U.S. Army - Educational Opportunities - Research Paper Example

  U.S. Army - Educational Opportunities Executive summary: This report deals with the present problem in the US army where the retention rate of US soldiers has been constantly decreasing. Recruitments and retention rates in the US army has suffered a setback and one of the attributed reason could be the inflexible lifestyle in the US army especially with respect to educational opportunities. The reason for such low retention rates is because of the unawareness regarding the educational opportunities provided by the US army. Earning a degree while working in the military service is very important because the degree earned serves as a promotional tool which can be used by soldiers to get promotions to higher grades. Education is a necessity in today’s armed forces and the military offers a number of educational opportunities for improving the education among the soldiers. Army offers several benefits like full time tuition, merit based scholarships, allowances in books and fees, and stipend for living expenses for the qualified students. There are many other programs like tuition assistance, eArmyU, CLEP exams which soldiers can take advantage of in order to build the future ahead of them, which they are currently ignoring. Table of contents Informative Abstract ……………………………………………………..4 Purpose statement………………………………………………………………….5 Background………………………………………………………………………….5 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………5 A description of the educational programs provided by the US army……..6 Methodology……………………………………………………………15 Data Analysis …………………………………………………………………16 Conclsuion……………………………………………………………………17 Recommendations…………………………………………………………..18 Informative Abstract: This report is based on audience analysis and the research proposal. The report provides a total overview of the current educational system available in the US army and how the retention and recruitment rates in the US army could be improved. Education is the only asset for the future, whether you are a civilian or an army man. So it is important that all the people should have the basic education, which he can continue further or take advantage of it for his future. US departments for defense provides many benefits for the soldier, of which mainly includes the policy for education. They have introduced many programs to increase the educational level of people. The soldiers can take benefits out of various policies to secure their future. Currently there are many programs existing within the system to help the soldiers in getting the education they deserve, the only thing that is being lacking is the awareness among people about that. Willingness to know things can create many chances for the future. There are immense education opportunities in the US army and there are various types of educational programs in the army. The report has a methodology section where methods have been used to collect data and a section of data analysis along with conclusion finding and recommendations. Purpose statement: The purpose of this report is providing a report on the recruitment and retention of soldiers in the US army. Background: The background of the report is the situation in US army where the soldiers are missing out on valuable opportunities provided by the US army which is mainly educational opportunities provided by the US army. The problem of the target audience presented through the audience analysis is the background of the report. Introduction: Education is everything in today’s modern era. The employee retention rate in the US army is decreasing at a fast pace. Due to the inflexible lifestyle in the military there is a contention among the soldiers that they would not be able to complete their higher level of education while serving in the army. Some of the soldiers take early retirement form their service because of the fear that they would not be able to complete their higher and university education. A person is judged by the qualification he has on any field. In US, it is very difficult to get a good job with good pay and good hours, without a high school education and a college degree. All jobs that require skill need to have some sort of degree to even apply for that. All the great men in the world like George Washington and martin Luther king have done serious studies in one field or the other. George Washington was a great leader and strategist for being a good military officer, who turns out be the ultimate inspiration for the people to come. Education can help the person to gain respect from others, it also helps a person to work on the field which he enjoys. It has direct impact on the social economic development of an individual as well as a nation. The increasing awareness regarding college and university education has forced the US army to incorporate educational curriculum in its system. “Increased university education is an imperative, given the role expansion of the militaries to deal with the complex challenge that their society face. While the US army is quite a different institution from its Latin counterparts, it long ago understood the value of university education. The US military academy authorized the bachelor degree in 1932” (John Whylen De Pauw & Luz, 1992, P.98). Education is provided to the service members by way of technical training for a specific job or higher and graduate level examination. The US army provides numerous opportunities for pursuing education to its soldiers like tuition assistance in order to offset the cost of attending off duty schooling lessons in pursuit of academic level degrees. A description of the educational programs provided by the US army: There are lots of benefits to joining the United States Army. One of the benefits is facility to achieve a good education which facilitates them to have a great future. There are lots of ways in which military peoples can get the education that they want. Most accepted ways are get an education at the same time as in the service or else complete their service necessities have been satisfied. Many of them will prefer Montgomery GI Bill to get an education after completing their service. Like other military services, the US Army gives its associate to great chance to get a college education. This plan is normally referred as Vol Ed or Voluntary Education. The Army Continuing Education System (ACES) suggest the following voluntary education program to help employees to get their education ambition: Tuition Assistance GoArmyEd (SOCAD) Service members Opportunity Colleges Army Degree eArmyU The Army Continuing Education System (ACES) mission is to develop the fight willingness of the Total Army by resourcing, planning, and applying educational services and programs to