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Press Release - July 20, 2005
Military Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges grant membership to Penn State World Campus online programs now available to U.S. Coast Guard
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Between rescuing people, conducting port safety checks and monitoring the transit of thousands of commercial ships through U.S. ports, many of the 39,000 active duty U.S. Coast Guard servicemembers also are continuing their education to enhance skills or prepare for new careers. Now, they can add Penn State to their list of available higher education institutions. Later this year, U.S. Marine Corps servicemembers will have the same option.
"We have been working with the military for the last two years to develop a strategic way to bring Penn State's distance learning programs to members of the military," Pete Rubba, senior director of Penn State World Campus, said. "Our membership in the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC) is enabling us to reach more military personnel and their families. Through our previous agreements with SOC, we are already offering some of Penn State's signature academic programs to the U.S. Army and Army National Guard personnel."
According to Ginny Newman, senior client development manager with Penn State Outreach, "Approximately 1,900 military veterans currently are enrolled at Penn State campuses. With our membership in SOC, we anticipate hundreds of new active duty students will enroll in World Campus programs." For the past two years, Newman has spearheaded Penn State's efforts with the military. She and Rubba worked with the University Faculty Senate to align credit transfer policies to meet SOC membership requirements.
"We are delighted to have Penn State in SOC," Andy Anderson, project director for the Coast Guard branch of SOC, said. "Penn State is a very reputable institution, noted for its excellence in distance learning programs. We have wanted Penn State in SOC for many years. Penn State is a good match for our servicemembers."
LTJG Donald Hunley, deputy director of Coast Guard Voluntary Education Services for the U.S. Coast Guard Institute, agrees, noting, "Coast Guard members will find Penn State World Campus classes attractive and beneficial, because they can adapt what they learn and use it in their military service."
Frank Boyd, project director for the Marine Corps degree program, said, "Penn State is about to become the newest member of the Marine Corps branch of SOC. We're in the process of completing the coordination process. First, we will circulate Penn State's course information to other SOC members that offer courses in the same academic field. We are eager to have a university of Penn State's caliber and established track record join our program."
With membership in the Coast Guard branch of SOC, Penn State is now able to offer three online degree programs to Coast Guard servicemembers: associate degree in hotel, restaurant and institutional management and associate and bachelor's degrees in letters, arts and sciences.
When its membership in the Marine Corps branch of SOC is finalized later this year, Penn State will begin offering the World Campus bachelor's degree in organizational leadership to Marines. Boyd said, "The organizational leadership curriculum is one that really adds a special dimension to educational opportunities, particularly for career noncommissioned officers in the Marine Corps. I anticipate it will be a popular offering."
Penn State was initially a member of the Army branch of SOC, offering servicemembers the associate degree in hotel, restaurant and institutional management and associate and bachelor's degrees in letters, arts and sciences.
"Our membership with the Army branch of SOC opened doors for Penn State to pursue membership with the other military services," Newman said. "Degree programs approved by one SOC branch can be made available to all SOC military branches. Another benefit of SOC membership is that almost the entire World Campus portfolio of programs and courses is listed in AutoDP, an automated advising system that is utilized by both the Coast Guard and the Army National Guard."
Newman added, "The key reason SOC member schools are so attractive to military students is because they know they have guaranteed credit transfer from one SOC member institution to another, so they are able to achieve their educational goals no matter where they are deployed."
The World Campus' online degree programs are particularly suited to the needs of today's military. As Boyd explains, "Distance learning is very appealing to the Marine Corps. It broadens the opportunities for Marines who are afloat or in distant parts of the world and enables them to continue to pursue their degree programs while on active duty." Today's Marine Corps has 176,000 active and 40,000 reserve members.
As Rubba notes, "Our membership in the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges opens up Penn State to a new audience of learners. At the same time, we are supporting our country by providing a quality education to military personnel. We hope that when they complete their service, they will continue their education by coming to study at a Penn State campus."
Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges:
The Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges, created in 1972, provide educational opportunities to servicemembers, who, because they frequently moved from place to place, had trouble completing college degrees. SOC is a consortium of more than 1,800 colleges and universities that provide educational opportunities for servicemembers and their families. Sponsors include the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the American Association of Community Colleges, in cooperation with 13 other educational associations, the Military Services, the National Guard and the Coast Guard.
SOC assesses the educational needs of servicemembers and matches them with a SOC member institution. Hundreds of thousands of servicemembers and their family members enroll annually in programs offered by SOC member universities, colleges, community colleges and technical institutes.
Servicemembers can learn about available academic programs through SOC Web sites, catalogs, newsletters and other methods. The Coast Guard, for example, holds an annual symposium for its education services officers and representatives of SOC member institutions, which helps prepare the officers to advise servicemembers about educational opportunities. This year's symposium is planned for Aug. 9 to 12 in Oklahoma City, and Penn State will be in attendance to help education services officers learn more about World Campus offerings.
Penn State World Campus:
Since 1892, when it founded one of the nation's first correspondence study programs, Penn State has been a pioneer in distance education. With the launch of the World Campus in 1998, the 25th campus of Penn State, the University has reaffirmed its commitment to providing educational access to learners around the world. The World Campus uses multiple technologies to make some of Penn State's most highly regarded graduate, undergraduate and continuing professional education programs available anytime, anywhere through the World Wide Web, computer interfacing and other media. Today, the World Campus offers more than 30 degree and certificate programs online.
Editor contact: Deborah A. Benedetti; 814-238-4895; dab12@outreach.psu.edu
Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce.
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