College degrees for junior enlisted

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goon175
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College degrees for junior enlisted

Post by goon175 »

This is awesome, definately a step in the right direction. I think the optimal program would be ditching the universities all together so that soldiers didn't have to use the T.A. and implementing a program like the Air Force. They do it so that you end up with a degree from the Community College of the Air Force (http://www.au.af.mil/au/ccaf/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). This could be implemented on the Army side using the SSD courses and NCOES schools together, instead of just military/MOS topics taught, you would also have to complete core educational periods of instruction to satisfy the math/english requirements. Hell, extend OSUT/AIT a couple weeks to knock those courses out.
New college program targets junior enlisted


Program awards credit for training, experience

By Jim Tice - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Dec 10, 2011 8:41:49 EST



FORT KNOX, Ky. — An Army-funded college education program that will allow junior enlisted soldiers of the combat arms to earn an associate degree during their first term of service starts in December.

The Enlisted Education Program’s new college option is targeted at privates and specialists of the Infantry, Armor, Field Artillery and Air Defense career management fields — more than 120,000 soldiers.

Thirty-one schools have agreed to give soldiers college credits toward an associate degree for:

• Basic Combat Training

• Advanced Individual Training

• Structured Self-Development, Level I

• Warrior Leader Course

Additionally, schools must:

• Provide an associate degree in arts, sciences or general studies.

• Minimize academic residency requirements.

• Allow for the easy transfer of credits between participating schools.

• Provide an assessment of a soldier’s prior-learning and career experiences.

These are high-density career fields, involving specialties held by roughly 25 percent of the junior enlisted soldiers assigned to the Regular Army, National Guard and Army Reserve.

Specific details about the program, to include participating schools, degree programs and application procedures, are slated to go active in the “GoArmyEd” portal of the Army Continuing Education System during the second week of December.


Tuition Assistance

To find the GoArmyEd portal of the Army Continuing Education System, go to http://www.goarmyed.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Soldiers can request tuition assistance for college courses.


Officials expect soldiers will start registering for participating schools in January, according to Laura Peck, deputy director of ACES.

GoArmyEd is the online system for requesting tuition assistance for classroom and distance learning college courses.

The Army has reached agreements with 31 schools to provide 56 associate degree options, said Tom Kruse, an education services specialist here with ACES at Human Resources Command headquarters.

In selecting schools for the Enlisted Education Program, the Army requires that institutions award academic credits for a soldier’s Army training, said Jeff Colimon, a manager with the Institute of NCO Professional Development at Fort Eustis, Va.

In case of cuts

Soldiers can cover the costs of classes through the Army Tuition Assistance program, which as of mid-October pays up to $250 per credit hour, not to exceed an annual total of $4,500.

Officials said that in designing the Enlisted Education Program, the Army has required schools to limit their tuition charges to $200, or less, per credit hour.

There have been reports that cuts in the tuition assistance program could reduce the maximum per-credit allowance below the current of $250 ceiling. The Pentagon has said these rates will not change “until further notice.” Nevertheless, if the rates do change, most students could use GI Bill benefits to close the gap between school tuition rates and the tuition assistance caps.

Enrollment for any of the associate degree programs will follow standard GoArmyEd procedures, which means soldiers must meet certain requirements established by the college.

Colleges will evaluate students individually to determine what credits can be awarded for prior learning, including Army training and workplace experience in their military occupational specialty, recorded in the soldier’s Army/American Council on Education Registry Transcript.

Nonmilitary subjects typically required by schools to earn an associate degree include English, math, basic science and humanities courses, Peck said.

“Because this program could be a stepping stone to a baccalaureate and graduate work for some, we want soldiers to have a good foundation in general education,” Kruse said.

“The idea is to get young soldiers involved in education as soon as possible,” he said.

“We already know what the high unemployment rates are for first-term soldiers transitioning out of the Army, and this is one program, along with some others, to get these folks marketable on the civilian economy,” Kruse said.

Officials also said the program is designed to make soldiers more competitive in their careers if they decide to stay in the Army.

“This is part of building the bench,” Colimon said. “If we want senior NCOs to have advanced degrees, then this is where we start.”

The Army’s goal for junior NCOs is to have an associate degree by the end of their first enlistment, a baccalaureate by the time they complete the Advanced Leader Course and are promoted to sergeant first class, and a master’s degree by the time they reach sergeant major, according to Sgt. Maj. Thomas Gills, sergeant major to the Army’s deputy chief of staff for personnel.

