Care Degrees MAE posed the following question to Adelphi University, Northeastern College of Professional Studies and the University of Phoenix: Armed with one of many available degrees in health care, a servicemember increases the ability to leverage his or her practical experience and transition to a civilian career. What degrees do you offer and how do your programs prepare students for gainful employment in the health care industry?
Dr. Patrick R. Coonan, Ed.D., R.N., NEA-BC, FACHE Dean of the School of Nursing
Shawn O’Riley Executive Director of University College Adelphi University
Adelphi University offers a variety of programs that can assist transitioning military personnel into health care careers. The university has welcomed veterans to campus for decades. Adelphi was transformed in the 1940s when the university welcomed WWII veterans to campus. Today, the university president is a veteran and an advocate for the new GI Bill and we have a strong alumni veterans network. Adelphi is committed to offering academic and support programs, valuable resources and transitional services designed to meet the unique needs of currently enlisted military personnel and military veterans. Since 2010, the university has been named a military-friendly school. Adelphi welcomes the opportunity to assist all qualified active, reserve and veteran members of the military in their academic plans and preparation for the future and we offer a wide variety of policies, procedures and services for veterans. These include a waiver of application fees, specialized pre-enrollment advising for veterans, late admissions and reduced penalties for early withdrawal. We have admissions advisers who are very familiar with the Post-9/11 GI Bill and identifying funding sources available for veteran college students. Adelphi is also recognized as a proud participant of the Yellow Ribbon Program, which is designed to assist veteran students with their college financing. In the field of health care, our programs can connect a veteran’s military training to a civilian career. To begin with, the Adelphi School of Nursing offers baccalaureate and master degree programs in nursing,
nurse administration, education and nurse practitioner, as well as a doctoral program in education or health systems. We also offer degree in health care related fields like social work, psychology, health education, health administration and public health. Adelphi’s University College, the adult undergraduate degree program for nontraditional students returning to college to complete their degrees later in life, allows credit for life experience, including basic and other military training programs. University College offers an undergraduate degree in emergency services administration that can be completed entirely online. In addition, the college offers graduate and post-baccalaureate programs in emergency management, health information technology and a post-baccalaureate pre-med program. For most military personnel who are interested in obtaining degrees that can lead to health careers, Adelphi recommends starting in an undergraduate degree program in University College where they can maximize their credit for military experience. Veterans can complete an associate degree in University College and then seamlessly transfer to several health care baccalaureate fields of study including nursing, social work, psychology, emergency services administration, education and business. For veterans with undergraduate degrees, Adelphi offers a variety of master’s programs in many fields that can connect their military experience with a graduate degree in a health care related field. For example, military nurses with a baccalaureate degree could pursue a master’s level program in nursing, public health, health information technology and emergency management.
Dr. Brian Murphy Clinton, Ed.D. Executive Director, Enrollment Management Northeastern University College of Professional Studies Northeastern University College of Professional Studies (CPS) is committed to providing career-focused undergraduate and graduate educational programs that are designed to accommodate the complex
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lives of returning students, working adults, military students and veterans on a global scale. With a broad portfolio of program offerings, the college focuses on providing an academic experience that meets the evolving needs of students’ career and personal goals.
MAE 7.4 | 5
CPS grants veterans access to a range of degree programs that correspond to the thriving health care industry. The degree programs are taught by accomplished scholars and practitioners who prepare students by integrating their valuable real-world experience into program curriculum and everyday class learning, providing students with a rich academic experience. With an awareness of other life commitments, the college allows students to complete their degrees at an accelerated pace in programs such as the Fast-Track Bachelor of Science in finance and accounting management, Fast-Track Bachelor of Science in health management, Fast-Track Master of Science in leadership, Fast-Track Master of Science in project management, or at the their own pace through programs such as the Master of Science in nonprofit management and Master of Science in regulatory affairs for drugs, biologics and medical devices. Through these programs, students are equipped with a world-class education that builds their experience in leadership and management, and prepares them for a variety of professions in the health care industry such as medical and health services manager, insurance underwriter, social or community service manager, health care administrator, regulatory affairs specialist, associate scientist, biotechnician, change control specialist, technical engineer, stability specialist, medical affairs
associate, research associate, quality systems engineer and quality assurance associate. Within the classroom, students build their analytical, conceptual and quantitative skills by working to problem-solve with classmates that come from diverse backgrounds and hold different perspectives. Through their classroom work, students are given the opportunity to develop a valuable network of professional contacts. As an optional component to several bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, students can apply their classroom knowledge and build real-world experience in the health care industry through the college’s co-op and internship program. Students who choose to complement their degree program with a co-op or internship are able to explore career interests and network with potential employers. As a member of the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC) and participant in the Yellow Ribbon program, the university is committed to serving military students and veterans. Qualifying veterans who enroll at the university will receive grant aid that covers most to all of the university’s tuition and fee charges, depending on the selected degree program. With no application fee, eight start terms, flexible course formats, and campuses in Charlotte, N.C., and Boston, the College of Professional Studies provides students with an education that is uniquely aligned with their career goals.
Dr. Pam Fuller Dean of the College of Nursing University of Phoenix
The health care industry encompasses a broad range of professions, from doctors and nurses to health care administrators. In any area of health care, as with most industries, advanced education can lead to increased salary, enhanced career opportunities and greater job satisfaction. Yet for nurses, in particular, the benefits of higher education have never been more pronounced. The Institute of Medicine’s report, “The Future of Nursing,” outlines several recommendations for transforming the nursing profession. Among them is an increased emphasis on higher education. The report calls for 80 percent of the nation’s more than 3 million nurses to hold baccalaureate degrees by 2020. Currently, 50 percent hold such a degree. The report also recommends doubling the proportion of nurses with doctoral degrees. Currently, less than 1 percent of nurses hold doctorates, while 13 percent hold graduate degrees. Clearly, there is a movement toward greater education for nurses. The key for nurses, then, is choosing a program that provides them with the specific education most needed to advance their skills and their careers. For 27 years, University of Phoenix has been a leader and innovator in post-licensure nursing education, graduating more post-licensure professionals every year than any other program. Our more than 40,000 alumni work in just about every sector of health care—in hospitals, regulatory environments and universities, as CEOs and CNOs, legal nurses, instructors, unit directors, administrators and as clinical practitioners. Why do so many esteemed nursing professionals choose to school with University of Phoenix? The answer is simple: University
6 | MAE 7.4
of Phoenix College of Nursing provides high quality, practical education in a format that meets the needs of today’s working nurses and military servicemembers. University of Phoenix College of Nursing offers two undergraduate programs, both of which are designed to take practicing nurses through their baccalaureate degree: Licensed Practical Nurse/ Licensed Vocational Nurse to Bachelor of Science in nursing and RN to Bachelor of Science in nursing. At the graduate level, the university offers Master of Science in nursing degrees with a host of concentrations as well as doctoral degrees. All of our programs provide leading evidence-based practice, innovative curricula and a caring network of health care educators, student support professionals and alumni. University of Phoenix’s 1,400 faculty are experienced licensed nurses and health care professionals who bridge theory and practice with instruction focused on critical thinking and leadership. Courses are taught online, at local campuses or in immersive simulation labs. At University of Phoenix College of Nursing, we say “a more educated nurse is a safer nurse.” We believe that nurses should not have to choose between employment and education. Our classes are offered at convenient times or online so that nurses can enter the classroom without putting their careers on hold. As employer demand for advanced nursing education grows, it will be those nurses who combine both experience and education who have the best opportunities for career progression. At University of Phoenix, we offer nurses the opportunity to pursue education without compromising their career experience. O
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Preparing you to SERVE and LEAD… online or in class A military-friendly institution with programs designed to meet your needs as an adult learner • Bachelor’s, master’s, and certification programs • On-campus classes meet weeknights or Saturdays • Earn up to 30 college credits from experiential learning, licensures, certifications, or military service • Certifying officials and advisors available statewide • Online programs available
