Military Community
February 2018-Ashford University Newsletter
Military Development and Engagement
The Military Community Newsletter at Ashford University was designed as a way for you to learn and share community events, resources, and key topics relevant to service members, veterans, and their families nationwide. Please contact Ashford's Military Development and Engagement Specialist if you have questions or additional resources you would like to share with your fellow military community.
IN THIS ISSUE
- February is Black History Month
- Military Education Outreach Team and Events
3 Reasons Veterans Are Valuable to Employers
5 Reasons Students Don’t Graduate (And What Ashford Is Doing About It) | Insights from a Student Advisor
Military CHAMPS Peer Mentor Program
- Military- Transition.org
4 Common VA Loan Myths
Tutor.com: Free Tutoring for Military Families
Dependents Education Assistance Program
- Nationwide Conference Calendar
- Previous Editions
- Citations and URL Image Retrieval
February is Black History Month
ASALH (Association for the Study of African American Life and History) Announces 2018 Black History Theme, African Americans in Times of War. . In honor of Black History Month and in alignment with this years theme you can read about
15 Black Military Heroes Through the Years. Among this list you will find:
- First Casualty of the American Revolution
- First Black Minuteman
- First Field Officer in the U.S. Army
- Above and Beyond the Call of Duty (Medal of Honor)
- First Black Marines
- Extraordinary Heroism (Medal of Honor)
- A Tuskegee Airman
- First Black General
- A Top-Ranking Black Female Officer
- U.S. Army's First Black Four-Star General
- Service in Vietnam
- First Black Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff
- First Black Female Commander
- First Black Female Rear Admiral
- From Air Force Pilot to First Black Astronaut
Retrieved from: https://www.theroot.com/15-black-military-heroes-through-the-years-1790868148
Military Education Outreach Team and Events
3 Reasons Veterans Are Valuable to Employers
In her keynote presentation in the Military Speaker Series, Lida Citroën led a discussion titled “Amplifying the Value of Veterans.” Her experience quickly became clear, and we’re sharing some of the highlights with you. Lida is an international branding specialist with expertise in veteran reintegration and the military-to-civilian transition with employers, educators, and administrators interested in engaging with veteran talent.
In this informative and inspiring keynote presentation, Lida shared insights into military culture, including the common veteran character traits and skills that make you a great employee. She also provided perspective on the challenges you may face as you transition into civilian life, the implicit biases civilians bring to interactions with veterans, and numerous opportunities to engage with—and build relationships with—other military service members. Explore the amazing assets that you offer, even after you no longer wear the uniform.
Read full article: https://www.ashford.edu/online-degrees/career-tips/3-reasons-veterans-are-valuable-to-employers
5 Reasons Students Don’t Graduate (And What Ashford Is Doing About It) | Insights from a Student Advisor
Shawn Mangerino served students as an advisor for more than eight years at Ashford University. During that time, he helped students from all walks of life pursue their educational goals by providing them with the right tools and support. In his first installment, he addressed the question: Does your school really care about you? Here, he shares expertise about online education and student development from the advisor’s side.
The path to graduation is not always a straight line, especially for students pursuing a non-traditional college experience. The Education Advisory Board (EAB) recently published the article The 5 Reasons—Other Than Cost—That Students Don’t Graduate, which includes a startling statistic: 59% of students don’t graduate within four years. Now, if you’re one of those students, it’s important to remember that you shouldn’t hold it against yourself.
But for now, let’s go over the EAB’s reasons and look at how some schools are doing things differently, and paving the way for student success.
Military CHAMPS Peer Mentor Program
Deployments, frequent moves, and field exercises can all be distracting when you are attending classes. Connect with a Mentor who can help navigate those overwhelming waters, provide resources, tips, and personal experience to help you be as successful as possible while also building a relationship with another peer.
Military Transition.org
The vision of Military-transition.org is to provide the most relevant source of employment data for the military community and employers. They have partnered with several organizations that also support military transition and have prepared a comprehensive list of transition resources that cover topics like:
- Training
- News
- Recruiters
- Advice
- Research
- Benefits
- Employers
- Job Boards
- TAP
Pleases visit https://www.military-transition.org/resources.html for a full list of all these resources.
