Twelve Clicks to a Junior: The U.S. Air Force Offers Airmen a Seamless Pathway to Achieving a Baccalaureate-Level Education
by Christian Sheehy, MAE Editor
The U.S. Air Force is finishing the first year of an education initiative designed to give airmen the opportunity to pursue various advanced college degree options. Started in June 2007 and affectionately nicknamed “Twelve Clicks to a Junior”, the Air University Associate to Baccalaureate Cooperative (AUABC) is a partnership between Air University, civilian colleges and universities, and Air Force educational services offices, providing airmen with the chance to attain bachelors and advanced degrees through guaranteed enrollment at partnering civilian institutions.
Under the command of Air University (AU), the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Ala., is the education institution for Air Force enlisted personnel interested in achieving an associate’s degree.
“We looked at how we could go about increasing baccalaureate degree opportunities for airmen,” said Bettie Varnado, chief, media and distance learning, CCAF. “Because of deployments and mobility, we knew distance learning had to be a big part of what we offered.” Using existing partnerships with civilian institutions, Air Force educational services offices on Air Force installations across the U.S. have been working with airmen seeking higher education by providing academic advisement and other support services.
“Since many Air Force installations already have a civilian education presence, we decided not to ‘reinvent the wheel’ and use those institutions already available,” said Varnado. “We also partnered with air staff in Washington, D.C., because they are the folks that manage our Air Force Virtual Education Center [AFVEC] and already had much of the technical infrastructure in place we needed to develop AU-ABC.”
The CCAF associate degree is made up of Air Force technical training, general education, leadership management and military studies training. At Maxwell Air Force Base, the Air Force evaluates airmen training in determining how specific training can be translated into academic credit.
“We have 67 degree programs covering all of the Air Force’s specialty codes, subject matter experts, and degree program managers that manage the offered programs,” Varnado noted. “We have about 99 affiliate Air Force technical training schools that have agreed to affiliate with CCAF in maintaining high faculty and academic standards consistent with those needed to maintain CCAF’s regional accreditation requirements.”
“AU-ABC bridges the gap between associate and baccalaureate degrees by removing many of the “brick and mortar” challenges students have faced in the past,” said Lt. Col. Raymond W. Staats, Ph.D, commandant of the Community College of the Air Force. “With the demands of military moves and deployments, Airmen previously would attend multiple schools to earn credits towards the baccalaureate degree.” Staats went on to note that AU-ABC students enroll with a single school and, since all courses are offered online, can remain with that intuition through graduation, regardless of whether they are at home station or deployed.
AU-ABC academic institution partners guarantee that all courses needed to earn a bachelor’s degree will be available in a variety of on-line formats. The 67 CCAF associate in applied science degrees are directly linked to Air Force enlisted-member occupational specialties. CCAF degree programs are continuously monitored and modified to meet the evolving needs of our Airmen. AUABC students may continue their education related to occupational specifically or choose to diversify their educational experience, for example in areas such as management, business, or liberal arts. “Regardless of this choice, the bachelor’s degree ultimately earned will include a dynamic technical curriculum that includes credits earned for relevant Airman experience,” Staats indicated.
The Air Force Virtual Education Center (AFVEC) is the Air Force’s comprehensive website for information on Voluntary Education Benefits and offers a variety of selfservice applications to Air Force members. All aspects of the voluntary education processes are available from AFVEC, including the AU-ABC. AFVEC provides Airmen access to personal student information as well as a wealth of educational resources. Students may apply for the Air Force Tuition Assistance program online, rather than in person at a local education center during duty hours. AFVEC is available 24-hours daily for students to track and manage Tuition Assistance requests and account information.
As the gateway to AU-ABC, AFVEC seamlessly integrates all academic functions, allowing students to map out and complete degree programs anywhere, anytime, and to receive web-based academic counseling. Students also monitor CCAF degree progress, order CCAF transcripts, and verify applicability of civilian courses to the AAS program of study through AFVEC.
Deployed Airmen have access to AFVEC, the AU-ABC program, and all of the services available through the AF Portal website, as long as they have access to an internet-connected computer. By going online through AFVEC, students can research and choose an AU-ABC school and program, enroll in the school, sign up for courses, and apply for AF Tuition Assistance to pay for their courses, through the process.