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Classes offered throughout the state in: Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Collier, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lee, Leon, Marion, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk, St. Lucie, and Volusia counties • SOC member • Yellow Ribbon Program • Transfer credits, DD-214, DANTES, CLEP, PONSI, military service schools, USAFI • Tuition reductions for bachelor’s and master’s programs for active-duty military personnel (Barry policy – not administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) • VA education benefits, financial aid, and grants available to eligible students
AMERICA’S
BEST
CO L L E G E S 2011
Army Women's Foundation
Honoring Army Women The Army Women’s Symposium examined the changing missions and roles of Army women transitioning to civilian life. By Maura McCarthy, MAE Editor
More than 200 attendees gathered on Capitol Hill on March 7, 2012, to honor Army women at the U.S. Army Women’s Symposium and Hall of Fame Luncheon. The theme of this year’s symposium, “Changing Missions, Changing Roles,” fostered dialogue among federal legislators, government agencies, academia, business and nonprofits and highlighted the successes as well as the collaborations and partnerships needed to facilitate the transition of Army women out of the military. As Major General Janet Cobb, assistant deputy chief of staff, G-4 (Operations), noted in her keynote address, “All wars end. During the last 10 years of persistent combat, women have had their war come to an end. Women on active duty rotate to new units—or they leave the military. National Guard and Army Reserve women have their war come to an end as well—their DD 214 says so. They quickly demobilize. They all pack their duffle bags and black footlockers and return—where? And to what circumstance of life?” All women who served in Vietnam were inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. Between 1959 and 1975 approximately 7,500 women served in Vietnam; 6,200 were nurses, all were volunteers. Reflecting on the role of women in the Army, Major General Cobb said, “Women in the Army or in the military is a subject we really don’t talk about much, but it is evident. Retired general officers and senior field grade officers sit among you here. I walk the Pentagon halls—now a major general and former 8 | MAE 7.4
specialist four—passing an African-American woman wearing an Air Force flight suit, leather flight jacket and senior pilot wings; a female Marine aviator and female gunny; an Asian female Navy Lieutenant wearing gold dolphins; female soldiers wearing jump wings, combat action badges, air assault badges, pilot wings, purple hearts, and on the sleeve of their Army service uniforms a stack of overseas service bars.” Women who served during World War II, Korea and Vietnam blazed the trail that today’s servicewoman can follow, taking on roles that many view as a normal part of their job but that decades ago were unthinkable. Cobb noted that as of the end of January 2012, the number of Army women who had deployed to the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters—with many women deploying multiple times and to both theaters—totaled 138,703, including National Guard and Reservists. Following the Hall of Fame induction, the foundation presented seven Legacy scholarships, which provide financial support for the pursuit of an undergraduate degree. The scholarships, awarded to Army women and their dependents, are based on merit, academic potential community service and need. This year’s scholarships were awarded to Sabrina Higdon, Joy Cassagnol, Chief Warrant Officer 3 (Ret.) Nancy Christiano, Specialist Maia Dihan, Amber Gibson, Specialist (Ret.) Latoya Lucas and Yamese Wyrick. O www.MAE-kmi.com
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Maj. Gen. Janet Cobb Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, Surgeon General of the U.S. Army WJLA's Leon Harris and Gen. Richard A. Cody, USA (Ret.), of L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. Gen. Cody Angela Messer, Senior Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton Brig. Gen. Dee McWilliams of the Army Women's Foundation and Gen. Cody present an award to Mary Yoshioka. P8. Local Women who served in Vietnam with West Pointers
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Virtual Integrity
Do online courses pose a greater risk to academic honor codes? By J.B. Bissell MAE Correspondent
“The same academic code and trust levels are The opportunity to attend college classes online in place for both the physical and online classhas made earning a degree possible for countrooms,” said Hunt Lambert, associate provost, less dedicated students who otherwise may have Colorado State University OnlinePlus. “Academic struggled to fit the necessary courses into their integrity is important in every course, regardless hectic schedules. There’s no arguing that generally of the delivery mode.” End of story, or at least it speaking, online learning is a positive step toward should be. Unfortunately, for every group of coma more educated workforce. With that said, there’s mitted-to-excellence learners who believe in and also no arguing the fact that maintaining academic understand the importance of honest schoolwork, integrity in a virtual classroom environment can be there are one or two people who want to skirt their a bit of a concern. Critics of this particular mode responsibilities, and online sessions—since they of delivery often cite all the ways one might cheat Hunt Lambert lack the physical presence of a teacher and are the system as a reason for dismissing its relevance. built around assignments that are always completed at home— Yet professors and administrators who work in the world of cyber seem ripe for scholastic bamboozlement. schooling see things quite differently. 10 | MAE 7.4
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students—there might be 30 of them, or 50, or maybe a few Interestingly, when it comes to cheating, there doesn’t seem hundred—all perched in their stadium-style seating, jot down to be much difference between brick-and-mortar seminars and what they feel are the most significant remarks and observations virtual ones. “With 40 years of distance delivery experience,” about that day’s session. It’s nearly as easy to disappear into that Lambert continued, “we do not appear to have a more significant shuffle as it is to remain anonymous online, and Lambert’s not problem than on campus in classrooms. Those who are deterthe only one who thinks so. “Just as in a traditional mass lecture mined to cheat, cheat in both. Those who are honest are honest course, when taking attendance for class participation, typically in both.” Kristin Bittner, an instructional designer at the Penn not all students have their IDs checked to ensure the person in State World Campus, agreed. “Research on the topic has found that seat is the person on the roster,” explained that academic dishonesty is the same in online and Bittner. “For assignments such as online threaded traditional classrooms. I think the main difference discussions, I’m not sure schools can ever be 100 is perception. People assume that there is more percent certain that the student posting the work opportunity to cheat online than in the traditional is the one who enrolled in the course. The key is classroom environment.” emphasizing the value of integrity—to encourage One of the assumptions people often make is students to always do the right thing.” that there is no way to know for sure who is participating in the virtual discussions, whether it’s really the student who signed up for the class or someLearning Curve body else. “The only way to be certain in every case is to watch every student take every possible action In order to do the right thing, new learnKristin Bittner in an online environment,” Lambert said. “Unless ers need to know exactly what that means, what you are always watching, there is never 100 percent defines integrity in the world of academia, and it’s certainty that the person commenting in a discusup to instructors to teach them. “Managing acasion board is actually the person who owns the demic integrity is about awareness, ensuring that account under which the post is made.” Lambert, students understand what kinds of behavior are though, isn’t so sure this is all that dissimilar from considered violations of academic integrity, and what could happen in a traditional college setting. educating them about plagiarism,” Bittner said. “We do not believe that it is any different than a “Explain citation rules and ‘fair use’ guidelines, classroom of 30 or more students where the faculty show examples of plagiarism, and emphasize that member does not know the individuals,” he said. proper research skills will be important in their That might sound strange at first, but picture future careers. Some faculty even require students a stereotypical university lecture hall: The profesto pass a plagiarism quiz before they are permitted Dr. Shannon Farris sor paces back and forth, simultaneously talking to submit any writing assignments.” and scribbling important bits of information on An initial quiz is a great way to get students a whiteboard. The teaching assistant, sitting to the side, readheaded in the right direction. Then, once they’re on the correct ies the necessary material for the next part of the lesson. The path, a few subtle—and some not-so-subtle—reminders can help
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MAE 7.4 | 11
guarantee that they stay there. “We have exact definitions of what academic integrity is and what constitutes plagiarism in our syllabi, but how do you ensure that students in an online class read it?” said Dr. Shannon Farris, a psychology professor at Saint Leo University. “You start with making an announcement saying to ‘please read your syllabus and pay particular attention to the academic policy that we have that will address what cheating is, what plagiarism is, and if you’re found guilty of that, you’ll get a zero, or it could mean expulsion.’ But what I find most helpful for students is repeated exposure.” By repeated exposure, Farris is not suggesting that students are constantly reminded that they’ll fail the course or maybe get kicked out of school if they get caught cheating. No, he’s talking about taking a proactive role in their learning and working with them so that integrity becomes second nature. “Bring it up in the online discussions,” he said. “It takes a lot of meaningful contact to help students understand what academic integrity is and what it isn’t. Ask questions such as ‘Are you citing your material correctly? Are you using the correct style?’ Let them know, ‘You didn’t cite it correctly here; let’s review that.’ Reminding them can help because they’re getting multiple practices. One thing that I’ve found with plagiarism is that the majority of students aren’t doing it intentionally,” Farris continued. “They just don’t know enough about the writing style that they’re supposed to be
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using and they’re unintentionally plagiarizing. Some professors will say, ‘go to the manual,’ but that’s not enough.”