“This also is a retention incentive,” Gills said during an interview Oct. 12 in Washington.

“If a soldier earns an associate’s degree, he can see that a bachelor’s degree is just around the corner, and he may want to stick around,” he said.

The Enlisted Education Program is one of two tracks under the College of the American Soldier.

One is the Senior NCO Degree Program, for soldiers pursuing a bachelor’s degree; the second is for junior enlisted soldiers pursuing associate degrees in arts, sciences and general studies.

The combat arms career fields, which together total about 15 MOSs, were selected for the junior enlisted program because initial entry training and combat arms training and experiences usually are not accepted for conversion to academic credits, like much of the training for the medical, high-tech and specialized MOSs.

“We needed a special program to move these soldiers forward,” Colimon said.

Reaching new soldiers

The game plan calls for the Enlisted Education Program to be marketed through Army Career Tracker, the new online tool for personalized career planning and goal-setting.

Beginning early next year, soldiers will be notified that they are eligible for enrollment in the College of the American Soldier and the Enlisted Education Program following graduation from advanced individual training.

While most schools participating in the junior enlisted program are two-year institutions, there are some four-year colleges.

All schools are members of the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges Army Degrees, an organization of colleges and universities that work with the Army to provide educational opportunities to soldiers.

All SOCAD schools have been regionally accredited and recognized by the EducationDepartment as valid educational institutions.

As such, they qualify for the Army Tuition Assistance program.

Most soldiers who participate in the new program will conduct their studies via distance learning, a common method (about 70 percent) for soldiers who draw tuition assistance.
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mortar_guy78
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Re: College degrees for junior enlisted

Post by mortar_guy78 »

I hope that they don't cut TA. I got an AA with TA, CLEP and my AARTS credits and am currently working on a BA. (If I hadn't switched major programs 3 times I'd probably be done by now.) I always thought that the Army had pretty decent programs to help soldiers get their education. Hell, I'm in CISAC right now at Huachuca. They have the local community college come in and offer to give you 23 credit hours for completion of the school. Not too shabby.
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goon175
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Re: College degrees for junior enlisted

Post by goon175 »

I am a little less than a year away from my b.s., I will be pissed if T.A. is cut. I would be able to dip into the post 9/11 to finish, but I was hoping to transfer those benefits to my wife to get her masters.
"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorius triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."
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Jim
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Re: College degrees for junior enlisted

Post by Jim »

goon175 wrote:I am a little less than a year away from my b.s., I will be pissed if T.A. is cut. I would be able to dip into the post 9/11 to finish, but I was hoping to transfer those benefits to my wife to get her masters.
Have you looked at Excelcior University. I got my AA there; when it was called University of the State of New York. I had the work completed and I just had to send them transcripts.
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goon175
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Re: College degrees for junior enlisted

Post by goon175 »

No, I'm going through Post University in Connecticut, as they have a deal set up with USAREC for college credits.
"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorius triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."
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Re: College degrees for junior enlisted

Post by Jim »

goon175 wrote:No, I'm going through Post University in Connecticut, as they have a deal set up with USAREC for college credits.
As long as they are accredited, it does not matter where you go.
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goon175
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Re: College degrees for junior enlisted

Post by goon175 »

Yeah, there legit. Can't wait to get it out of the way....wish I would have started as soon as I got to Batt.
"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorius triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."
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Re: College degrees for junior enlisted

Post by Jim »

goon175 wrote:....wish I would have started as soon as I got to Batt.
I earned 18 Semester Hours during my last tour in Viet-Nam through CLEP and End of Course tests.
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boscounderfoot
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Re: College degrees for junior enlisted

Post by boscounderfoot »

Um, this really sounds great but I can assure you that the type of school you attend does matter. When I presented my military training for credit, the University of Colorado said thanks for your service Ranger but those credits don't count for shit. I got a couple of gym credits and that was about it. If you're really serious about getting your degree, forget the associates degree and go to a real university. I can't tell you how many resumes I get each week from folks with associates degrees or some mickey mouse piece of paper from one of those on-line diploma mills. They are all summarily round-filed because if they didn't have the intelligence to realize that they were wasting their time at some half-assed for-profit school, I don't have any need for them. There are no shortcuts Rangers, you of all people should know that.
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