What online schools are good for someone in a high op-tempo unit?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 11:39:29 -0400

I'm in an airborne infantry unit, and for the time being I don't see a deployment coming up for at least a year or so, so I've been looking at colleges to start taking classes through. However, my unit goes out to the field pretty often and it's proving difficult to find schools that are flexible yet will still transfer credits to a more traditional college whenever I go back to "regular" school. Does anyone have any recommendations where I can start working towards a bachelors in some sort of engineering or healthcare degree, or at least prereqs that I will be able to schedule around field events and won't be wasted due to not being able to transfer down the road?

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jul 28 at 2018 11:47 AM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 11:47:35 -0400

I believe Arizona State has a great online school.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2018 12:53 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 12:53:26 -0400

I went to Coastline Community College while I was deployed. Their semesters are 8 weeks long. I would spend 8 days out and 4 days back. For those four days I'd catch up on work. The instructors were always willing to work with me as long as I told them ahead of time that I couldn't meet certain deadlines.
Also it's a regionally accredited college, so your associates should transfer to any college.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2018 1:19 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 13:19:05 -0400

I probably took classes from close to dozen colleges throughout the years. Central Texas College, American Military University, and Univ. of Maryland-University College are had short terms and were pretty flexible overall. I can't speak for engineering, but some prereqs for healthcare fields can be problematic via distance education, specifically science courses with labs. Some programs will only take these classes if they meet in person. Most Ged Ed classes will transfer pretty much anywhere, but if you have any particular programs in mind you might want to check their particular requirements. I ended up having to retake some courses when I finally settled on a program.

Response by Sgt Wayne Wood made Jul 28 at 2018 2:11 PM

Sgt Wayne Wood — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 14:11:31 -0400

I took a ton of CLEP courses to get my GenEd out of the way while i was wandering around (most of the time). Took some classes (correspondence at the time... no Internet or Web) from University of Maryland & University of Wisconsin.

Response by MAJ Raúl Rovira made Jul 28 at 2018 2:12 PM

MAJ Raúl Rovira — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 14:12:29 -0400

Both the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and Central Michigan University (CMU) were very accommodating during my deployed periods.

Best of luck.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2018 4:00 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 16:00:40 -0400

I have had similar issues when I was going to school. I went to American Military University. I really enjoyed my experience there. I even was deployed for a portion of my time while I was in school.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Jul 28 at 2018 8:30 PM

SGM Bill Frazer — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 20:30:00 -0400

Son, it is damn, damn hard- few folks in the Deuce ever had time to do that unless they were PAC rats or something similar, Grunts never had the time (experience speaking here)

Response by SGM Billy Herrington made Jul 28 at 2018 9:14 PM

SGM Billy Herrington — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 21:14:18 -0400

Check out the New College Lifetrack program from the University of Alabama. You can do a learning contract (it's a class for however many hrs, usually 3). You have 6 months to complete them with no log in requirements like most blackboard based schools are.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 29 at 2018 12:39 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 12:39:38 -0400

Penn State is great. Especially for being in a really fast paced unit like the 82nd. Usually assignments are due every Sunday evening and whenever I’m about to go to the field, I just let my professor know and they Work with me.

I want to say it’s the more reputable online school. I can be taken more seriously as a student when I say I go to Penn state rather thank school like Phoenix or Devry..

Response by SFC Stephen Foster made Jul 29 at 2018 9:02 PM

SFC Stephen Foster — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 21:02:24 -0400

I teach at Southern New Hampshire University and am retired airborne infantry. The school is popular amongst many military members.

Response by CW4 Angel C. made Jul 30 at 2018 11:55 AM

CW4 Angel C. — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 11:55:34 -0400

I know the Airborne training cycle. You really don’t have time for online college. Consider the CD at your own pace courses.

Response by SGT Jeremiah Giles made Aug 3 at 2018 3:47 AM

SGT Jeremiah Giles — Fri, 03 Aug 2018 03:47:18 -0400

Hi William, University of Maryland University College (UMUC) is a very friendly school for active duty military overall.

Response by CW2 Michael Bodnar made Jul 12 at 2019 2:12 PM

CW2 Michael Bodnar — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 14:12:03 -0400

SPC Private RallyPoint Member It depends on what you're majoring in. I decided to go with Southern New Hampshire University pursuing my Masters. They are by far cheaper and easier to use than others that I've tried.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 4 at 2020 8:55 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 08:55:39 -0500

Webster, AMU, Central Texas College. My 1SG took a classes until his yearly TA was all used up. We were in Germany (time zone difference) with a VERY high optempo and still made it happen. Just takes personal sacrifice.