CAMPUS NEWS: USU to help educate U.S. Army
Brian Carter, Staff Writer
Utah State University is among the consortium of 29 universities and colleges across the country that help Army soldiers earn associate or bachelor’s degrees through distance-education programs.
The consortium is headed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the world’s largest professional services organization, which was awarded the five-year $453 million contract.
“The project is more than a single university is capable of doing,” said Laird Hartman, vice president for University Extension, Continuing Education Administration.
Soldiers will be able to sign up for any class offered online by the participating schools and can complete the class anywhere in the world. Hartman said the Army will fully subsidize the cost of the education and provide each soldier with a laptop computer, printer and Internet software. Paul Boyce, an Army public affairs officer, estimated the annual cost at $3,000 for attending the university.
“This initiative places the Army at the leading edge in distance education,” said Louis Caldera, secretary of the U.S. Army. “This cutting-edge cyberspace program will provide unprecedented educational opportunities for our soldiers.”
Soldiers will be able to keep the laptop computer and printer upon completing 12 credit hours within two years. The laptop and printer must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers if the credit-hour requirement is not met. Other conditions include having three years of service remaining, and soldiers and their commanders must sign a memorandum of understanding provided by Army Education Services counselors concerning program requirements.
“We bill PricewaterhouseCoopers on a per-class basis, and they pay us,” Hartman said. “We don’t have to go through the GI Bill.”
The Army announced the program last July, and USU began enquiring at that time, Hartman said.
“There are some prestigious schools [involved], and we’re happy to be part of it,” Hartman said.
Penn State University, Florida State University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University are among the participating schools. Several high-tech companies are also included in the contract, including Fiberlike, Saba and Blackboard.
“Secretary Caldera said they want to use this as a recruiting effort and to keep existing soldiers,” Hartman said. “A secondary result is having a better trained and educated soldier.”
The program is set to launch sometime this month at Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Campbell, Ky.; and Fort Hood, Texas, and expand to other bases later. Fifteen thousand soldiers are expected to participate this year, Hartman said. The Army estimates 80,000 soldiers will participate over the next five years.
The Distance Education program at USU had nearly 4,000 registered students last year with 495 receiving degrees.