Scholastic Security Unfortunately, some folks do cheat intentionally. Online administrators understand this, and also realize that fair or not, they’re under more scrutiny to control it than more traditional programs. “Because federal regulations address online students directly there is more pressure on online programs and the faculty who teach online,” said Dr. Deb Gearhart, director of Troy University’s eTroy program. Just as technology has advanced so that students can study from a distance, though, there have also Dr. Deb Gearhart been improvements to the security of the overall delivery. “Although an online environment doesn’t put the student and faculty in physical proximity to each other,” explained Thomas Dalton, assistant vice president of Enrollment Management at Excelsior College, “the use of technology and simply paying attention on the part of faculty provide ways to address this difference in locations.” Similar to other institutions, Dalton Thomas Dalton and his colleagues have established specific guidelines to address the definition of integrity and explain what plagiarism is and make clear the penalties for running afoul of the rules. “Policy wording alone, however, doesn’t assure everyone will be honest in their academic activities any more than it will assure that they will be honest in other endeavors,” he said. “What we have done, and continue to do, is remain vigilant for potential policy violations and to exercise appropriate sanctions when breaches occur.” How are these breaches detected? The answer sounds like something out of a James Bond movie. “There have been a number of technological advancements in recent years that can be used to confirm a student’s identity,” Dalton explained. “From challenge questions and video web-proctoring to advanced biometrics, such as keystroke, voice and handwriting analysis. Using these techniques, authentication can and does take place at different points during an academic term.” There are third-party operations that can help sniff out cheating, too. Turnitin.com, for example, scans student papers for potential plagiarism problems, and the “Penn State World Campus partnered with Kryterion to provide online proctoring for highstakes exams in select courses,” Bittner said. “It greatly simplifies and increases the integrity of the process. Students purchase a special camera and can schedule their exams online. They install specific software, complete biometric authentication (photo ID and keystroke analysis), and are monitored in real time by a certified Kryterion online proctor.” www.MAE-kmi.com
that have targeted distance learning institutions.” The main Still, as exciting as using biometrics to verify a test taker target, of course, is money, in the form of a financial aid scam sounds, sometimes, it just comes down to common sense. in which someone receives monetary assistance and then “disap“‘Old-fashioned’ attentiveness on the part of our faculty plays an pears.” “We’ve taken a proactive approach and hosted a session important role,” Dalton said. “Active instructor involvement and of The Presidents’ Forum,” said Dalton. “The DOE engagement is essential.” This includes not relying and OIG participated, along with several distance on the same projects year after year. “Faculty can education institutions and fraud prevention softmodify their assignments to make plagiarism more ware vendors.” difficult,” Bittner explained. “For example, provide Perhaps ironically, another one of the greatvery specific topics for research assignments, and est threats to online academic integrity comes in require that students turn in an outline, then the form of technology itself, the very thing that an annotated bibliography with references from makes it possible to learn remotely. “The larger within the past five years, and have students subthreat is the impact of the Internet and all the mit drafts before the final paper. Professors could sharing sites, not the delivery mode of the course,” require papers on very recent current events, or said Colorado State’s Lambert, and he’s not alone require students to write from a specific point of Dr. Rick Shearer in this opinion. Dr. Rick Shearer, the director of view.” Penn State World Campus Learning Design, said, The more interaction a teacher has with a “The biggest challenge we face is keeping up with the vast array particular student—whether it comes in the form of email comof new technologies and how they may provide ways for students munication, an online threaded discussion or the rough draft to cheat that were not possible previously. We try to use technoloof a short, seemingly low-priority response paper—the easier it gies in such a way to assure that students cannot easily cheat and is to notice when something seems off in a substantial writing to assure academic integrity, but there is always something new.” project or final exam. As Gearhart said, “Much of the manageThis brings us back to the fact that there really isn’t much differment is in the hands of the instructor who observes the student’s ence between onsite lessons and those conducted in cyberspace, work and behaviors, both in the traditional classroom and online because as Bittner pointed out, “All students are online, whether classroom, and the instructor can tell where there are academic they are taking courses in traditional face-to-face classrooms integrity concerns.” or via the Web,” and no matter where they find themselves, the definition of academic integrity doesn’t change. O Cheating the System Even with password-protected assignments and genuine professor diligence, those concerns do still exist, primarily because of people who set out with the sole purpose of cheating the system. “They’re the greatest challenge,” acknowledged Dalton. “The Department of Education [DOE] and its Office of Inspector General [OIG] have identified fraud rings around the country
For more information, contact MAE Editor Maura McCarthy at mauram@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.mae-kmi.com.
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MAE 7.4 | 13
CLASS NOTES Physician Assistant Program to Serve Rising Demand
Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) is launching a Physician Assistant (PA) program leading to a Master of Medical Science degree. The 25-month program begins in January 2013 with a first class of 30 students, pending approval for provisional accreditation. The Tufts program is the only PA program in Massachusetts offered by a medical school and one of only three medical school-affiliated programs in New England. The PA program will help meet the growing demand for primary care providers, triggered by efforts to contain health care costs and by the continuing shortage of primary care providers. The U.S. Department of Labor projects a 39 percent growth in PA jobs by 2018. The Massachusetts Medical Society’s 2011 Physician Workforce Study reported severe physician shortages in internal and family medicine, both primary care specialties, for the sixth consecutive year. Tufts University School of Medicine has the infrastructure and resources to respond to this growing demand because it already trains physicians in a first-rate learning environment, noted Aviva Must, Ph.D., dean of the Public Health and Professional Degree Programs, and chair of the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at TUSM. Tufts has developed the curriculum, selected faculty and signed agreements with clinical affiliates throughout eastern Massachusetts. During their first year, students will follow a 27-course curriculum over three semesters, including training in anatomy, physical diagnosis, internal medicine, geriatrics, pediatrics, women’s health, behavioral medicine, surgery and rehabilitation medicine. In their second year, students will rotate through a 48-week schedule at affiliated hospitals, private practices and clinics. The clinical practice rotations include emergency medicine, inpatient medicine, ambulatory medicine, behavioral medicine, surgery, pediatrics, geriatrics and rehabilitation medicine, as well as electives in fields of specific interest. PAs practice medicine under the supervision of physicians and surgeons, often working as part of a health care team taking medical histories, examining patients, prescribing medications, interpreting lab tests and X-rays, and diagnosing and treating patients with acute and chronic illnesses. PAs work in a variety of medical settings including hospitals, health maintenance organizations, community clinics, nursing homes, physician offices and public health agencies.
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New Program Will Meet Financial Industry’s Needs in North Dakota The South Dakota Board of Regents approved Northern State University to offer a master’s degree in banking and financial services, building on its successful undergraduate programs in that field. “This graduate-level degree expands Northern’s curriculum to better meet the workforce needs of the banking and financial services industry in South Dakota and the Midwest region,” said Regents President Kathryn Johnson. A Master of Science degree will prepare students for a competitive market upon graduation, she said, and also provides current professionals in the field the skills needed to advance their careers. NSU already offers bachelor and associate degrees, a minor, and certificates in the banking and financial services program. This action also authorizes the new graduate degree for distance delivery, allowing bankers from across the country to earn this credential online. The board also approved online delivery for several of its existing degrees, including master’s degrees in leadership and administration, teaching and learning, instructional design in E-learning, and training and development in E-learning. Officials said putting these degrees online expands educational opportunity to more students who find themselves place bound due to work or family considerations.
Academic Partnership to Address Workforce Needs University of Phoenix and Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) announced an innovative alliance that will provide new educational opportunities in health care, information technology and criminal justice. The alliance was formalized at a special signing ceremony at NOVA’s Annandale Campus. Through the new agreement, University of Phoenix and NOVA will work with area business, academic and diversity leaders to identify workforce needs and develop focused curriculum and specific career pathways to meet those area workforce skills gaps. Students will have the opportunity to earn an associate degree at NOVA and seamlessly transition to a bachelor’s degree program at one of University of Phoenix’s seven D.C. Metro area locations or online. In addition to a tuition discount, NOVA students will have the opportunity to potentially convert prior training and work experience into college credit through Prior Learning Assessment at University of Phoenix. Through a new University of Phoenix transfer policy, credits earned through an associate of arts degree at NOVA will transfer to University of Phoenix and satisfy general education course requirements so students can immediately begin working toward a bachelor’s degree in their field of study. University of Phoenix and NOVA will also explore transfer trends to ensure the alliance is meeting local employer demands. Through its Community College Center of Excellence, University of Phoenix works with community colleges to build educational partnerships that bring in area business, academic and diversity leaders to identify workforce needs.
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Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
First of Its Kind Civil Engineering Program in Indiana The Indiana Commission for Higher Education approved the proposed Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering technology, which the College of Technology at ISU will begin offering this fall. Several ISU officials say the program is the first of its kind in Indiana. The new program is different from civil engineering, which deals with mostly theoretical concepts and design, because people with degrees in civil engineering technology work more in the application area, said Robert English, associate dean in the ISU College of Technology. ISU faculty members analyzed different industries and collaborated with several organizations to determine anticipated workforce needs over the coming decade, and they determined that multiple industries will have a growing need for people with a background in civil engineering technology.
