Published by Acadeum
Education plays a vital role in the lives of military personnel and veterans as they move between the worlds of education and active duty. While pursuing higher education can be immensely rewarding, it often comes with a unique set of challenges for military students.
The journey from military service to the classroom can be complex, with service members navigating various responsibilities, deployments, and time constraints. To create flexibility and increase access to courses, institutions are discovering how course sharing can help make it easier for military students to pursue higher education.
This blog post explores how institutions like Vanguard University, Hawai’i Pacific University, and Central Community College support their population of military students and looks at ways the Acadeum network can support these efforts.
Flexibility for Graduation Success with Vanguard University
Vanguard University, which is located in Orange County, CA, and is a member of the Acadeum network, received a top 10 military friendly school designation for 2023-2024. Vanguard University recognizes that veterans often face unique circumstances that require flexible solutions, including accommodating military students who may have to travel for work or are using their benefits over the summer. Course sharing provides the necessary flexibility to seamlessly integrate additional courses into their schedules, ensuring that veterans can maintain full-time status and maximize their educational benefits.
Vanguard’s Coordinator of Veterans Services and faculty member Christopher Carroll recognized that scheduling and maximizing benefits is one of the biggest hurdles when working with veterans, and said, “When I’m working with veterans, I’m trying to make sure they’re getting the most out of their benefits. I make sure that they have their housing and everything lined up right, but I also want to make sure they are full-time students and get them graduated in a reasonable time. I use courses from the Acadeum network to help with scheduling when a student needs to take a class in the summer, and without it, the student would only be able to take the class in the fall and not graduate on time.”
Many veterans attend Vanguard University via the transfer route. They start at a community college, and then they transfer. Many of those students don’t need general education classes. They’re trying to use their benefits over summer, which is where the Acadeum network helps support those efforts by offering flexibility to find classes for military students and to help keep those students on the path to earning a degree. Carroll said looking to the Acadeum network to support what he and Vanguard University are already doing for military students is, “A growing opportunity for us and for other schools supporting military students and veterans.”
Customized Pathways for Military Students at Hawai’i Pacific University (HPU)
HPU’s commitment to supporting military students goes beyond conventional approaches. They offer tailored programs for military students, including an online internship class for MBA students who have completed their military service, which allows them to pursue Coursera certificates aligned with their career interests.
The university’s tailored programs are designed to empower military personnel to pursue Coursera certificates aligned with their career interests after completing their service. By offering courses on six of Oahu’s military campuses, in downtown Honolulu, and online, HPU ensures that service members have access to education that suits their needs. Whether seeking an associate’s, bachelor’s or graduate degree, service members have the opportunity to gain experience in high-demand fields, such as cybersecurity, business, and criminal justice at HPU.
Bridging Gaps with Online Course Sharing at Central Community College (CCC)
CCC is a teaching institution in the Acadeum network that is located in Nebraska and makes empty seats available in online synchronous courses. The college received a military friendly designation in 2022-23, ranking nationally in the top 10 gold level for small colleges.
Barry Horner, director of veterans and military services, said, “This rating highlights more than the efforts of CCC’s veterans and military services. The award reflects the team’s passion for our military members and CCC’s commitment to providing the best services and experiences possible to all our students and that we go above and beyond for those who have served our country.”
In partnership with CCC, the Acadeum network helps the institution offer online synchronous courses to all students and ensure that military students can access high-demand classes, overcome scheduling challenges, and stay on track towards their educational goals.
Shaping the Future of Education for Service Members
The experiences shared by these institutions underscore the transformational impact of unlocking educational opportunities for veterans. By providing tailored pathways, bridging scheduling gaps, and offering flexibility, course sharing helps ensure that veterans and active-duty service members can access high-quality courses and programs that align with their educational goals and in conjunction with their service. As more institutions look to support military students, the Acadeum network facilitates collaboration and empowers institutions to unlock educational opportunities for their own military students.
Sources:
https://www.militaryfriendly.com/schools/?pageresult=5
https://www.cccneb.edu/news/2022/march/military-friendly-designation/
https://www.hpu.edu/military-and-veterans/military-campus/index.html