help the personal and professional development of quality soldiers. At the present situation, the soldiers are on the mindset of only work and they are not aware of the other facts like education, which needs to be changed. Soldiers should change their attitude towards education. They should be aware of the educational benefits offered by the government for them. A proper utilization of all the benefits can help the soldier in many ways. A person with an aim to continue in the military service can apply for higher posts if he has proper education, with increase in level of education, his status can also increase. For the people deciding to quit the services after a definite duration need to have the primary education to apply for job outside the military services, or to continue with studies. For any purpose education is a must to act as a foundation. The main purpose of providing education among the soldiers is to enable them to provide the services in an advanced manner. It can also help the soldiers to secure their future with in or outside the army. Department gets skilled people for its operation. Education also helps in modeling the character of the people as well. US army sponsors a number of programs to ensure that today’s youth have the sufficient resources to achieve lifelong success. These resources are specifically designed to enhance each and every student whether they are choosing military as a future option or not. Some of the programs are: Tuition assistance programs: there are many programs launched by the government to help the soldiers in getting sufficient education, of which one of them is tuition assistance program or TAP. This program provides financial support to the personal and professional development of the soldiers. This program is designed with a view to assist the soldiers in pursuing the education, training, licenses, certificates and degrees leading to employment. Government had announced sufficient amount as tuition assistant in helping the soldiers to go further in studies. This support is given to courses which are done in class rooms or by distant learning. The condition that is to be met is that courses should be provided by the schools which are registered to GOArmyED and accredited by accrediting agency approved by the US government. In addition to degree courses TAP also helps the soldiers in completing high school, diploma or other certificate courses. However it does not help in levels lower than that. TAP supports the soldiers until they complete master’s degree not above that. Defense department has maintained a uniform level of TA through out the military organization. On a semester basis per cap amount is $250 and per year the amount is $2500. TAP will cover all the course fees until the established amount for semester and year. Tuition assistance procedure, Students must request through www.GoArmyEd.co, before the last date of registration in order to get the benefits. Applications are sent on a course basis. TA will check the eligibility of the candidate and provide the remaining conditions to get the services. In case of ineligibility TA suggests the ways to get approved All the pay/withdrawals are done through the website. In case of unsuccessful completion of the course, candidate must repay the amount or must submit the reason for their incompletion. Only military reasons are taken into account in order to avoid the repay of amount. Students must submit a new TA SOU each year, no further TA wont authorized until the TA SOU is approved. Tuition assistance to off duty education courses are provided to the US soldiers so that soldiers can attend night classes and complete their master of business administration courses. The MBA courses are provided on the army base. The Tuition assistance will permit Soldiers to apply for tuition assistance and register the courses online. Soldiers will be capable to request tuition assistance online through the army continuing education system gateway called GoArmyEd. This will help to Study more about the military Tuition assistance. The course must be presented by schools that are recorded in GoArmyEd and are certified by the U.S. Education Department. CLEP: college-level education program provides the students with an opportunity earn college credits by scoring qualifying scores in standardized exams. CLEP exams help the students in earning college credits for the knowledge they gained from self study, project works, professional development, on-the-job-training or internships. Army provides sufficient opportunities for the soldiers to attend the exams and earn the degree without having to spend large money and time on long term courses. Earning a degree not only provides them the skills to excel in army but also makes their transition into civilian career much easier. “CLEP consists of a series of examinations that test an individual’s college level knowledge gained through course work, independent study, cultural pursuits, travel, special interests, military service schools, and professional development. The American Council on Education (ACE) recommends the minimum score for awarding credit but each institution determines its acceptable score and the amount of credit granted for each examination. ” (College Level Examination Program (CLEP), 2001).DANTES (defense activity for non traditional education support) provides the funding service to military personnel. Active duty as well as reserve military personnel irrespective of the specialized departments (Army, Navy, and Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard) can sit for the DANTES sponsored CLEP exam. “The College-Level Examination Program, or CLEP, allows soldiers to earn credit for undergraduate college courses through testing rather than class work. Nearly 3 thousand schools across the country accept CLEP exams for college credit, including a number of online schools” (The College Level Exam Program (CLEP) for Soldiers, 2011). Such a college level examination program is costly but to the soldiers it is free as it is sponsored and funded by the DANTES. Therefore it is highly recommended that soldiers stay in their service because the army makes provisions for obtaining higher education to its soldiers and that too at very concessional rates or even in sometimes offers free registration. Another advantage in the DANTES sponsored CLEP exam available to soldiers is that not only military personnel but also their spouses and children can take part in these exams for free. At the same time inactive soldiers or the soldiers who retire form service before their term is over do not get advantage of the CLEP exams sponsored by the DANTES. CLEP exams are free to those soldiers who take the tests from the on military base and the DANTES test