The new offering will utilize several courses already offered in the construction management and mechanical engineering technology programs, with the rest of the classes to be new courses specifically for the program. As part of the initiative, ISU also entered into an agreement with Ivy Tech Community College. Ivy Tech graduates who complete their associate degree in design technology will be able to finish the final two years at ISU to receive the bachelor’s degree in civil engineering technology. Indiana State worked closely with the Indiana Department of Transportation to develop the program. The program will be accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology; Sims noted that, based on the organization’s website, it will be the only such four-year program in Indiana.
Students Teach Technology to Senior Citizens IDG’s Computerworld Honors Program announced Pace University as a 2012 Laureate. The annual award program honors visionary applications of information technology promoting positive social, economic and educational change. Five years ago, Pace professor Dr. Jean F. Coppola developed the university’s “Gerontechnology Program” which instructs students how to teach senior citizens basic computer skills including use of email, Skype, Wii, Google search, and instant messaging, among others. Partners on the project, Drs. Sharon Stahl Wexler and Lin Drury (Pace Nursing faculty) prepare the students for instructing the seniors with “sensitivity training” that includes simulation glasses to replicate vision problems and popcorn in students’ shoes to mimic mobility issues and help them empathize with older people. With baby boomers aging and a society increasingly dependent on technology, Professor Coppola’s program is filling a growing need. The students teach at numerous community organizations in Westchester and New York City including United Hebrew
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of New Rochelle, Henry Street Settlement, and Hallmark of Battery Park City. Pace’s Gerontechnology program is different from others for several reasons: In addition to the sensitivity training, an interdisciplinary team works on this project including nurses and tech gurus, social science educators and statistical data experts. Pace also collaborates closely with the Westchester Department of Senior Programs and Services, Westchester Community College (Prof. Barbara Thomas) and Fordham University (Dr. Janna Heyman) for expert data analysis and social work research experience. Moreover, this program has very strong ties to a growing list of community partners including The Wartburg, MAZII in Brooklyn, and Cerebral Palsy of Westchester. This year, Dr. Coppola and her colleagues, Pace professors Mark Surabian and Dr. Sandra Flank, received a Thinkfinity grant from the Verizon Foundation for “Integrating the iPad into the Educational Technology Curriculum and Community: Facilitating Accessibility Awareness and Experimental Learning.”
New Computer Science-Based Cybersecurity Program George Washington University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) has developed a new graduate degree program in cybersecurity. The program will launch in fall 2012, seeking to meet the burgeoning global demand for experts able to confront the growing threat of cyber crime. “Robust cybersecurity is a matter of national and international importance, because of the potential impact of security breaches on national security and the global economy,” said David Dolling, dean of SEAS. “The SEAS understands the crucial need to educate technical experts in cybersecurity, and we’ve responded by creating a unique graduate program that prepares students to become future cybersecurity leaders by giving them both the technical skills to address core cybersecurity issues and the ability to approach cybersecurity with a systems management mindset.” The program provides core knowledge of cybersecurity and of computer science as it relates to cybersecurity. In addition to the required courses, including algorithms and applied cryptography courses, the program offers a lot of room for individual customization. The university began accepting applications for the program in March. Students will be able to choose a path of study that emphasizes more technical CS aspects of security, such as network security and E-commerce security, as well as standard CS courses such as networks and databases. Cybersecurity-related courses will also be available and offered across the university in areas including forensics, law, policy and security systems management. There also are thesis and non-thesis options. All degree-related courses from the Department of Computer Science will be offered by night and many by day at GW’s Foggy Bottom campus, making the program accessible to part-time students. Students also will be able to complete the degree from GW’s Virginia Science and Technology campus.
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Army Educator
Q& A
Supporting the Development of Soldier-Students Dr. Pamela Raymer Director Army Continuing Education System U.S. Army Human Resources Command Dr. Pamela Raymer has over 29 years of federal government service working in various supervisory positions in education and training. As director of Army Continuing Education System (ACES) since November 2011 at the Human Resource Command at Fort Knox, Ky., she manages the voluntary education program along with serving as the functional chief representative for education counselor careerists. Some of her previous positions include chief, Education Division, JROTC at Fort Knox, dean of academics at the Army Management Staff College at Fort Belvoir, Va., and quality assurance director at the Armor and the Fires Center at Fort Knox and Fort Sill respectively. Her assignments also include serving as the education director at USNAF Atsugi, Japan. She has over 23 years as a university instructor in both resident and online programs. Her Ed.D. in supervision with a subspecialty in training and development is from the University of Louisville. Some of her professional affiliations include Phi Kappa Phi, a national honors society, and the American Association of University Women in McLean, Va. Q: Could you provide an overview of Army Continuing Education— for example, structure and size? A: This program provides services to soldiers in Army Education programs that include Tuition Assistance [TA], basic skills, educational counseling, academic and Army Personnel testing, Army/American Council on Education Registry Transcript System and Credentialing Opportunities On-Line for enlisted and officer personnel of the active and reserve components, staffing, and program management/administration/operations for all programs and services at 70 active Army education centers, 16 reserve education offices at regional readiness commands and 54 National Guard state and area commands Armywide. Our Education Incentives Branch ensures that all soldiers and veterans receive their educational entitlements under the various GI bills, transferability of education benefits, Army College Fund and Department of Army Loan Repayment Programs for the reserves and the active Army. We had 286,783 TA enrollees in fiscal year 2011 for 637,216 enrollments. Q: What are your responsibilities as director? A: I oversee the voluntary education program and support services for the Army worldwide. The work of the education centers with direct oversight of the counselors in the field falls under the Installation Command headquartered at San Antonio, Texas. Franco Serafinelli is the director of that program. 16 | MAE 7.4
Q: How does your past experience as a college instructor shape your decision-making as director of ACES? A: With almost 25 years of college and university teaching experience, I understand two sets of customers—the students and the educational institutions. I know how students feel about starting an undergraduate program. The undergrad students I taught were largely soldiers who were making their first entry into the college world and needed lots of support to believe they could be successful in a college program. They were always disciplined and focused but had doubts initially about being ready to take classes, so the Army and the schools needed to provide lots of support in the beginning to help them overcome that hurdle. Education counselors also need to help soldiers identify their readiness for an academic program. Remedial programs may be necessary to ensure success before soldiers begin an advanced education program. Then we should provide tools for them to make good decisions independently as they progress through their degrees. Preparing the soldier for re-entry into the civilian world should always be a goal—whether it occurs after first enlistment or retirement. From a faculty member’s perspective, I also understand better the issues that educational institutions face. Q: What military education initiatives do you find most promising? A: While there will always be a need for counselors to provide face-toface services, I’m excited at the possibilities that technology can offer. www.MAE-kmi.com
Counselors are needed to promote educational programs and advise the soldier on academic plans as well as to assist with the myriad of services, programs and tools available. But as I indicated earlier, we should promote the development of independent thinkers and problem-solvers who can achieve their educational goals with limited support. That should be a component of lifelong learning. Technology is available now to accomplish much of what we want to do but in trying to maximize use of available funds, we are taking a phased approach. Our first steps are in converting many of our processes to digital apps and exploring the benefits of social media such as Twitter. We also need to help others feel ready and comfortable to embrace these technology initiatives. Q: At CCME, you spoke about the need to focus on outcomes—not input—when it comes to measuring quality in education. Could you expand upon that? A: Input measures are relatively easy to compute; how many visitors did we have at the education center? Outputs can be relatively easy as well: How many degrees were completed, how many tests were taken? Outcomes, though, are the “so what?” What did we get out of the visits, the degree completions and the tests? Did soldiers get promoted, did they get a job, did they earn more money, were they better performers? These measures are not easy to compute but we must continue to focus on them as we make tough decisions on funding for specific programs. Q: Could you discuss the transition from eArmyU to GoArmyEd and its implications for soldiers’ education? A: The transition from eArmyU to GoArmyEd will have no measureable impact upon soldier education. When the decision to sunset eArmyU was made in 2011, fewer than 1,400 soldiers had active eArmyU enrollments. GoArmyEd, which is built upon the system architecture developed for eArmyU, provides all soldiers, active component, Army National Guard, and Army Reserves with the same 24/7 web-based services that existed with eArmyU. These include: online course registrations, online course withdrawal, the ability to monitor annual TA usage and their educational record, receive email alerts from GoArmyEd, and seek assistance for an Army counselor or their school using the Customer Relations Management [CRM] tool with our Letter of Instruction [LOI] schools. Soldiers attending non-LOI schools have the additional requirement to coordinate their class registration and withdrawals with their home school and cannot escalate CRM cases to them. All of our partner schools, both LOI and non-LOI, have the ability to electronically invoice the Army for payment through GoArmyEd and can post grades to the soldier’s record and create CRM cases to resolve issues involving soldier educational activities. After 2003, all soldiers, whether eArmyU participants or those using the Army’s regular TA program were subject to the DoD annual tuition ceiling and semester hour cap. Q: How would you describe the Army’s game plan for the education of its force? What are your goals for degree attainment? A: No one should generalize too much, but one way to view degree completion is to consider the differences between soldiers in civiliantype Military Occupation Specialties [MOS] and those in combat arms MOSs. Some soldiers by virtue of their MOSs and associated technical training can leave the Army with a solid set of technical skills that equips them to be more employable than others. These MOSs are in www.MAE-kmi.com
