Ashford
University has gone far beyond many other online schools to make receiving an
education for military members easier. With the current operations tempo and
the global reach our armed forces currently are involved in, the ability to
work on a degree anywhere is needed more than ever. Service Members (SM) who
are enrolled are already showing their devotion to improve themselves and being
a volunteer in the Armed Forces shows their devotion to the security of their
country. Most of the time there is no or very little conflict between military
service and education, and these times of conflict can cause problems and even
end an SM’s college experience. There comes a time when a SM is put in a
position when they cannot access the Internet let alone a computer and these
times can come at a short notice. There can be short notice deployments, to
places that require communication security (COMSEC) to protect the forces and
the goals of the mission. Other times like, disaster’s that can affect members
of the National Guard with a 12-hour recalls to places with no or very little
resources. Currently Ashford University, according to faculty expectations, has
such standards as no late papers, or the paper will receive at the least 50
percent and possibly no instructor feedback. Ashford University should take
these into consideration with the needs of the military and their SM students,
possibly making new rules for them to ease the stress of the deployments and schoolwork
in the effort in keeping them enrolled.
The
Stress of Military Lifestyles
In
a study by Radford 2009, 23 percent of military members in undergraduate
studies are enrolled in public four-year programs and the greatest problems are
the stress between military life and education. For todays SM, life is
stressful, and with the added stress of education can come the stress of
military life. A temporary deployment of
TDY, can come with very little or no warning. These TDYs can come with travel
to far away places, for an example a trip to South West Asia can take around 24
hours one way from home station, and this does not include the time to process.
A SM can expect to see long duty hours during the TDY, anywhere from 12 to 16
hours of work at a time. Then at some TDY locations, due to mission needs,
there may be very little or no Internet. These three problems could cause a SM
to be late on assignments or not adhere to the school attendance policy.
For
SM students who are members of the military Reserve Components, (RC) the
Reserves and Guard, face call outs or activations. When events like wild fires,
hurricanes, or other natural disasters strike, a state Governor can and will
activate, or ‘call out’ their Army and Air Guard. Once again the preparations,
travel, and long hours, may make it difficult to work on school assignments. With
a short notice to report to units, the students do not know how long they may
be away or where they are going. These places may have little or no resources,
preventing students from meeting Ashford faculty expectations.
Recommended
Improvements
How
to encourage SM students to stay in school and with Ashford University is a
question if not asked should be. Any
improvements cannot only retain these valued students but can influence others
to enroll. The following are recommended procedures and changes to faculty expectations:
1. The
SM student contacts either or both their academic advisor and or instructor
through email of their current situation.
The SM student should be advised to maintain COMSEC, and provide only
the information that they are on orders.
At a later time a copy of orders can me emailed to confirm the
information.
2. If
the TDY is for a projected short amount of time the SM student will be exempt
from being prompt with their work and attendance for the duration.
3. If
the TDY is for an unknown amount of time or prolonged time, the SM student will
not be punished but placed in a hold. When the SM student can return they will
be placed in to the next available session of the same class at the same week
that they left in.
Conclusion
The
needs of the military have and always have priority. The military has also
encouraged SM to improve themselves through avenues like education. Life in the
military is very stressful and education could be pushed to the side if the SM
believes it will be too difficult to continue. Ashford University has been very
progressive with their online education and very proud of their connections
with the military. These proposed changes could only improve the reputation and
military student enrollments.
References
Radford, A.W. (2009) Military
Service Members and Veterans in Higher Education: What the New GI Bill May Mean
for Postsecondary Institutions, retrieved from http://www.acenet.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ProgramsServices/CPA/Publications/MilService.errata.pdf
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