If you truly want to get an education and you have some flexibility, then you should look into the online and distance learning options that you have as a United States Servicemember. Whatever branch of the service that you are in, reserve or active duty, Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, National Guard, Coast Guard, it doesn’t matter. There are programs and external college credit courses that can work for your benefit, if you apply and use them.
Military Servicemembers can benefit a great deal from some of the available programs. CLEP testing, as well as the DANTES degree program are both available, and can help Servicemembers in their career paths. There are many benefits from applying and continuing your education through an online or external correspondence type program:
-Study whenever your duty schedule permits.
-Choose the level of degree you are seeking, Associates, Bachelors, or and advance degree.
-Increase your pay, advancement and promotion potential.
-Military sponsored tuition assistance and other educational financial aid.
Many Servicemembers are pleased and surprised that some of their military experiences may qualify for college level credit. Credit for experience, CLEP tests, as well as DANTES program tests can help ascertain if you are eligible for college credit for experience.
Using an online method of attending school is one that can work for your benefit. If you are aboard a ship or stationed overseas, perhaps attending a regular physical classroom is impossible or impractical due to your duty situation. Many online courses are developed specially for people that are on the go, such as Op tempo and duty standing military Servicemembers.
There are currently thousands of duty standing, deployed members who earn their degrees online using the Internet and their computer as their classroom. Many schools offer degrees from an associate’s degree to masters or even doctoral degrees. Some of them take just 1-2 hours a day, a week, or a few days in a row each month. Online and correspondence courses are often much like in person classes that you attend, but your feedback and questions are answered electronically, over email. Some courses and some schools have a lot of flexibility when it comes to dealing with online students and courses, other schools are not open about classes and have little online offerings.
In the end it is up to the student. Online and correspondence courses are flexible in some ways, but if the student is committed, then they are able to learn just as much from an online course as they are with a traditional courses taught in person.
