Q&A: Dr. Jeffrey Phillip Cropsey
Providing an Environment to Accomplish DANTES’ Missions
Dr. Jeffrey Philip Cropsey
Director
Defense Activity For Non-Traditional
Education Support
Dr. Cropsey received a baccalaureate degree in history and sociology from Washington and Lee University in 1969, a Master of Arts degree in counseling from Ball State University in 1971, and a Doctor of Education degree from University of Southern California in 1981.
From 1969-1972, Cropsey served as an officer in the U.S. Army Military Police Corps, achieving the rank of captain. Cropsey has served as a counselor, an education services officer, and a major command staff officer at stateside and overseas locations with the U.S. Air Force Education Services Program. From 1985 to 1992, Cropsey was the director of the Education Services and Training Program of the United States Air Force in Europe.
Cropsey was awarded the Department of the Air Force Award for Meritorious Civilian Service in 1992 for his contributions to Air Force Education Services.
In 1992, Dr. Cropsey joined the staff of the DANTES as the head of the Examination and Certification Department. From 1993 to October 1998, Dr. Cropsey was deputy director of DANTES, responsible for the day-to-day administration of DANTES programs worldwide.
Cropsey was awarded the Department of the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 1998 for his service to the Department of Defense Voluntary Education programs through DANTES.
In October 1998, Cropsey was selected as the director of the Voluntary Education Department of the U.S. Navy, Naval Education and Training Professional Development and Technology Center. In this position, he oversaw the management and execution of the voluntary education program Navy-wide. Programs included the Navy College Program, Navy College Center, Tuition Assistance, Navy College Program for Afloat College education (NCPACE), academic skills contracts, High School Completion, and DANTES Testing and Independent Study, Officer Special Programs, graduate education vouchers and the United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP).
In April 2001, Dr. Cropsey was awarded the Department of the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award for his work on the development of the Navy College Program.
Dr. Cropsey participates in professional associations, serves on advisory panels, and makes numerous presentations about DANTES Programs and Services and related education issues.
Q: What is DANTES?
A: The Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support mission is to administer programs and services to support voluntary education in the Department of Defense and the Coast Guard. By providing quality education opportunities to support the lifelong learning of servicemembers, DANTES strengthens recruiting, retention and readiness to enhance national security. DANTES has its roots in the old United States Armed Forces Institute [USAFI] formed during World War II to provide educational opportunities to the millions of servicemembers on active duty during that time. When USAFI was disestablished in 1974, DANTES was formed to take its place. DANTES gets its mission from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. The U.S. Navy Naval Education and Training Command [NETC]] provides administrative oversight and resource support to DANTES. DANTES is headquartered in Pensacola, Fla., with overseas offices in Heidelberg, Germany and Honolulu, Hawaii. The staff of DANTES consists of approximately 80 government, contractor and active military personnel worldwide. DANTES FY 2007 budget in support of educational programs is over $47 million.
Q: What do you do as director? What do you consider your accomplishments?
A: My role is to provide an environment for the DANTES staff to accomplish their missions for servicemembers. I do this by trying to articulate clear goals and making sure the resources are available to complete them. Additionally it is very important for the DANTES director to foster partnerships with the military, other federal agencies, academe and industry to provide the best possible educational and professional opportunities for our servicemembers. Above all else the director is there to provide leadership and expertise. During the time I have been the director of DANTES I take pride in several accomplishments.
In the last two years DANTES has been instrumental in establishing over 60 National Test Centers, providing computer-based testing for academic credit. These centers offer immediate test results and for family members provide testing at a greatly reduced cost. I am also very pleased with DANTES’ leadership role in promoting iPod and Personal Digital Assistant [PDA] based distance learning programs providing greatly enhanced educational opportunities for deployed servicemembers. Recently, DANTES has developed with OUSD [Office of the Undersecretary of Defense], the Spouse to Teachers Programs assisting eligible spouses to find careers in education and overall supporting the military family. Internally at DANTES I have taken several initiatives to improve management communication and enhance our IT capabilities. Without a doubt being the director of DANTES has been the highlight of my 37-plus years of service in the Department of Defense.
Q: Can you tell me about DANTES’ certification programs?
A: Certification has been one of our fastest growing and important programs. All of the services are interested in having their personnel recognized with the appropriate civilian certification for their technical expertise. We have been working closely with the services to provide on-site access to computer-based certification examinations.
Currently partnering with industry we have over 30 on-base testing centers. Just to give one example, since January of 2007 we assisted several thousand members of the military in taking the certification exams for recognition as an emergency medical technician. We are also working closely with the Defense Information Assurance Program [DIAP] to provide certification to all DoD personnel working in information assurance positions. Besides mandatory requirements our certification programs provide thousands of servicemembers each year with credentials to smooth their transition back to civilian life.
Q: What is your Counselor Support program?
A: DANTES has three main clients; the servicemembers, the service headquarters and the services education offices staffs that served our military. For this last group DANTES provides a variety of tools to help our military counselors. First of all we provide an on-line assistance program called Military Counselor WebBoard. This is an Internet network to link education counselors throughout the world. It’s great for promoting discussions and sharing information and resources on educational issues. We provide guidance materials and interest inventories designed to help counselors have servicemembers focus in on what they want to learn and do. Finally, DANTES procures and distributes education reference publications and posts online references for Education Services personnel within DoD. These references support student financial aid, veterans’ affairs information and general reference materials providing information about higher education. DANTES also sponsors numerous workshops throughout the year where military educators can come to enhance their skills.
