A Degree in Their Sights
Navy college program distance learning
partnership effort gives sailors a boost
toward receiving a degree and promotion.
By Marty Kauchak
These are challenging times to serve in the Navy’s active or Reserve components and remain competitive for promotion. The service’s operational and personnel tempo demands that its men and women deploy more frequently. At the same time, the service has increased its emphasis on earning a degree as a criterion for promotion. A November 2007 Navy administrative message stated that, effective with late summer 2008 advancement examinations, active and Reserve component sailors competing for advancement will be awarded education points for the highest degree held starting with an accredited associate’s degree.
In responding to sailors’ needs for greater access to higher education, Navy College Program (NCP) (https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/index.cfm) has developed partnerships with colleges and universities to offer rating relevant degrees via distance learning (DL) to service members through the Navy College Program Distance Learning Partnership (NCPDLP) (https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/storefront.cfm).
Like other DoD learning community members, Navy men and women can now more easily complete courses on a 24/7 basis, anytime, anywhere, and become more competitive for promotion.
Naval College Program Distance Learning Partnership Colleges and Universities
- Central Texas College
- City University
- Coastline Community College Of California
- Dallas Telecollege Of The Dallas Community Colleges
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
- Empire State College
- Excelsior College
- Florida Community College At Jacksonville
- Fort Hays State University
- George Washington University
- Old Dominion University
- Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
- Southern New Hampshire University
- Thomas Edison State College
- Troy University
- University Of Maryland University College
- Vincennes University
Seventeen Partners
The NCPDLP concept started in October 1999 when the service implemented NCP. The first round of academic partners was onboard by October 2000. Today, there are 17 DL program institutions.
These education partnerships provide associate’s and bachelor’s degree programs relevant to service ratings and make maximum use of military professional training and experience to fulfill degree requirements. Courses are offered in a variety of formats, such as CD-ROM, videotape, paper or over the Internet. A current list of college and university partners and their contact information is available at https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/dlptollfreedirectory.cfm. A second resource available at the DL program website is the page (https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/pipelines1.cfm) that allows the sailor to match college programs with his or her rating through rating and degree roadmaps.
By becoming a partner, an academic institution is under contract with the Navy to offer degree-granting programs for Navy ratings. One participant, Southern New Hampshire University, provides degrees for aviation ordnanceman (https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/rates/template.cfm?rate=AO), builder (https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/rates/template.cfm?rate=BU) and Navy diver (https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/rates/template.cfm?rate=ND). Builders, as one example, are eligible to enroll in the university’s Bachelor of Science in business studies.
More information about all 17 partnering institutions and their academic programs are available at a Navy College Office, the Navy College Center, or the college or university.
Three program partners were randomly selected to provide the service’s learning audience with more insight about their options for earning degrees.
Partners’ Program Snapshots
Thomas Edison State College’s (TESC) participation in the Navy College Program Distance Learning Partnership provides associates and bachelor’s degrees for 23 ratings. A random search of the rating roadmap for one supported rating, interior communications technician (IC), noted the college offers an A.A.S. degree in applied electronic studies with specialization in electronic studies.
About 4,000 Navy students are enrolled in the TESC DL-formatted courses and take advantage of the multiple platforms on which instruction is provided: online learning, the Navy College Program for Afloat College Education (NCPACE), the guided study method and prior learning assessment. “We are not just offering courses online for students but in other formats as well, for example, Navy College PACE, so the servicemember can complete courses on a ship and have more than one method of earning credits,” pointed out Louis Martini, director, military education, TESC.
While PACE instruction is supported by CD-based courses, the guided study format is paper-based. “The prior learning assessment option allows students to demonstrate knowledge acquired through training that is not evaluated by the American Council of Education, and document their learning outcomes as appropriate,” concluded Martini.
A second DL partner, Fort Hays State University (FHSU) has 15 certificates, the Associate of General Studies, 14 bachelor’s degrees, and nine master’s degrees available completely through distance learning.
“The Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.) degree is the degree of choice of military students as it is the most versatile and allows for the maximum use of military credits and transfer credits from other colleges and universities,” pointed out Debbie Staab, associate coordinator for interdisciplinary studies, Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, FHSU. While the B.G.S. requires a 21-hour concentration in lieu of a major, “that concentration can be based on a military specialization or customized to meet the servicemember’s goals,” she added. About 250 Navy personnel were enrolled during the fall 2007 semester in the B.G.S. program.