such occupations as engineering, law enforcement and vehicle maintenance. Other soldiers especially in the combat arms, do not have those civilian type MOSs that equip them as well for a return to the civilian workforce. These soldiers do have great leadership and management skills, and as with all soldiers, are disciplined with a strong set of work values. Even though truck drivers in the Army may not want to be truck drivers when they get out of the Army, combat arms soldiers are at greater disadvantage than soldiers in other occupations that translate more easily to civilian jobs. To that end, a combat arms soldier needs a degree program that is skill-based or very focused to give them a strong set of employable skills, while other soldiers may just need the diploma to help them get a job. This challenge is one that education counselors and educational institutions must recognize when assisting soldiers with selection of degree plans and schools as well as identifying those credentialing or certificate programs that can make the soldier more employable. Q: How will the Army Learning Model 2015 shape Army Voluntary Education in the coming years? A: The Army Learning Model focuses on increasing the thinking and problem-solving skills of soldiers to increase their adaptability and flexibility. Voluntary education programs are very supportive of development of these competencies, whether in a credentialing or advanced education program. It is important that schools have curricula that support these competencies. To that end, redesigning courses to include independent and collaborative problem-solving activities versus lectures is important. Q: How is the Army working to improve transition support? A: In the voluntary education arena, a two-day education course will be available to assist transitioning soldiers. We also anticipate an increased interest in education center counseling services as soldiers make decisions before transitioning out of the Army. Q: In your opinion, what are the most significant challenges facing military education and how is the Army preparing to address them? A: Availability of funds for TA and other services such as testing along with an adequate number of field counselors is always an issue. The transition will promote education, and as we promote programs, we increase participation. While Army has supported off-duty educational programs for the value it brings while soldiers serve and when they exit the service, funding all programs will continue to be a challenge. We must be very efficient while being effective with the programs and services we do provide. Technology is one area we hope to leverage. Q: Since assuming your role in November, what is the most important lesson you’ve learned? A: The demand for actionable data is huge. As the Army makes decisions about a number of programs, the need for data that helps us assess what we’re getting for our dollars is very important. We have lots of data but it isn’t always in the right sets. We are working on ways to improve our decision-making ability with data collection and data analysis to be better prepared to advise senior leadership when making these critical decisions. O MAE 7.4 | 17
Earning credit by examination is a smart strategy for students looking to capitalize on work and life experience, as well as prior coursework. By Kelly Fodel MAE Correspondent
Tom Kidd has had a long and successful career in the military, serving for 20 years in the Air Force and 14 years as a civilian. Along the way, he took college classes here and there, but soon realized he was accumulating a mishmash of credits and was not on his way to earning a particular degree. “My schedule precluded me from going to traditional school,” said Kidd. “I was deploying places and moving around too much. So during that time I was exploring other options and stumbled upon Excelsior College. They were very interesting because there was an opportunity to consolidate all my prior learning into a degree.” That is exactly what Kidd did, earning 28 credits by examinations using Excelsior College Examinations. The college also accepted 52 exam credits Kidd had earned from DANTES and the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), as well as credits he earned in traditional school. Ultimately, he graduated from Excelsior with a Bachelor of Science in liberal arts and now serves as the director of Strategic Spectrum & Wireless Policy for the Department of the Navy. “I basically tested out of my bachelor’s degree,” Kidd said. 18 | MAE 7.4
Like Kidd, many other veterans and servicemembers find value in CLEP, DSST and institution-specific exams, achieving degrees and even saving time and money while working toward their diplomas. “Completing standardized exams is a very popular way for adult learners to earn credit,” said Bob Frederick, military transfer coordinator at Charter Oak State College. “For some it is validating knowledge already acquired through experience and training while others are well suited for this Bob Frederick style of independent learning. By taking exams, students may earn credits quickly and cost effectively that can be applied toward completion of a college degree. This is particularly beneficial for students with room in their degree plans for free electives and desire to take advantage of prior learning.” www.MAE-kmi.com
CLEP “CLEP gives students the chance to receive college credit for things they already know—things they learned through life experiences, on-the-job training, internships, or even independent or self study,” Dr. Constance Tsai, director, CLEP Academic Initiatives at the College Board, explained. “Students of a wide range of ages and backgrounds are able to demonstrate their mastery of college-level material by earning a qualifying score on a CLEP test.” Developed by the College Board, CLEP is the most widely accepted credit-by-examination program, Dr. Constance Tsai available at more than 2,900 colleges and universities. About a third of the tests administered each year are to the military. Military servicemembers take CLEP exams for free; DANTES funds one attempt for exam title. Students who take CLEP tests that meet general education requirements (e.g., Analyzing and Interpreting Literature, College Algebra, American Literature, College Composition and History of the United States) are able to meet their basic requirements earlier, and are thus able to move into courses in their chosen majors faster. A satisfactory score on any of the 33 CLEP exams can earn students three to 12 college credits. Tsai advised that test takers prepare for the exams by checking out exam preparation resources on the CLEP website. One of the greatest benefits of using the study guides on this site, which are developed and published by the College Board, is that they allow students to prepare for their exams on a flexible schedule. She also recommends that students check with their college’s admissions office to find out about credit transfer policies and timelines in order to ensure CLEP exams are taken in a timely fashion, and that test scores can be submitted and evaluated in time for enrollment.
DANTES and DSST DANTES sponsors a wide range of examination programs to assist servicemembers in meeting their educational goals including credit-by-exams like CLEP and DSST; entrance tests such as ACT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT and SAT; and other exams like the GED or Praxis. Formerly known as the DANTES Standardized Subject Test, the DSST program is an extensive series of 38 examinations in college subject areas that are comparable to the final or end-ofcourse examinations in undergraduate courses. The American Council on Education (ACE) recommends three semester hours of credit per test. DANTES funds paper-based DSST testing for eligible servicemembers and civilian examinees at Base Education Offices and at National Test Centers offering the internetbased testing DSSTs. If the servicemember does not pass the first (free) exam, they are responsible for the cost of retesting. Therefore, being prepared the first time they take it is important because they obtain three to 12 semester hours without going into the classroom and without paying for a college course. These examinations are administered on over 500 military installations by the DANTES test control officer (TCO) at the base www.MAE-kmi.com
education center or the base-sponsored National Test Centers. Test takers can also check with the local college or university’s testing office for availability. Taking advantage of the credit-byexam program can help with expediting their degree completion. TCOs can log into the DANTES TCO Portal and download study guides and fact sheets for exams such as CLEP and DSST. Demetra Malone, exams program manager at DANTES, also recommends that students use the Online Academic Skills Course, which allows free access to an online study course designed to check skill level and provides study guides, printable sample tests, resources, articles and related links for various examinations. “Servicemembers must first visit with their education counselor or academic adviser to identify examinations that apply towards their degree plan of study,” Malone said. “The counselor can assist them with strategies to reduce the amount of college credits required to achieve an educational goal and how to transfer college credits to their colleges and universities.”
