Online courses serve the needs of military students
By CCTIMES, Published June 10, 2007

On May 20, Coastline Community College (Cal­ifornia) celebrated the achievements of 1,582 new graduates—nearly 80 percent of whom had never set foot on campus.

Although Coastline offers classes on-site at three lo­cal learning centers in Costa Mesa, Garden Grove and Westminster, students who serve in the U.S. military often prefer to take classes via Coastline’s distance learning program.

This year, Coastline conferred associate degrees upon 1,251 students who completed their coursework while serving in the U.S. military. For many of the military students who attend the graduation ceremony, it was the first time they met their instructors in person or seen the college campus.

A survey of the military students graduating this year found that nearly 80 percent of them plan to transfer to a four-year college or university to continue their education, said Ed McKenney, Coastline’s dean of military education programs.

The college’s distance learning program combines technologies like the Internet, CDs, handheld PDAs and SmartPhones, with textbooks and printed materi­als to teach students.

The methods have allowed numerous students, in­cluding William Sipes, 34, to earn a degree without compromising their commitment to military service.

“I enjoyed the flexibility of taking online classes at my own pace,” Sipes said. “Graduation will mean just another stepping stone for my education and my future when I retire from the Navy.”

For other students like Navy enlistee, Jeremiah Freye, 25, Coastline serves as a bridge between the military and a specific civilian career.

“Graduation from Coastline means I am halfway to getting my bachelor’s degree in mathematics so I can become a teacher,” Freye said.

Online courses at community colleges across the country continue to grow in popularity. And, as with Coastline, many individuals in the military are tak­ing advantage of the technology to simultaneously earn degrees.

Despite serving his third deployment in the Middle East, Ross Haselhorst this year earned his associate degree in criminal law enforcement from Northeast Community College (Nebraska).

His fiancee, Jenny Wobig, has been a large part of his education from the beginning, Haselhorst said.

“She has single-handedly enrolled me in three semesters and made numerous trips to the campus on short notice and contacted my teachers to get me enrolled in classes once the semester already started,” Haselhorst said.

As a vehicle commander for a mounted quick reaction force, there hasn’t been a lot of time for classes. So graduating from Northeast has been a demanding job, he said.

“There was a few days when I just got back in­side the wire and I wanted to go to bed and then realizing I had a test or an assignment due. I had to lose a little sleep to finish up to keep up with the rest of the class,” Haselhorst said in an interview via e-mail.

His instructors, especially Matt McCarthy, the criminal justice director at Northeast, have been understanding, Haselhorst said.

“They have a great staff and the teachers are very willing to work with the students if you give them a chance to help and keep them informed on every­thing that you are doing and be truthful with them,” Haselhorst said.

Haselhorst hope to return home this summer. When he does, he and Wobig will live in Lincoln so he can try to get a job with the Nebraska State Patrol.

AP reports were used in the article.