AU program gives CCAF graduates clear path to bachelor's degree

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jon LaDue
  • 43rd Airlift WIng Public Affairs
POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  The average Airman who is asked why they joined the Air Force typically responds with patriotism, travel and educational benefits.

The Air Force boasts some of the most competitive educational benefits around with 100 percent tuition assistance, free College Level Examination Program tests and unlimited guidance from education offices.

In June, the Air Force introduced a program that enhances the already impressive group of benefits - The Air University Associate-to-Baccalaureate Cooperative (AU-ABC).

This program allows Community College of the Air Force graduates something that has been, for the most part, unavailable until now - a formalized process of maximizing the acceptance of CCAF credits and applying them toward a bachelor's degree.

Under the program, students enter a contract with a university that guarantees the student the opportunity to earn a degree with not more than 60 additional credits at most of the participating schools.

I received my CCAF degree in 2005 and soon thereafter applied to two universities. The amount of credits they were willing to accept was less than appealing and left me feeling hesitant to continue pursuing my educational goals. Under the schools' policies, many of the CLEP tests and military credits I earned would not be accepted in transfer.

While browsing through the Air Force Virtual Education Center on the Air Force Portal, I read about the new AU-ABC program, and it almost sounded too good to be true.

Through the AFVEC I was able to match my Air Force Specialty Code with the corresponding CCAF degree. The next step was browsing through all of the colleges and degrees that were linked to my CCAF degree in Logistics Management. Currently, there are 24 schools participating with more than 90 approved degree programs.

I contacted one of the schools, Southwestern College, and inquired about their program.
Within two days and with the aid of the education office and AFVEC, I was able to apply, register and pay with tuition assistance for my classes, bringing me closer to my goal of a bachelor's in Human Resources.

Dr. Karen Pederson, vice president for professional studies at SC, said the Air Force has made the process easy for not only students, but for schools as well.

"The Air Force and CCAF staff have made this very easy for educational institutions to participate. It's been seamless for us and very smooth," she said.

Dr. Pederson said Southwestern was one of the pilot schools with the program and has seen a dramatic increase in Airmen who are interested in the bachelor's program since AU-ABC was launched.

Master Sgt. Michael Majewski, a B-2 production superintendent at Whiteman AFB, Mo., is a student at Southwestern and is working toward a bachelor's in Computer Operations. Despite the fact much of his education is in line with his Air Force job, aircraft maintenance, he appreciates the opportunity to dual educate himself in another field which benefits himself and the Air Force mission as well.

"In the long run I will become more beneficial to the Air Force, not only in aircraft maintenance, but in having the ability to bring newly learned computer skills to the work center," Sergeant Majewski said.

For Sergeant Majewski, the most appealing part of the program was the ease in which AU-ABC makes deciding an avenue for education.

"The education roadmap can be confusing. I probably would not have seen the initiative in taking classes without the AU-ABC program," he said.

The AFVEC site works to remedy some of the confusion by providing a clear pathway that allows Airmen to compare all of their options to earn a bachelor's degree. This basically eliminates the difficult and timely research.

"It was easy to research the schools and degree plans provided and the various schools taking our CCAF credits," said Chief Master Sgt. Dawn Cheugh, IMA command paralegal manager at Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command, Robins AFB, Ga., who is working toward a bachelor's in Business Administration.

Many of the AU-ABC colleges, like SC, are used to working with military students. AU-ABC has standardized and helped to streamline the process to maximize the benefits for everyone involved.

Chief Cheugh called her experiences thus far pleasant, but says there are still many Airmen who have not heard of the program.

Personally, I think the chief is correct because since entering the AU-ABC at SC I have taken four classes and without giving out attendance numbers I have figured at least 40 percent of the students are Airmen from many different state-side and overseas bases. Some of them are younger Airmen, but the majority are older Airmen using this program as a catalyst to earning a degree before exiting the Air Force.

According to Ms. Bettie Varnado, chief of media and distance learning at CCAF, there are about 1,700 Airmen currently taking advantage of the program and this number continues to grow each day.

CCAF is the world's largest community college system and has awarded more than 17,000 degrees this year alone. In all, more than 300,000 students are enrolled in the CCAF, which begins tracking members once they graduate basic military training. Mrs. Varnado said Air University hopes more of these Airmen will take the opportunity to pursue the next step in their education.

"The Air Force needs Airmen to have opportunities for advanced degrees and to maximize credits the students have already earned, regardless of location," she said.
AU-ABC is a relatively new program, but with the research tools available and the universal access via the Air Force Portal, I think all Airmen, young and old, should explore the educational opportunities available to them.

The program couldn't have come at a better time and has already begun paying itself off. Dr. Pederson believes this program is good for all parties involved, but especially the students.

"The Air Force needs educated Airmen ... for the Air Force of the future. I think the program is doing what it was intended to do - jump start education," Dr. Pederson said.

Whether you are a young Airman with the goal of making chief master sergeant or commissioning as an officer, a veteran Airman close to retirement, or anywhere in between, the AU-ABC program is a tool to help CCAF graduates get started on their next level of education.