4 Common VA Loan Myths
VA home loans are among the strongest benefits that veterans can easily access, but there are a few misconceptions in the ether that might be preventing some veteran from utilizing them. One fact of veteran life is that benefits aren't usually well-advertised; they usually need to be actively sought out and researched. Considering the number of setbacks that veterans can face during a transition, having accurate information about the VA loan is crucial. Fortunately, Inman Select has collected four common VA loan myths and dispelled them. The data originates from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the 2014 Ellie Mae Origination Insight Report.
- VA loans feature high note rates.
- VA Loans don't close very often.
- It takes a long time to close a VA loan.
- VA loans aren't growing.
Read the facts here
Also find:
Tutor.com: Free Tutoring for Military Families
Get homework and studying help from a professional tutor any time you need it. Students in U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, National Guard, Reserves, Wounded Warriors and deployed DoD civilian families are eligible for free access to the Department of Defense online tutoring program with Tutor.com. Expert tutors are online 24/7 and available to help in more than 16 subjects, including test prep, proofreading, Math, Science, English and Social Studies. For more information and to sign up, visit the Tutor.com site.
Tutor.com for U.S. Military Families, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, is a program that provides on-demand, online tutoring and homework help at no cost to active duty service members and their eligible dependents. With live, expert tutors available 24/7, military-connected students can receive academic help at their moment of need—anywhere they have an internet connection.
Dependents Education Assistance Program
Type of Assistance
Benefits may be used for degree and certificate programs, apprenticeship, and on-the-job training. If you are a spouse, you may take a correspondence course. Remedial, deficiency, and refresher courses may be approved under certain circumstances. Get the DEA pamphlet.
Available Benefits and Eligibility
You may receive up to 45 months of education benefits. Effective Oct. 1, 2013, some DEA beneficiaries may be eligible for up to 81 months of GI Bill benefits if they use the Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance program in conjunction with an entitlement from other VA education programs. View current payment rates.
If you are eligible for both Fry Scholarship and DEA, you will be required to make an irrevocable election between the two programs when you apply. Dependents are not eligible to receive both DEA and Fry Scholarship based on the same event (like a Servicemember dying in the line of duty) unless he or she is a child whose parent died prior to August 1, 2011. A child whose parent died before August 1, 2011, may be eligible for both benefits but he/she may only use one program at a time and combined benefits are capped at a total of 81 months of full-time training. In this situation, the two benefit programs cannot be used concurrently.
Read more about eligibility and other things to consider here: https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/dea.asp?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=DEA&utm_content=20171227
Nationwide Conference Calendar
Previous Editions
Citations and URL Image Retrieval
Hand Shake Image. Retrieved from: http://nvf.org/?utm_source=Recurring+Donations+for+Transitioning+Vets&utm_
Black History Image. Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/43587452@N04/6805131211/in/photolist-bnm5qt-bvdoT6-kqfwgk-fga2Y2-9uibdy-dYBUWu-9f7PBC-khVRRc-bkLwuQ-jZEm6T-7G5PkF-riXF7w-
Education Image. Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lesbians/4415982635/in/photolist-7Je4MD-9mioKS-9ojbtr-pjnmS2-7JhZE9-cepg4A-7Je4BF-77BHi3-7Je4RK-r9C5Pv-pjnmQi-7JhZcu-918m6k-
About the Editor
Stephanie Kinman is the Military Development and Engagement Specialist at Ashford. She served six years as a Navy Corpsman with two of those years attached to a Marine unit. She is well versed in understanding the unique challenges military students face. She achieved her undergraduate degree in Psychology from University of Phoenix and her MSW with a focus on Military and Veteran Populations from University of Southern California.
Stephanie is dedicated to the military student population and brings her education, social work background and personal experience, both in the military and in the classroom, to provide resources, community events, and pathways for students to connect outside of the classroom.
Email: stephanie.kinman@ashford.edu
Website: http://www.ashford.edu/military/military_resources.htm
Location: 8620 Spectrum Center Blvd, San Diego, CA 92123, United States