Academic Advising Working with an academic adviser or counselor at your particular school is imperative for a student seeking to earn creditby-exam. Every school has different guidelines and restrictions, so counseling will assist in making sure you are on the right path. At Charter Oak State College, for example, “there is a six credit residency requirement—the three credit Cornerstone Seminar and a
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three credit Capstone course,” said Frederick. “Theoretically, all Institutional Exams remaining credits required for the degree could be earned from exams. Practically speaking, students are limited by the breadth While earning credit-by-exam with tests like CLEP and DSST of degree requirements or the number of exams available in their is popular, they are not the only options for college students chosen field of study to complete a concentration.” seeking to earn credits. Many colleges and universities, such as Frederick said that those in the military who are just startThomas Edison State College (TESC), offer their own institutioning their degree programs usually choose the five CLEP general specific exams. Some students who come to college already havexams, as they will provide a solid starting point toward general ing college-level learning, or with the ability and discipline to education requirements and carry the most credits per exam. prepare on their own, have used TECEP (Thomas Edison State These general exams cover subject matters such College Examination Program) and other forms as college composition, math and history. Many of prior learning assessment, like portfolio assessCharter Oak military students, particularly the ment, to complete half or more of their degree senior enlisted, seek available exams in the manrequirements. agement disciplines that are representative of “TESC does not limit the number of credtheir backgrounds and career objectives. its earned by examinations but there are a few Charter Oak State College accepts the majorimportant points to make regarding this topic,” ity of recommendations made by ACE; for the said Marc Singer, vice provost, Collegiate Credit credits to be transferable, a student must earn Assessment Center at TESC. “First, students can the minimum score recommended by ACE on an transfer up to 90 credits that are earned through exam. While the passing score is considered to be exams from a single ACE-reviewed source, such Marc Singer a grade of ‘C’ or higher and can be used approprias CLEP or DSST. Students who want to transfer ately in any category of their degree plan, some more than 90 credits through exam programs exam scores have equivalent letter grades. In this case, the letmust take those exams through multiple exam providers. Also, ter grade would appear on the student’s record and included in most degree programs at TESC have capstone requirements that their GPA. cannot be satisfied via a credit-by-exam. We recommend that Frederick offered this advice to military students: “Don’t students check with an adviser to make sure that the exams they underestimate the level of knowledge required to take an exam want to take will fit into their degree program.” and be well prepared. Military servicemembers are provided Singer explained, “A team of mentors, who teach the equivafunding for many exams, but if a passing grade is not achieved, lent courses, develop and review each exam. For TECEP, we a student must wait six months for a retake and may be required collect data on the exam questions and replace or update the to pay the cost of the re-taken exam. Of course, don’t forget to questions that don’t perform well (if students all choose the same contact your education services office to discuss exam registrawrong answer, for instance, or if something becomes outdated) tion and to utilize any exam resources available in the office. when it’s necessary. We always have multiple versions of each Finally, identify the college you plan to attend at the point of exam for security reasons, and we overhaul the exams entirely exam registration. This will guarantee that an official score pretty regularly.” report will be sent to that college so you won’t need to request Test prep assistance for each TECEP exam is provided through it later. This will save both time and money.” a test description document that is several pages long. Test
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descriptions provide a list of topics covered on the test, the approximate weighting of each topic on the exam, sample questions, and suggestions for review and study materials. CLEP and DSST provide similar materials on their websites. No faculty or staff guidance is provided by credit-by-exam programs as these require self-study. In fact, Singer said servicemembers should be wary of companies that try to sell you a guaranteed test prep program for any of these credit-by-exam programs. “There are several shady organizations out there that have taken advantage of members of the military, to the tune of thousands of dollars,” he said. “If you’re not sure about a prep program, ask us or the College Board or DSST.” Excelsior College also offers its own institution-specific exams in addition to accepting other credits via exams like DSST or CLEP. “Excelsior College Examinations (ECEs) and UExcel exams (collaboratively developed between Excelsior and PearsonVue) are also widely available to anyone,” said Dr. Mika Hoffman, executive director, Center for Educational Measurement at Excelsior College. “Unlike CLEP and DSST, ECEs and UExcel exams are the only ones developed by an accredited college for which a letter grade is awarded and reported on a college transcript. Also, unlike the other exams, ECEs are available for upper-level as well as lowerlevel courses.” Benefits from these exams aren’t limited to a student’s transcript; a significant advantage is clear when looking at the costbenefit. “Exams are generally less expensive than a typical college
course. An Excelsior College Examination or UExcel Exam worth three credits can cost as little as $95 per exam (not per credit). So if cost is a factor, exam-oriented students can substantially lower the costs of earning a degree. Speaking of cost, Excelsior recently introduced a new way for students to earn a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies almost entirely by examination, and we call this the $10K Degree. If someone with little or no college credit on his/her record follows the path we guide them along, the total cost will be no more than $10,000, guaranteed,” Hoffman explained. Excelsior College Examinations are developed according to national standards to assure that the exams measure what they are designed to measure and that the results are reliable. There are four major stages in the development of each Excelsior College Examination: developing a test plan; writing and editing test questions; evaluating, pretesting and revising items; and assembling test forms and conducting standard-setting. Faculty and content experts are involved in these various stages and it is only after having gone through this thorough and rigorous process are the exams used by students to earn credit. Excelsior’s examinations are reviewed by the American Council on Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service, which provides course equivalency information to facilitate college credit award decisions. Content guides are available free of charge for all of Excelsior’s exams. Hoffman said military students typically pursue Excelsior’s bachelor’s degree in liberal studies, so their
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MAE 7.4 | 21
test choices tend to reflect interest in subjects such as history, psychology, sociology, cultural issues and other similar topics. For Kidd, his choice to pursue his degree via exam was a decision he is thankful to have made. However, he warns people to not underestimate the dedication required to study for exams. He said if you cannot handle the stress of studying on your own with the potential of failure, this may not be the path for you. You need to know your personality and have the self discipline required for this kind of testing because you are going to put in nearly the same hours as you would if you earned a degree the traditional way. That said, Kidd summarized, “It is a great way of getting the task accomplished with minimal disruption to your life. It is a great opportunity and I would encourage people to do it and get some credits out of the way.” O
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For a complete list of DSST test titles available at National Test Centers, visit www.getcollegecredit.com. For descriptions of each DSST test, visit www.getcollegecredit. com/resources.html#factsheets. Students may access DANTES Online Academic Skills Course (OASC) from any computer through the DOD MWR Library program at www.nelnetsolutions.com/dod . A free online tutor service is available for all military and their family members who require tutoring in specific subject areas at www.tutor.com/military. This program is funded by the DoD MWR Library Program, Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program and Navy General Library Program. For a complete list of CLEP exams available, visit http://clep.collegeboard.org/exam. For CLEP Study Guides and other resources, visit http://clep.collegeboard.org/test-preparation.
For more information, contact MAE Editor Maura McCarthy at mauram@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.mae-kmi.com.
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You can start an application any time. Next classes begin July 2nd and July 30th. Learn more by calling us at 1-800-686-1143 or visiting us online at www.northeastern.edu/discovercps. 4/17/12 11:34 AM
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Graduating Global Information Leaders Military and civilian leaders view the National Defense University’s iCollege as the premier institution for acquiring the knowledge necessary to be successful in the information age. By Maura McCarthy, MAE Editor
The National Defense University’s Information Resource Management College (NDU’s iCollege) honored 200 graduates in a ceremony on Friday, April 27. A hub for educating and connecting global information leaders, the iCollege attracts students from the Department of Defense, federal agencies, state and local government, and the private sector, as well as from international defense ministries. Offering 11 graduate certificate programs including Cyber Security, Enterprise Architecture, Chief Information Officer, an Advanced Management Program and a Master of Science in Government Information Leadership, the iCollege prepares leaders to direct the information component of national power by leveraging information and technology. Critical to the professional development and education of information leaders is collaboration and partnerships, both of which the iCollege successfully leverages. The college benefits greatly from partnerships with government and industry; for example, Lockheed Martin, KPMG, CF Day & Associates, DISA and the Department of Energy provide faculty members to the institution at no cost to the college. “An individual of that caliber is probably worth $200,000 or $250,000 a year and we can’t thank these organizations enough. These people bring not [only] their expertise but their connections and best practices, tying together the federal sector with the private sector, which we are going to need more of moving forward,” noted Dr. Robert Childs, chancellor of the iCollege. The power and potential of an education lies not only in the knowledge gained, but also in the relationships forged in pursuit www.MAE-kmi.com
of this knowledge. As Dr. Childs emphasized, “As we withdraw our forces from overseas, the relations we have with other countries largely will be conducted by personal relationships versus formal relationships; this is going to be extremely critical moving forward. Coalition warfare, partnerships and national security—the era coming now has been unmatched in the past and we’re going to have to do more.” Seeds of these relationships are often sowed through education, and this year’s graduates included international students from the Saudi Arabian 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. The rapid advancement of technology is redefining the way the government does business, and the iCollege is leading the way in merging technology and information for strategic advancement. In his commencement address, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer Robert F. Hale asserted the importance of IT professionals for the efficient functioning of the DoD. “We couldn’t begin to accomplish our many goals without IT support. The IT business environment is a critical factor in helping us sustain a modern business operation. The support of graduates like you is critical; we depend on IT to keep track of our resources. Defense financing and accounting MAE 7.4 | 23
services reports to me; they do 170 million financial accounting transactions a year and make millions of pay transactions. We need IT to do it just as much as we need electricity. None of our priorities could be realized without effective and secure IT systems.” Both Childs and Hale stressed that the graduates’ work was far from over: The challenges of the classroom will be replaced by the challenges of the workroom and students must apply the lessons learned at NDU to their organization. “There are a lot of storm clouds out there: DoD downsizing and budget constraints for example. I’ve been in government service for over 40 years and many people say that these things come and go. Well, this problem isn’t going to come and go. Things are going to be drastically different and we’re going to have to take a look at how we reshape our organizations, how we realign our organizations and our roles within these organizations. This is role you’re all going to have to play when you go back to your organizations. How we face the crisis says a lot about us and I think you’re all going to have opportunities to act,” Childs reflected. Domestic graduates hail from the Department of the Army, Defense Information Systems Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Department of the Air Force, United States Navy, Army National Guard, Defense Intelligence Agency, Department of State, National Defense Radio Establishment, United States Marine Corps,
Department of Treasury, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Veteran Affairs, United States Joint Forces Command, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, United States Central Command, Defense Security Service, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, United States Coast Guard, United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Defense Radio Establishment, Department of Housing and Urban Development, National Security Agency, White House Communications Agency, Food Safety Inspection Service, United States Transportation Command, Defense Security Service, Department of Energy, Navy Engineering Logistics Office, Department of Defense, Department of the Interior, Department of Health and Human Services, Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Federal Bureau of Investigations, NASA Office of the Inspector General, National Guard Bureau Joint Staff, National Security Agency, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, United States House of Representatives, Department of Defense Washington Headquarters Services, Delphi-ITM, Environmental Protection Agency, Sandia National Laboratories, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Booz Allen Hamilton Incorporated. O
For more information, contact MAE Editor Maura McCarthy at mauram@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.mae-kmi.com.
