University Corner: Graduate School
MAE 2010 Volume: 5 Issue: 7 (September)
Q: To begin with, can you please offer a sketch of the history and current status of the Graduate School?
A: The Graduate School was founded in 1921 by the Department of Agriculture to provide continuing education for its scientists. The school expanded to serve other government personnel, then the local community. Over the years we’ve evolved from a small center for advanced academic study to a worldwide continuing education network. We offer classroom and distance education, leadership training, and a variety of other services to government, the military and the private sector. Recently we transitioned to become an independent, nonprofit institution and received accreditation by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education.
While the school has not traditionally been a degree-granting institution, we will begin to offer associate degrees in October 2010. Our curriculum is broadening to include programs in the humanities, and we have added a center for health sciences to provide training for individuals interested in the allied health professions. We’ve received approval for VA benefits and become a member of the SOC Consortium—and now we’re also a DANTES-affiliated distance learning catalog school.
Q: What are some of GS’s biggest strengths and what sets it apart?
A: What sets us apart is our long-term, indepth knowledge of the federal government and how it operates. For nearly 90 years we have worked closely with federal employees and agencies, and we’ve watched programs and processes evolve from up close. We keep up-to-date ourselves so that we are ready to train and prepare government employees as new programs and regulations require updated skills. We are aided by an experienced cadre of instructors, most of whom have significant professional backgrounds in government. These instructors are one of our greatest strengths. Through our long history, we have grown and changed along with our government and military clients. We’re flexible in our ability to provide training that responds to our clients’ changing needs, and we do so from a solid base of knowledge and experience.
Q: What programs do military students tend to be particularly interested in?
A: The Graduate School has a very robust curriculum spanning several areas of study for our military students, and we find that the majority tend toward courses several of our key curriculum areas: human resources management, project management, financial management particularly accounting and budgeting, leadership and management, English and writing and foreign languages. Military students enroll for both individual courses and certificate programs.
Q: What is the Graduate School doing to keep up with growing technologies and opportunities related to distance learning?
A: We see our future defined by a strong emphasis on distance education delivered in many ways. The school has traditionally offered self-paced instruction, and in recent years we have invested in offering some of our most popular courses using our GS Connect platform—allowing us to provide Web-based synchronous and asynchronous training. We have a state-of-the-art studio, and our capabilities allow us to develop customized training on our platform or the learning systems our customers use. Distance education expansion is key to our strategic planning.
Q: Given the challenges of today’s economy, how is the Graduate School working to position students for viable careers?
A: As our curriculum expands, we are focused not just on current federal employees but on people transitioning into new careers, whether they’re young people looking for their first ‘real’ jobs, or adults moving from one career into another. This is one of the reasons we have focused on developing our distance education programs; for people in transition, flexibility is needed and schedules may not allow for committed classroom time. We can provide students with an affordable, workable, high-quality education alternative that allows them to develop their skills and work toward new careers whether or not they are located near our classrooms.
The Graduate School offers certificates of accomplishment in several dozen fields, from accounting to graphic arts to human resources and paralegal studies. We recently added several in the supervisory/management curriculum. These certificates require substantial coursework and demonstrations of competence, but they are also a less expensive, more schedule-friendly alternative for many. Associate degrees, credit certificate programs, and specialized training that can incorporate previous professional or educational experience are also excellent options for military personnel.
Q: What do you think are the key issues facing higher education today?
A: I believe it is important for educational institutions of all kinds to make their services available to a broad base. As specialized knowledge becomes more of a necessity for employment, students require more education and training than ever. But the expense and time commitments of a traditional fouryear college may be impractical, if not actually beyond the reach of many. Four-year degrees and advanced degrees may not be necessities for entering certain fields. With the economy regularly creating new careers, educational institutions must constantly be reworking their curricula to meet the needs of students and prospective employers.
Q: Looking ahead, how will GS realize its core objectives and aspirations?
A: Our key goals relate to delivering quality, affordable and relevant education to our students and to the organizations that use us to develop their work forces. We will accomplish this by regularly adjusting what [programs] and how [classroom, distance, blended] we offer education. ♦