Enrollment Services Coordinator Bob Foote (right) counsels Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Applewhite (Retired). Applewhite is one course away from his degree, and will soon join the ranks of the thousands of Navy personnel who have achieved degrees through FCCJ — including Foote, a 1975 graduate.

FCCJ and military: Education partners anytime, anywhere

By Michael Corby
FCCJ Media Relations Coordinator
March 4, 2007

The Military Education Institute (MEI) at Florida Community College at Jacksonville has been providing quality college education to military personnel, government employees, public service employees and their families for more than 30 years at Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Mayport Naval Station and at the former Cecil Field. When Cecil Field was decommissioned, FCCJ was instrumental in providing transitional education and training for employees and service personnel who chose to remain in the area.

Locally, FCCJ maintains a strong presence at NAS Jax and NS Mayport, and local service members can take advantage of all the offerings at all of FCCJ’s campuses and centers. FCCJ also provides national and even global educational opportunities for service members to pursue educational degrees on site at bases around the nation and through distance learning options on ships and across the oceans. Online classes are, of course, available to local students as well.

As part of the college’s Open Campus, MEI staff members, including administration, training staff, and on-base advising staff, have more than 850 years of combined active duty and reserve military service. They know where their students are coming from, and they care about where their career choices are taking them.

“We want students to succeed,” said Mayport NS Enrollment Services Coordinator Jeff Schneider, and the on-base college credit programs provide ample opportunities for students to achieve their goals. Schneider and his Jacksonville NAS counterpart Bob Foote offer “one stop shopping” for service members. A typical scenario for a sailor exploring educational opportunities would include an assessment to determine the student’s experience and interests.

This is followed by educational placement tests and evaluation to determine the best career path. Students can work toward degrees with traditional classroom learning and online courses, accommodating the varying schedules and locations military students are often required to meet. They can even help with financial aid if necessary and transferring into bachelor degree programs.

MEI has established “degree road maps,” an efficient method of assessing the student’s experience and education to route a clear path, course by course, to a degree that will sustain them in their career goals in the military and in the civilian world. According to Director of Program Development Paula Carpenter, these road maps avoid duplicating effort and spending unnecessary time and money toward completing a degree for Navy ratings in everything from Boatswain’s Mate (ABE) to Yeoman (YN).

In addition to traditional 16 week courses, accelerated eight week courses are available on base and at FCCJ campuses. According to Foote, the Navy pays active service members’ tuition, up to 12 credit hours per year. The students pay for their books. And here’s an interesting accommodation: Students may be able to earn credit for what they already know through testing regimens such as CLEP (College Level Examination Program) and DSST (DANTES). While these tests generally cost $60-$70 each, they are free for service members — another way to maximize education dollars.

The FCCJ staff at Mayport NS and Jacksonville NAS (Schneider, Foote and Adviser Chris Johnson) has 67 years of military service between them and are familiar with the military obligations of service members. While FCCJ provides the lower division (freshman and sophomore year) classes leading to the associate degree and all CLEP testing on the bases, there are nine other colleges on base. Transferring into their bachelor degree programs is made easier by the FCCJ staff’s familiarity with military transfer credits.

According to Schneider, most of the students enrolled on base are working toward an associate degree to transfer into a bachelor degree program. Navy requirements are such that an associate degree is necessary for promotion to chief petty officer, and a bachelor degree is required for promotion to master chief petty officer. Many sailors are opting to transfer their Navy-learned hands-on skills in automotive, refrigeration and air conditioning to careers in those fields in the civilian world upon separating from the Navy, and FCCJ offers those courses toward those certificate and degree programs at FCCJ’s Downtown Campus.

Military service members are encouraged to start early toward their degrees and to achieve their career goals. The best way to find out the numerous options available is to visit the MEI Web page, or if you’re on base and want to make an appointment, e-mail military@fccj.edu.

*Tuition and fees are subject to change by action of the College’s District Board of Trustees. Current tuition and fees will be posted at the time of registration.