Each AU-ABC partner school has developed AU-ABC specific web pages that market their programs and include contact information for their academic advisors. Advisors assist students by advising students on degree completion requirements and course selection. Every student receives a written degree contract from the selected institution that guarantees the credit accepted in transfer and specifies the remaining degree requirements. With AFVEC’s customization, students can track their degree progress, AF Tuition Assistance processing, complete coursework and utilize their school’s other support services regardless of duty location.
“When the program kicked off on June 15, 2007, we set an ambitious goal of enrolling 1,000 students in the first year,” Staats said. That goal was reached in 13 weeks, and as we reach AU-ABC’s first anniversary we will have 4,000 students enrolled in more than 10,000 courses.”
AMERICAN MILITARY UNIVERSITY
American Military University (AMU) was selected by the Air Force to join the first cadre of schools offering degree programs in support of AU-ABC. With eleven approved AU-ABC degree programs, students who have completed their associate degree with CCAF may complete their bachelors degree requirements in 60 semester hours or less.
AMU has developed its own proprietary student information system called “Partnership at a Distance” or PAD system. This system enables students to apply for admission and a Transfer Credit Evaluation (TCE), complete an online orientation, register for courses, check degree progress, and apply for graduation from the convenience of their home or office, with 24/7 access to these online services.
Airmen can access the Air Force Virtual Education Center Portal and order their CCAF transcripts to be sent to AMU. Once we receive the transcripts along with other required admission documents, we can provide the student with a comprehensive evaluation and transition the student into “junior” standing status at AMU.
With the assistance of these online services, students may track incoming documents and view the results of their evaluation as they are posted online to the student record. Such services include: AMU’s online library, where students can find a tutorial center with specialized instructional modules for studies and access to personalized Web training services.
A series of departmental study portals offers tailored links for research in advanced sites on the Open and Invisible Web.
A searchable online catalog with thousands of electronic books.
Access to runs of over 12,000 of the leading academic electronic journals and databases. These feature ProQuest’s complete research library, ABI-Inform, criminal justice collection, and PsycARTICLES. Ebsco provides its Academic Search Elite, military and government, and security management and terrorism packages. Additional offerings include: ABCClio’s U.S. at War, CIAO’s International Affairs, Elsevier’s Health and Life Sciences, Emerald Management, Granger’s Poetry, Loislaw, and Lexis-Nexis.
“The staff of AMU partners with students to help them achieve their educational goals and has a number of support processes in place to ensure their success,” said Cathi Bauer, articulation manager, American Military University. “Each student is assigned a student advisor who can answer questions about academic program requirements, transfer credit and administrative matters.”
AMU students can consult with the chairperson of their academic department or members of the faculty as appropriate, to get advice or counsel about specific academic programs and the relationship between their academic and career goals. In addition, students may work with members of the registrar’s staff, admissions representatives, or student support specialists when they have questions or issues that are best resolved or answered by one of those staff members. “It is our goal to help the Air Force achieve success in their new initiative to help airmen attain mission and career relevant bachelor’s degrees in greater numbers,” said Bauer. “AMU’s transfer policies, undergraduate book grant and monthly class starts are the right combination for students to achieve success both academically and professionally.”
Airmen with qualifying CCAF degrees are guaranteed to complete their bachelor’s degree in 60 semester hours or less with AMU and will receive a minimum of 61 semester hours total transfer credits toward the AMU bachelor’s degree.
“Our Air Force student body is the largest among all of the services and continues to grow at an unprecedented pace,” said Bauer. “Much of this can be attributed to our participation in AU-ABC and the emphasis the Air Force places on higher education. We relish our partnership with the Air Force and will continue to provide its airmen with a first-class learning experience.”
EXCELSIOR COLLEGE
Excelsior College has been a long-standing provider of distance learning programs to the Air Force. Through its AU-ABC partnership, the college accepts all college-level credits previously earned through CCAF, proficiency examinations such as CLEP/DANTES/Excelsior College Exams, and college courses, while offering degree programs to match Air Force career fields and distance learning courses on online and on CD-ROM. The college has an AUABC webpage on its online portal that contains degree maps where students can see view how their credit from the CCAF associate degree in a particular career field will transfer to Excelsior. Information for degree programs, course offerings and registration and graduation is also provided online.