centers. Through the agency called the DANTES the soldiers get all the resources needed by them in order to sit in their CLEP exams like the study materials and resources which are needed by them I order to participate in the CLEP tests. It is a great opportunity for both the mid term as well as the new recruits in the army service as they can sit for the CLEP exams and also their dependents like their children and spouses can sit in the exams under the special consideration for soldiers in the US army. DANTES provides the required assistance to army soldiers to pursue their CLEP exams. EArmyU: Army University Access Online (eArmyU) is totally online program, contributing soldiers to a smooth gateway for selecting the degrees and technical certificate. Through eArmyU, qualified Soldiers have chance to get a certificate and bachelors degree from the home college or taking courses from different colleges. Web based courses offer soldiers to anywhere, anytime flexibility, permitting Soldiers to study at a period that are most suitable for them even as their schedules, responsibilities. “eArmyU and its technology have brought Army Education to the forefront of the e-learning arena. Featuring a large and robust online learning portal, this program is among a series of dynamic changes to transform traditional Army Education by offering unprecedented access, choice, and flexibility in an online learning environment” (eArmyU, 2001). It is an innovative online learning program launched by US army in 2001 with a view to help the soldiers in earning degrees in their specialized fields. Currently EArmyU is available to all soldiers, but the services to them varies, Class fees will be waived for all soldiers enrolling in EArmyU classes. Soldiers who have signed the current EArmyU technology package participation agreement at the time of course enrolment will only receive the bundled services like course materials, internet services and army tuition assistance. Soldiers who haven’t signed the agreement must purchase their own materials. Army educational outreach program or AEOP: it consist of multiple programs to engage eligible soldiers in Army sponsored research programs, education, competitions, internships and physical practical experiences to increase their interest towards science, mathematics and engineering fields. The US army recognizes the importance of education in the US army. Recognizing the importance of education in the US army the US army has initiated the course of distance learning for its soldiers who can pursue their education through distance learning. Through distance learning and correspondence courses new recruits as well as mid term soldiers are provided ample opportunities to complete their education. “One rather recent distance education collaborator is the US federal government, especially the military. Educational opportunities are seen as a key incentive for attracting and retaining the recruits to voluntary service. In the final days of 2000, the US army funded a six year $453 million project to deliver distance education courses to soldiers all over the world” (Michael Grahame Moor& Anderson, 2004, P. 467). Statistical report reveals that A project of the US army called the Army university Access online is a type of a commercial company under which there are a large number of companies and colleges who take an active participation in providing distance education to the soldiers. Distance learning has proved to be extremely popular among the service members in the US defense systems. Facilities for distance education program like internet and E-mail facilities are made for supporting the educational system in the US military system. A report on distance education revealed that by the end of the year 2001 through the Army University Access online project around 5000 soldiers have availed this facility of distance education in the US army. The Army University Acces online program is also called as eArmyU. This program enables “enlisted soldiers to obtain professional and technical certifications and associate, bachelors and master’s degrees using army supplied laptop computer to access on line courses wherever they serve” (Lydia Sloan Cline, 2003, P.13). The reason why distance learning education was initiated in the US army was to increase the army’s readiness in fighting. The army distance education program provides professional education and training to where the soldiers are positioned. So this acts as a boost for the retention of soldiers in the US army service. This system of providing distance education system to US army soldiers is high in demand because it provides convenience to the soldiers to obtain education from where the soldiers are positioned. The US army has the program where it uses technology to develop and implement the training programs in the US army. One of the other bait which is available to the US soldiers is that educational benefits through the military force are large in number like the reduction in tuition fees. Higher education comes with skyrocketing Tuition fees which cannot be afforded by middle socio economic class but if a soldier avails higher education facility then there is a large discount available which the soldier can use in order to pursue his education. Thus this serves as an additional educational benefit to the soldiers because the rates of college education which many soldiers cannot afford are supported by the US army force. This opportunity can be used both by the new recruits as well as the mid term soldiers because when the mid term soldiers complete their term and retire they can also avail the educational concession for completing their university course because under the Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 educational funding is also provided to returning veterans. Thus both new recruits as well as the mid term soldiers can avail of this facility. Thus it is recommended that the soldiers complete their service period because there are a large number of educational as well as growth opportunities in the US army service. The US army has the provision of the GI bill which is provided to the soldiers to offset the expenses of the college education. The GI bill can be used by the soldiers during the service duration as well as after service. The GI bill provides education opportunities both to the new recruits as well as the mid term soldiers. The educational opportunities in the US also offers community specialization associate degrees with respect to specific branches of the military service like community college education for Air force, Naval and Army departments. Soldiers are also provided formal professional military education courses so that they can avail promotions and rewards in their respective