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CCME GRAPEVINE The Six-Year Graduation Rate: One Size Does Not Fit All
By Michael Heberling
Part of the CCME mission is to serve as a forum to discuss those legislative and regulatory issues that impact voluntary military education. One issue that clearly falls into this category is the heightened emphasis placed on graduation rates. In 1990, Congress passed the Student Right-to-Know Act. As a result, the Department of Education (DOE) requires all institutions participating in Federal Title IV programs to report the graduation rate for their first-time, fulltime, degree seeking students within six years of starting. This is commonly referred to as the “six-year graduation rate,” which has unfortunately morphed into a “one-sizefits-all” proxy to measure how good, or bad, a school is academically. Politicians and the media laud schools with high graduation rates and pummel those with low graduation rates. Unfortunately, there are a number of major flaws with this barometer of academic excellence. First, transfer students are not included in the calculation even though nearly 60 percent of all college graduates will attend two or more schools. Part-time students, who make up 50 percent of the student body, are not included either. Students who drop out but later return are excluded, as are students who enroll in the spring or summer semesters. In other words, schools that cater to nontraditional students are at a distinct disadvantage with the DOE’s measure of academic excellence. Nationally, only 56 percent of all the students at four-year colleges graduate within six years. Breaking down the graduation rates by the financial aid categories of “dependent” and “independent” (which are analogous to traditional and nontraditional) students helps to illustrate the shortcomings of the one-size-fits-all benchmark. Students classified as “dependent” (where aid eligibility is a function the parents’ financial status) have an overall six-year graduation rate of 63 percent. A typical “dependent” student is the 18-year-old student who goes directly to college from high school while the “independent” student is over 24, married, with dependents, on active duty, or a veteran and has a six-year graduation rate of only 22 percent. This is according to College Board data for the 2003-09 timeframe. www.MAE-kmi.com
Schools that actively seek out dependent/ traditional students will receive high marks from the DOE. The following table shows that some schools have been able to knock their graduation rates “out of the park.” Also shown is the freshman acceptance rate, which is rarely reported with the six-year graduation rate. The data indicates a strong correlation between graduation rates and freshman acceptance rates: Universities with low freshman acceptance rates will have a very high six-year graduation rate.
Comparing Graduation Rates with Acceptance Rates School
Six Year Graduation Rate
Freshman Acceptance Rate
Harvard University
98%
7%
Yale University
98%
9%
Duke University
95%
19%
Northwestern University
95%
26%
University of Virginia
93%
38%
UCLA
90%
27%
University of California, Berkeley
88%
25%
University of Michigan
88%
52%
University of California, San Diego
84%
43%
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
83%
40%
Sadly, there are signs to indicate that the six-year graduation rate policy is having some unintended consequences. Consider the case of Wayne State University. According to the Detroit News, it is Michigan’s “only urban university and it serves a unique constituency. A large number of its students are commuters who also work, many in full-time jobs. A significant percentage is older than the typical college student, having gone back to school after starting a career or taking a more prolonged approach to completing school.” With the lowest graduation rate among Michigan’s public universities, Wayne State University’s incoming President Allan Gilmour said that “a change in admissions can be expected.” Schools like Wayne State University that provide educational opportunities for
America’s nontraditional students should be praised—not castigated. This holds true for those schools that cater to the nontraditional military students as well. The six-year graduation rate policy is forcing many schools to re-visit their diverse missions. Currently, schools that place a premium on enrolling only the most affluent and academically promising students are rewarded. Such a policy that serves to reduce access to postsecondary education is clearly at odds with our history of providing equal opportunity and social mobility for our citizens. In the Chronicle of Higher Education, Paul Attewell and David Lavin wrote, “… traditional students, whose needs and experiences still drive public policy, make up less than a quarter of today’s undergraduate population. We need to focus on what higher education is, not what it once was.” On April 11, the DOE announced that it will start to incorporate part-time and transfer students into the graduation rate calculations, yet details were not provided and while this is a good start, it does not go far enough. It is still a one-size-fits-all metric. Open enrollment schools that provide educational opportunities to predominantly nontraditional students will still be negatively compared with highly selective schools by politicians and the news media. What is needed is a way to measure schools with similar missions and similar student demographics such as traditional/ nontraditional ratios and the percentage of students needing developmental or remedial education. A more fundamental question needs to be asked: Why is the six-year graduation rate the academic “gold standard” in the first place? Other measures, such as job placement, should at least be considered. Is a previously unemployed community college student who is able to secure a job after taking only five courses a success or a failure? From the community college’s perspective, this is a failure—because the DOE classifies it as a failure. From the student’s perspective, however, obtaining a job is a tremendous success story. O
Michael Heberling is the CCME vice president. MAE 7.4 | 25
MONEY TALKS
Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
$50,000 Awarded in CyberPatriot Scholarships The Northrop Grumman Foundation, sponsor of the Air Force Association’s (AFA) CyberPatriot program, presented more than $50,000 in scholarships to students on the winning teams of the CyberPatriot IV National Finals Competition, helping the nation’s future cyber defenders further their education. The CyberPatriot IV National Finals Competition was held outside Washington, D.C., on March 23. The AFA’s CyberPatriot program is the largest high school cyber defense competition and is designed to excite, educate and motivate students toward careers in cybersecurity. The final competition brought 24 teams from around the country together to compete in two different divisions. The All Service Division included students from Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) and Civil Air Patrol (CAP) programs. The Open Division was made up of public, private and home-schooled high school teams. This year, the CyberPatriot competition included two additional teams from the Manitoba Province in Canada who competed parallel to the American teams as the first international exhibition teams. The winners of the CyberPatriot IV National Finals Competition from the All Service Division were: first place, the Colorado Springs Cadet Squadron, Civil Air Patrol, Colorado Springs, Colo.; second place, John R. Rogers High School, Air Force JROTC, Spokane, Wash.; and third place, Clearfield High School, Air Force JROTC, Clearfield,
Utah. The Open Division winners were: first place, Alamo Academies, San Antonio, Texas; second place, Lewis and Clark High School, Spokane, Wash.; and third place, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. Each student on the winning teams received a portion of the total scholarship amount. First place winners were each awarded $2,000; second place winners each received $1,500; and third place winners each got $1,000. In its second year as the presenting sponsor, the Northrop Grumman Foundation and Northrop Grumman Corporation have not only made a generous financial donation, but invested time, talent and resources to assist in mentoring CyberPatriot students. This is also the second year Northrop Grumman is offering internship opportunities nationwide for competitors. Last year, 11 CyberPatriots worked side-by-side with cyber pros at Northrop Grumman; this year the company is expanding to nearly 30 opportunities. This is the fourth year of AFA’s CyberPatriot competition, which was held during the 2011-2012 school year and included more than 1,000 teams representing all 50 states, and U.S Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Europe and the Pacific. This year’s competition represents a 53 percent increase in participation. The competition began in October 2011 and included three virtual competition rounds over four months to qualify for the in-person final competition round.