Q: What kinds of aid can spouses and servicemembers receive?
A: DANTES provides funding to spouses and military members to provide eligibility for teaching positions through the Troops to Teachers and Spouse to Teachers programs. Each of the services provides tuition assistance to servicemembers, and some have special programs and scholarships for spouses usually through their aid or relief agencies. DANTES maintains a list of those programs on our website. We also provide information on veterans benefits for those who are eligible.
Q: How do you compare distance learning with traditional brickand- mortar schools?
A: There is no doubt that enrollment in distance learning programs have sky rocketed in the last few years. Two or three years ago less than 20 percent of enrollments in military voluntary education programs were through distance learning. In 2006 more than 50 percent of our course enrolments were through distance learning programs and 2007 in on line to top that figure. I believe the growth in distance learning can be attributed to several factors. One is certainly convenience; you can go to school at home and sometimes at any time of day. Course enrollment is portable. You can begin a course in the United States and take it with you to a remote overseas location or while deployed on a ship. Delivery modes have increased in recent years so that besides the Internet you can have courses on CD, thumb drives, PDAs or even iPods. The University can fit in your pocket! Finally, younger folks are much more accustomed to computers and like technology so the transition from a brick-and-mortar style of learning is not a great leap for them. Having said all that, I still believe that we will continue to have significant enrollments in on-base and local brick-and-mortar schools. For many students this is still the preferred way to learn.
Q: What is the Troops to Teachers Program?
A: The Troops to Teachers Program began in 1994 as an effort to help our nation’s elementary and secondary schools while providing second careers for departing servicemembers. The program provides counseling, job placement assistance and, in some cases, financial assistance to aid in servicemembers in becoming qualified to teach. Since that time DANTES, working closely with the U.S. Department of Education, which funds the program, has helped over 10,000 former servicemembers to become public school teachers, particularly at high-need schools. Many of our Troops to Teachers participants have gone on to be recognized as state or national Teacher of the Year. Several national studies have shown the high quality of the Troops to Teachers hires and the overall cost effectiveness of the program. Recently we’ve begun a similar program, funded entirely by DoD, to help spouses become teachers known as Spouses to Teachers Program.
Q: What can you tell me about your examination program?
A: The DANTES Examination Program is composed of nationally recognized testing programs in high school equivalency, undergraduate and graduate admissions, college credit-by-examination, and certification programs. Managing this diverse educational program includes developing, coordinating and disseminating program policies and procedures and monitoring DANTES Test Centers and program contractors. DANTES reviews and approves all test center establishments and disestablishments, and test control officer appointments. We maintain frequent communications with the DANTES field offices, all service headquarters, major commands, and the approximately 580 DANTES test centers. Increasingly DANTES is developing policies and procedures for partnering with national test center networks for enhancing access to DANTES-funded testing programs. During FY 2006 DANTES administered over 185,000 examinations. For 2007 we expect to exceed 200,000 exams given to servicemembers worldwide. Q: How about your higher education programs? A: DANTES is DoD’s gateway to the American higher education community. DANTES provides professional leadership and management of three Department of Defense contracts with higher education organizations. These organizations include the American Council on Education [ACE], which conducts the Military Evaluation Program and the Military Installation Voluntary Education Review [MIVER] Program, and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities [AASCU], which is the contractor for the Service members Opportunity Colleges [SOC] programs. The Military Evaluation Program provides for the evaluation of service school courses and occupations. Over the 60 plus years of this programs millions of servicemembers have received recommended college credits which may then be applied toward a college degree or a vocational certificate that may lead to career and educational advancement. The MIVER program provides for a third-party review of the total voluntary education program provided on a military installation. These on-site reviews are conducted to ensure quality programs are being provided to all servicemembers. The MIVER program is also designed to review the relationships among institutions as well as their relationship to the education centers in meeting their educational goals.
Finally, SOC is contracted to provide a cooperative civilian and Department of Defense effort to aid the postsecondary education community in understanding and meeting the educational needs and problems of servicemembers. The principle results of the SOC program are distinct student services, counseling, rules and arrangements which facilitate and enhance access to educational opportunities for servicemembers and veterans. The total package of DANTES contracted higher education programs provides for college credit for military training, quality control of on-base educational programs and services, and ease of acceptance of nontraditional credits and transfer of credit among higher education institutions.
Q: What do you do as Ex Officio member of the Voluntary Education Steering Committee?
A: The DANTES director provides input to the representatives of the services and DoD on all DANTES programs. Additionally, DANTES serves as a conduit for new programs and services for consideration by the VOLED Chiefs.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?
A: I hope I‘ve made it clear that DANTES provides a complete package of educational opportunities for servicemembers from high school completion through graduate degrees, certifications and even post-service job placement through our Troops to Teachers Program. . Additionally, one of DANTES major responsibilities is to organize and manage the triennial DoD World-Wide Education Symposium. Over the years this conference, which is open to anyone interested in DoD education programs, has grown from several hundred attendees to approximately 1,800 participants and 150 exhibitors in our most recent Symposium in Orlando, Fla., in July of 2006. The next scheduled DoD World-Wide Education Symposium will held in Atlanta, Ga., at the Marriott Marquis Hotel 27-31 July 2009. We are anticipating over 2,000 attendees and 200 exhibitors. I certainly encourage attendance from any of your readership that has an interest in military higher education programs. Please go to the DANTES website at, www.dantes. doded.mil, for more information. Hope to see you there! ♦