departments in the military service. There are high educational opportunities in the defense sector like the development of the Service members opportunity college (SOC) under which 1500 accredited colleges are there which provides bachelor and graduate degree courses. Methodology: The approach to the study is a mixed bag of both qualitative and quantitative approach. As depcited in the above diagram there are different elemnts of enquiry and apporcahes to resrach process. The primary and secondary research will outline the valuable insights into the scenario. The methods like focus groups, surveys, questionnaires, interviews and observation, it is easy to get the relevant information regarding the quality of educational requirements which is needed for soldiers in retaining their service. These techniques are used for getting the feedback and finally assessing whether there is a need for refining the present educational system that is there in the US army or whether the present educational system in the army is sufficient for the retention of the soldiers in the US army. Data Analysis: Primary research can be carried out using two different data collection methods, qualitative and quantitative. In this respect, the data collected critically depend on the selected research method. Analysis of data reveal that there were a total of 200 participants which included people form various walks of life like retired army men, spouses of army personnel, office goers, parents of army personnel and the normal public. 20 respondents did not answer so there were a total of 180 respondents. The data analysis revealed that most of the participants were not aware of the educational system that is provided by the US army. The major concern with the spouses, parents were that the lives of army personnel would be of no use once they retire from the army because at the cost of their education they have gone to serve in the US army so their future will be in dark once they return to the civilian world. The retired army personnel complained that no body informed him of such advanced educational opportunities in the army. The office goers were also only aware of the inflexible lifestyle in the US army and not the benefits and opportunities available to the soldiers. One of the retired army personnel had completed his graduation course while serving the US army and he said that the truth is that many of the people join the military service in order to get the special educational opportunities that are provided to the soldiers. Conclusion: The US army has taken a large number of steps for providing excellence in strengthening the educational system in the US army. The Army continuing education system (ACES) is a program which provides college and testing services to soldiers. These programs have different effects for new comers and midterm soldiers. For new comers a detailed description of things are required as they have make decision on what they have to do on the complete duration. New comers won’t be aware of any programs or benefits offered by the government or department, so the first thing here is to provide them with all the information and an advice to start of with some thing which they are experiencing for the first time. Detailed information on all the programs and necessary facts behind them needed to be provided in order give them the option for selecting one based on their skills. Since they are experiencing everything for the first time, they won’t be ready to accept anything, for that detailed counseling is needed on the importance of education and on the process of decision making. For the midterm soldiers the duty is less, because they are already in touch with everything. The only thing they require is to advice on how to select the right course based on their ability. If some of them haven’t yet identified the benefits offered, they need to convinced about the various services and force them to start the process. Advice on securing future can only change the mindset of the soldiers, who have started their duties in the army. Some of them will be on the decision of settling on what they have, the process becomes hard, as it is required to change their decision. Recommendations: 1. It is necessary to advertise regarding the educational benefits provided by the US army to its soldiers so that soldiers are aware. Educational benefits available to new as well as mid term soldiers and their spouses should be advertised properly so that it increases the retention rates in the US army and along with that there is an increase in the recruitments in the US army. 2. It is recommended that training classes are provided at the time of recruitment and the various courses that are available should be briefed to the soldiers at the time of recruitment itself. 3. More and more training practices can be incorporated at the time of recruitment itself so that the positive aspects of the US army could be taught to the soldiers in the beginning itself. 4. At the time of recruitment itself data should be collected from soldiers regarding the level of education they have and what they want to aspire so that they can be guided accurately for their career advancement. 5. Motivation should be provided to soldiers. It should be motivated to soldiers at the time of recruitment itself that the army also wants their overall growth thus their career goals would be taken care of. Reference List College Level Examination Program (CLEP). (2001). CLEP. Retrieved March 30, 2011, from http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/examinations/CLEP.htm eArmyU. (2001). GoArmyEd. Retrieved March 30, 2011, from https://www.goarmyed.com/public/public_earmyu-about_earmyu.aspx John Whylen De Pauw., & Luz, GA. (1992). Winning the peace: the strategic implications of military civic action. Greenwood Publishing Group, Retrieved March 30, 2011, from http://books.google.com/books?id=xnnPuDxfVRAC&pg=PA98&dq=education+in+us+army&hl=en#v=onepage&q=education%20in%20us%20army&f=false Lydia Sloan Cline. (2003). Today's military wife: meeting the challenges of service life. Stackpole Books, P.13 Retrieved March 30, 2011, from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=TE0Sq2R6xiwC&pg=PA13&dq=CLEP+exams+provided+by+the+US+army&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false Michael Grahame Moor., & Anderson, WG. (2004). Handbook of Distance Education. Routledge, P.467 Retrieved March 30, 2011, from http://books.google.com/books?id=ZRULoyuExnwC&pg=PA467&dq=educational+opportunity+in+US+army&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false The College Level Exam Program (CLEP) for Soldiers. (2011). ArmyStudyGuide Retrieved March 30, 2011, from http://www.armystudyguide.com/dantes/clep-military-tests.html Read More