FHSU also uses different delivery platforms for its DL-formatted courses. Courses are facilitated through CD-ROM, DVD, Internet, videotape and guided study-formatted instruction.
All degrees offered through a third institution, Empire State College’s (ESC) Center for Distance Learning, can also be completed entirely online. Students choose from 11 areas of study in topics ranging from the arts to social theory, social structure and change. “The degree programs currently matched to Navy ratings for the NCPDLP include concentrations in business, business management, computer information systems and fire service management,” said Linda Frank, director, corporate and military programs, Center for Distance Learning, ESC. In addition to the four rating-related degrees listed on the program Website, “students can develop degree concentrations in any of the 11 areas of study. Our Center for Distance Learning has over 400 courses available online,” she added.
Before NCPDLP students log on to their first course, they may want to pause and consider some suggestions from several partner institutions on how to succeed in DL-formatted learning and their degree programs.
Advice for DL Program Students
For prospective or returning Navy students who want to build their confidence or skills to complete DL-formatted instruction, they can look no further than Coastline Community College’s Website. This is one of many learning community resources that provide students with information on a wide range of computer and study-skill topics, and other competencies needed to succeed in the virtual classroom.
Once the student has the basic skills toolkit to complete a course, other challenges should be considered.
Start early. “Don’t wait until the end of your enlistment to enroll,” suggested TESC’s Martini. While he noted that on average, Navy students complete a TESC associates or bachelors degree in two years, he encouraged servicemembers to take advantage of their benefits early in an enlistment. “If you are going into a second enlistment, there is no reason why you shouldn’t come out of that enlistment with an associate’s degree,” he added.
“Residency” is the number of course hours to earn a degree that must be completed through the degree-granting institution or allowed to be transferred in from another accredited institution. The term is liberally used by NCPDLP schools and the prospective program enrollee should be aware of its implications.
FHSU has a 30-hour residency requirement which can be satisfied through DL courses “Students need never take any on-campus classes to meet the residency requirements,” emphasized Staab.
For its part, ESC allows 40 credits from other sources to be applied toward an associate degree. Of the remaining 24 credits, 16 must be taken through ESC and the additional eight credits can either be taken at ESC or be transferred from other accredited institutions through the cross-registration process as part of the student’s approved degree plan. “For a bachelor’s degree, 30 of the 128 credits must be completed through Empire State College,” remarked Frank.
At the end of the day, a prospective student must look at the time commitment required to earn a degree and determine how this investment will balance against other competing interests in his or her life. And there are investments of time required to complete a course, whether it is supported by DL or classroom based-instruction.
At ESC, most courses are four semester hours. The college recommends that students set aside approximately 10 hours per week of study time for every four-credit course they take. “Our courses are asynchronous—students are not required to access their courses on specific days at specific times. They are expected to access the courses two-to-three times per week at times that are most convenient to them,” commented Frank.
ESC is also responding to its students’ dynamic military commitments that impact the time available for coursework. “If students are not able to access the course consistently throughout the term due to military commitments, they should communicate that to us so that we can work with the students and instructors to provide flexibility with assignments and due dates,” said Frank.
Several personal perspectives about the DL program are gleaned through the eyes of one senior sailor-student.
Personal Insights
In June 2007, Chief Petty Officer Derek Jefferson completed an Associate of Science degree in science, math and technology with a concentration in network management, through ESC. Jefferson is completing a deployment in USS Enterprise (CVN-65). His personal and professional goals include the completion of a bachelor’s degree in science, math and technology with a concentration in information technology, which he plans to start in September 2008.
Jefferson’s associate degree transcript provides one example of how a degree may be earned with credits from different, authorized sources. In his case, course credits awarded from the Sailor and Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript (SMART) program were combined with those completed at ESC. “Based on my bachelor degree draft I need to complete eight ESC courses, 32 credits, with the remaining credits being transferred from my SMART transcript,” said Jefferson.
Jefferson was effusive about his learning experience with ESC and DL-formatted instruction, and suggested that other servicemembers would benefit from this learning experience. “I think all sailors should look into DL learning as an option to complete their educational goals,” reflected Jefferson. “Navy College has prepared an excellent program, partnering with colleges to allow sailors to be given college credit for their military training and experience. The DL-formatted courses provided from the NCP allowed me to complete my military duties as well as my educational courses,” he added.
Expansion?
There is the potential for more NCPDLP partners and degree programs. An October 2007 Navy request for proposal to solicit recommendations to expand the program remained under review when this issue went to press. An announcement about program expansion is expected in late winter 2008. ♦