Veterans Program Receives $1.2 Million Donation Outward Bound for Veterans, a nonprofit program that aids returning servicemembers and recent veterans through challenging wilderness trips, received a significant boost recently with a $1.2 million donation from Holiday Retirement. The donation funds an entire trip—including flights, food, lodging, supplies and instructors—for 600 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Originally developed for Vietnam War veterans, Outward Bound trips encourage healing and rebuild confidence for veterans struggling to readjust to civilian life. Participants are given the opportunity to escape daily routines and share
26 | MAE 7.4
unforgettable experiences with other veterans in some of the country’s most stunning locations. Home to approximately 12,000 veterans and spouses, Holiday Retirement’s communities collected donations during a three-month fundraising effort. Holiday Retirement then matched every dollar donated. “Veterans are such a major part of our communities, and this was an excellent opportunity for us to give back to a newer generation of veterans in a very meaningful way,” said Mark Prince, Holiday Retirement’s executive sponsor of the Outward Bound campaign.
Hiring Our Heroes Campaign Set to Expand in 2012 The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring Our Heroes program and RecruitMilitary announced that they will collaborate on 50 hiring fairs for veterans and military spouses from April through December 2012. RecruitMilitary partnered with Hiring Our Heroes on 19 events in the program’s first year. The increase in 2012 will allow Hiring Our Heroes to expand to host 400 events in its second year. “RecruitMilitary has been a tremendous partner since we launched Hiring Our Heroes a year ago, and we’re thrilled to have this relationship grow even stronger going forward,” said Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Schmiegel (Ret.), founder and executive director of the U.S. Chamber’s Hiring Our Heroes program. “To make a difference in the staggering unemployment rates facing the veterans community, we need organizations like ours to work together. I have no doubt that Hiring Our Heroes and RecruitMilitary can demonstrate to employers that hiring a veteran isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.” To increase the number of exhibitors and maximize career opportunities for the job seekers, RecruitMilitary will continue to offer companies that are members of the Chamber and local chambers a 10 percent discount on the cost of their exhibition booths. Additionally, RecruitMilitary will continue further price reductions for small businesses (businesses that have less than 50 employees), and even lower rates for veteran-owned small businesses. In March 2011, the Chamber, in conjunction with the National Chamber Foundation, launched its Hiring Our Heroes program, a nationwide effort to help veterans and military spouses find meaningful employment. The Chamber started the program to improve public-private sector coordination in local communities, where veterans and their families are returning every day. To date, Hiring Our Heroes has hosted 138 hiring fairs in 45 states and the District of Columbia, helping more than 9,000 veterans and military spouses find employment. Working with its federation of state and local chambers and public, private and non-profit partners, the Chamber established a network of committed employers, large and small, that understand the value of hiring veterans and military spouses. This includes the 27 companies that comprise the Veterans Employment Advisory Council, which represent 25 million jobs in America and have access to vast networks of millions more small business suppliers, clients and customers.
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Calendar
American Military University..................................................................................................................... 21 www.amuonline.com/mae Ashford University........................................................................................................................................ 24 www.military.ashford.edu/mae Barry University............................................................................................................................................... 7 www.barry.edu/ace Central Michiagan University.................................................................................................................... 19 www.cmich.edu/military Colorado State University Online Plus. . ................................................................................................... 11 www.csuonlineformilitary.com Colorado Technical University................................................................................................................... 12 www.coloradotech.edu/military Northeastern University.............................................................................................................................. 22 www.northeastern.edu/discovercps Thomas Edison State College .................................................................................................................... 20 http://tesc.edu/militaryinfo Troy University.............................................................................................................................................. 13 www.troy.edu University of Maryland University College.............................................................................................. C2 http://military.umuc.edu/accomplish University of Phoenix.. ................................................................................................................................. C4 www.phoenix.edu/mil
June 4-8, 2012 GEOINT Community Week Washington, D.C. www.usgif.org
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June 27-29, 2012 Military Child Education Coalition 2012 Annual Conference Grapevine, Texas www.militarychild.org/annual-conference July 23-27, 2012 DoD Worldwide Education Symposium 2012 Las Vegas, Nev. www.ww2012.com/common/home.action
MAE  7.4 | 27
UNIVERSITY CORNER
Military Advanced Education
Dr. Andrea Allen Interim Dean School of Adult and Continuing Education Barry University academic experience with us include the Master of Administration [MAA] and the Master of Public Administration degrees, which are both designed for fully online delivery.
Q: To begin with, could you please provide a brief overview of your school’s history, mission and curriculum? A: Barry University is a private, Catholic institution with a history of academic excellence in the Dominican tradition. In 1982, the Frank J. Rooney School of Adult and Continuing Education [ACE] at Barry University evolved from a consortium between Barry University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Since then, ACE has provided working adult students with undergraduate and graduate degree programs. In addition, ACE offers non-credit and certificate programs which recognize the educational and professional needs of the adult learner. Our degree and certificate programs are designed for students who, because of family and work responsibilities, seek a program with multiple delivery options and a student population of fellow professionals. Q: What is your school’s background in military education? A: Compared to many other schools that cater to the military, ACE is relatively new to the game. However, our “military friendly” activity includes: providing Public Safety scholarships to active duty members; accepting the American Council on Education’s recommendations on military training/schools; providing flexible transfer policies to minimize the loss of prior credit; and affording students the benefits of a portfolio program that grants credit for experiential learning. We are also a member of the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges [SOC] Consortium. Q: What makes your school unique in the benefits and programs you offer to military service members? A: Adult learning is self-directed learning using critical thinking skills, and application of these skills to problem solving. As a 28 | MAE 7.4
Q: What are some of your school’s main goals in meeting the future challenges of online education for the military?
learner accumulates experience, abilities to critically analyze a situation and formulate a solution become more refined. This accumulated wealth of knowledge continues to expand throughout all situations and is the essence of the purpose of ACE. ACE not only applies practitioner approaches in the classroom, but also acknowledges a learner’s accumulated wealth of knowledge through our highly respected Experiential Learning portfolio. This process allows for a self-reflection of accomplishments, and a tangible evaluation and application of this learning towards their ultimate goal of an advanced degree in the form of academic credits. Military servicemembers have extensive resources from which to draw, including but not limited to DANTES, DD 214, certifications, licenses, all of which may be part of their military careers, and can also serve an additional purpose of accelerating the completion of their academic career as well. Q: What online degree and certificate programs do you offer and how do these distance learning programs fit in with the lives of active duty and transitioning military personnel? A: ACE has chosen those degrees most applicable to the needs of our adult learners. Those that provide the greatest opportunity for our military servicemembers to apply their unique experiences to enhance their
A: Military servicemembers have unique experiences from those of other adult learners, and with those experiences come specific needs regarding their transition back into a more ‘civilian’ life after their deployment has ended. Barry University would like to encourage our servicemembers to ‘instruct’ us in what support services may be needed, specific programs of study that may be of greatest interest and anything we as an educational partner need to do to become their preferred school of choice. Q: What do you think are the key issues facing higher education today? A: Due to the proliferation of both for-profit and nonprofit schools, learners of any age would find it difficult to differentiate the offerings of these educational providers and to identify which institution would best fit their personal and professional objectives. Although adult-serving institutions understand that mature learners value flexibility and accelerated time to completion, they struggle to ensure that the foundations of a well-rounded curriculum are not compromised and diluted in the interest of time and modes of delivery. Q: What are some of your most popular programs, and which ones are the most appealing to military students? A: Our most popular programs to military and non-military alike are the bachelor’s in administration, bachelor’s in public administration, B.S. in information technology and MAA. O www.MAE-kmi.com
NEXTISSUE
June 2012 Vol. 7, Issue 5
Journal of Higher Learning for Today’s Servicemember
Cover and in-Depth Interview with:
Maj. Ron Lee Chief Education Branch Army National Guard
Features: Summer School Forgoing the traditional summer break from classes can offer students greater flexibility, help them to spend fewer years in school, and may even save them money.
Designing Online Courses Online courses have unique delivery requirements that by law they must meet. MAE explores best practices in design and faculty training in the online realm.
Information Systems & Technology Many military members' positions rely on cutting-edge technologies for their daily work. How can they find the right program to take this experience to the next level with a degree?
Special Section Community Colleges With President Obama’s recent focus on the importance of community colleges and promotion of the institutions’ partnerships with industry, MAE emphasizes how the system is positioned to serve military students.
Insertion Order Deadline: May 31, 2012 | Ad Materials Deadline: June 7, 2012