CTC AND ARMY MAKE ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION

EASIER FOR SOLDIERS

Central Texas College recently announced its participation in GoArmyEd, the Army's new, virtual gateway to Army tuition assistance, which became accessible April 1, 2006. GoArmyEd allows soldiers serving on active duty to request Army Tuition Assistance (TA) online, anytime, for classroom, distance learning and eArmyU online college courses.

GoArmyEd offers soldiers a one-stop location for managing their college education using military tuition assistance benefits. The program automates and coordinates many processes that were previously paper-based.

CTC was one of the first colleges to sign on to GoArmyEd. “As one of the original cohorts for the Army's eArmyU program, CTC was one of the first colleges to voice support for GoArmyEd,” said Bill Alexander, Dean of CTC's Continental Campus who has led the program's implementation for the college. “We think this new system will be of great benefit to our soldiers as they move and deploy around the world. It will allow them to get a better handle on their educational progress.”

CTC also sees GoArmyEd as an opportunity for growth. “Many soldiers change colleges every time they change duty stations, which often results in a significant delay for degree completion,” according to Alexander. “With GoArmyEd, soldiers will be able to visualize their degree completion as a seamless process they can take with them wherever they go. CTC is in a unique position to help with more than 100 locations throughout the world and more than 10 degree programs completely online.”

Students can do everything from selecting their degree program to registering for classes via the GoArmyEd “portal.” This automation was not without challenges for CTC, according to Alexander. “We recently converted to a new student information system which had to undergo a significant customization to communicate with the Army's new system. With our team from student services and our financial experts, we developed work flows to ensure our students receive the same great service they have virtually received at our locations around the world.”

The new portal became available to students on April 1, and soldiers can now register for any classes that start after May 1 through the new system. “Our folks here and in the field are standing by to assist soldiers as they make the transition from paper-based registration to the new system,” said Alexander.