“Students have access to our online virtual library, student online success guide, electronic peer network and discussion boards, and advising services through the college’s center for military education,” said Susan Dewan, executive director, Center for Military Education, Excelsior College. “Academic advisement is provided via e-mail, phone, FAX, and in-person where the college offers representation.”
Online instruction is provided through distance learning courses offered in two formats: online and CD-ROM. Academic advisors and content experts are available through scheduled online chats and discussions.
The college provides a preliminary review of transcripts for AU-ABC students at no cost prior to official enrollment/matriculation. Course tuition is reduced for military service members and is covered 100 percent by military tuition assistance. Federal financial aid, VA Benefits and scholarship programs are also available to students.
“With more than 120,000 alumni worldwide, military graduates represent more than 50,000 of this total,” said Dewan. “We offer enrollment options for military service members with little or no residency requirement.”
SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE
Founded in 1885, Southwestern College has been a volunteer education partner with the Air Force at McConnell Air Force Base since 2002. In 2000, the college launched an online initiative offering a number of baccalaureate and masters degrees. With the advent of AU-ABC in 2007, Southwestern partnered with CCAF to offer airmen a number of baccalaureate degree options through the AU-ABC program.
In accessing AFVEC, CCAF graduates tap into information from Southwestern’s online portal that assists them in linking to various baccalaureate degree program choices based on their previous CCAF and general education credit. If an airman has earned their CCAF degree with a focus on munitions, their AFSC input will connect them with baccalaureate degree majors and institutions that offer those major courses of study.
“What we have found is that airmen identify one or more schools they are interested in and will connect with one of our academic advisors,” said Dr. Karen Pedersen, vice president for professional studies, Southwestern College. “Frequently, they are interested in knowing how their credit hours will translate to Southwestern’s bachelor’s programs. We guarantee that with a CCAF associates degree transfer of 64 credit hours, the maximum number of credit hours an incoming student will need to complete for a bachelor’s degree is 60. There are individuals who have completed more hours than 64 credit hours and, depending on what institutions they earned the credits from, we can accept more than 64 incoming credits,” Pedersen noted.
“AU-ABC is a great opportunity for us because we had experience working with the Air Force and this enabled us to offer online degree opportunities to airmen who otherwise may not have had the chance to complete a degree program at one of our on-ground locations,” said Pedersen. “We saw AU-ABC as an extension of the online baccalaureate programs we had already been offering and, in working with the Air Force through their online virtual education portal, we were able to offer airmen who had completed their CCAF associates degrees an opportunity to maximize prior learning in moving toward the bachelors degree level.”
VAUGHN COLLEGE
Founded in 1932, Vaughn College has had a long-term relationship with the military. During World War II, the college provided the Army with countless numbers of trained aircraft maintenance technicians. Today, Vaughn has more than 50 former military students who use their GI Bill to garner their degree. “Given our history, a partnership with the Air Force and particularly, the Community College of the Air Force seemed to be an important next step,” said Dr. Sharon DeVivo, vice president of institution relations and marketing, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology.
Vaughn’s distance education portal allows incoming CCAF graduates to see exactly what courses they will be required to take in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree. As an example, students wanting to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in aviation maintenance or aviation maintenance management need to complete 59 credits. The portal includes information about program objectives and the outcomes as a result of completing either degree. Information is also provided about all of Vaughn’s degree programs at the master’s, bachelor’s and associate level in engineering, aviation, technology and management.
Vaughn’s online program features robust tools such as the industry leading Blackboard course delivery platform; the integration of live and archived video lecture components, interactive teleconference classes, in addition to the use of document cameras, Wimba voice tools and Web-based course components. ♦
Vaughn has developed a campus portal which offers students an array of specified college services and information. The online portal also provides links to interactive student advisement and tutoring services and access to SONIS, an electronic student information system that allows students to track their academic progress. Links to all collegiate services are available on the Vaughn portal providing a point of service for all students, online and on-campus.
In addition to the online services available, Vaughn offers direct assistance to the student through the distance learning department. Personal advisement and counseling, technical assistance and academic information are offered. Career placement services, based on-campus, are also made available to the online learner.
Vaughn online students have full access to an extensive electronic library database featuring over 40,000 periodicals and e-books. Vaughn also distributes selected course content on the Blackboard system as well as DVD media. ♦