Q&A: Vernon Taylor
EDUCATION PROMOTER:
Voluntary Education Means Marines
Have Freedom to Choose
Vernon Taylor
Director, Lifelong Learning Program
Headquarters Marine Corps
Voluntary Education Means Marines
Have Freedom to Choose
Vernon Taylor
Director, Lifelong Learning Program
Headquarters Marine Corps
Vernon Taylor’s vast professional career includes a myriad of leadership positions within DoD beginning with his own active-service enlistment into the U.S. Army at age 18. Since May of 1996, Taylor has served as the Head of Marine Corps Lifelong Learning (LLL). He is responsible for the policy, guidance and funding of the worldwide academic program that provides library and voluntary off duty education program support services for over 186,000 Marines and their families. Taylor manages a budget of over $60 million and coordinates over 73,000 academic enrollments and 1.6 million library patron usages annually.
Taylor was interviewed by Diana McGonigle
Q: Good morning, Mr. Taylor. To start out, what does the office of Lifelong Learning do?
A: Lifelong Learning is the Marine Corps’ worldwide system of education and library programs, services and resources.
Q: What is the Marine Corps Career College Program?
A: The Marine Career College Program MCCCP links Marine military occupational specialties MOS’s with MOS-related degrees for Marines who choose to pursue a career-related path of study. The program integrates MOS Roadmaps with SOCMAR programs of study, matching Marines with degrees in MOS-related disciplines. The program provides not only achievable goals that help keep Marines motivated and focused, but also military-friendly degree options that leverage American Council Of Education ACE-recommended credit for military training and experience, credit earned through Defense Activities for Non-Traditional Education Support DANTES exams, and other college transfer credit.
Q: Do you encourage study for a particular job-related area—or can it be a choice of the Marine?
A: We believe that voluntary education means freedom of choice—of careers, goals, institutions and programs of study. We encourage everyone to take advantage of available Lifelong Learning information and advisement resources to help them explore options, and we expect them to choose wisely to make the best use of their time and money. At the end of the day, however, whatever Marines choose to do, they do to improve themselves. We just help them succeed.
Q: What are the Marine Deployed Education Programs?
A: As you know, Marines are scattered across the globe. Many are forward-deployed in high-tempo areas of operation. Our goal is to try to make sure that no matter where they are, they have the capability, the accessibility, and the flexibility to continue to participate in voluntary education programs. The Deployed Education Program is yet another effort to provide flexible learning options to Marines deploying from east and west coast fleet Marine forces units by offering mission-adaptable coursework aboard ship and in those forward operating areas.
Q: Is the Deployed Education Program part of the NCPACE program?
A: No, it’s separate from NCPACE. Our Lifelong Learning Directors and installation-based providers coordinate and facilitate additional learning options that accommodate mission and other unique requirements.
Q: What is the Military Academic Skills Program?
A: The Military Academic Skills Program MASP is an academic skill-building program designed to help Marines better perform their jobs, to broaden opportunity for advancement, and to enhance career options. It’s also a confidence builder, and we believe that successful completion of MASP inspires and equips Marines who might not otherwise have gone to college to be successful in higher education.
Q: Tell me about the Marine Library Program.
A: MCCS libraries go far beyond the traditional sense of a mere room where books or a collection of literary documents for reference or borrowing are kept. Our libraries serve as a community meeting place and offer access to free state-of-the-art technology, and diverse programs and services both in-house and online to Marines deployed around the world. Marines and their families have available to them some of the best libraries in the Department of Defense.
In 2007, the Camp Foster Library, on Okinawa, was selected as the Best Large Federal Library by the Library of Congress. This library was also the first library to earn the Department of Defense Premier Status in 2003 and has been nominated under the new Department of Defense Core Library Standards. Currently, the Marine Corps is the only service with libraries that have earned the Department of Defense Premier Status. The Camp Lejeune, Harriotte B. Smith library also earned its Premier Library status last year, and the library at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni has been nominated for Premier status.
Q: Are spouses eligible to take courses?
A: We cherish our Marine spouses. They’re eligible for a wide range of Lifelong Learning Program services, as is the case with all Marine Corps Community Services programs. In fact, many of our spouses work in our education centers! They attend classes both aboard and outside our installations through Marine-friendly providers. Although the Marine Corps currently does not have a spouse tuition assistance program, taking care of our spouses is a priority, and we in the Lifelong Learning community do everything we can to put that sentiment into action by extending a broad range of programs to them including advisement, testing and financial aid information.
Q: What are SMART Transcripts?
A: SMART is an acronym that stands for Sailor/Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript. Basically, the SMART is an official compilation, in transcript form, of a Marine’s military training and experience, as well as a reflection of non-traditional learning experiences. It’s a valuable document that Marines can use to help them decide on an institution and program of study. The SMART reflects ACE-recommended credit in a format recognized and accepted by military-friendly institutions.
Q: Is there anything new in the Lifelong Learning office?
A: Yes, we’re very excited about a valuable new resource —that may be available by the time this interview is published for our Marine Corps Community. We are launching a powerful, Web-based tool called Academic Explorer, or “AeX”, to help our customers and counselors alike as they sift and sort through the ever-expanding catalog of learning options. Our folks simply didn’t have a single, unbiased database of offerings that they could search through for an objective view of institutions and programs.
So much of what’s on the Web today is driven by advertising, and many of our own customers as well as others involved in voluntary education have expressed concerns that some schools use the wrong type of tactics and approaches to entice our Marines into programs. We were concerned about sites that seem to divert Marines to lead-generated call centers where they’re given hard-sell recruiting pitches.
AeX eliminates that possibility—no flashing banners, pay-per-click rankings, or schools that are “featured” simply because they paid more to be listed as such. Our customers can use AeX to do in-depth research into institutions that are duly accredited and recognized without worrying about being bombarded by e-mails and phone calls just to get basic information.
Q: What challenges face voluntary education?
A: The costs of higher education are escalating. Admittedly, the problem of escalating cost is not unique to DoD; it’s across the board nationally. We’re going to have to look at that. Marine Corps tuition assistance is capped at $4,500 per year. That cap was established several years ago and doesn’t account for inflation. It may be time for adjustments to be made.
Another ongoing challenge is accessibility of educational opportunities. More and more of our Marines and their families find that programs delivered through non-traditional means, such as distance learning, better accommodate their unique lifestyles and circumstances. However, for various reasons—lack of childcare, transportation, proximity to classes, deployments, budget, etc.—many don’t have access to traditional, classroom-based options. One of the reasons we’re so excited about AeX is that we see it as a powerful tool to help our folks have improved chances to exercise good judgment and find programs that best fit their needs. We’re obligated to help make sure Marines are making the right decisions. Distance learning is a fantastic opportunity, but it also provides a tremendous challenge in ensuring that our people don’t make uninformed decisions that may not be in their best interest.
Q: How many Marines do you believe are participating in the voluntary education program?
A: In any given year, we have around 15 percent of our Active-duty Marines using Tuition Assistance for active school enrollment. However, there are many other activities they use, as well—Apprenticeship, Testing, MASP, and the Library program both for learning and leisure support.
Q: Did I miss anything?
A: Did I mention our Academic Explorer? Seriously, I can’t say enough about the rave reviews we’re getting from our education services officers as well as from others throughout the higher-education community as we’re previewing the platform. And we have all sorts of ideas about how we can expand both the quantity and quality of services we provide to our customers through AeX. ♦
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