Firsthand Experiences

Education Officer

As a high school guidance counselor, First Lieutenant Doug Kolb knew a lot about colleges and prospective college students—traditional colleges and traditional students, that is. But now as the State Education Officer for the Wisconsin Army National Guard, Doug has quickly learned about nontraditional colleges and nontraditional students: The majority of prospective students who come to see him are well past traditional college age and have schedules that preclude their attending a traditional school.

“The variety of options open to students these days is amazing.which is good because, even among military students, there is such a wide variety of different needs.”

Because so many of his clients are older students with full-time jobs and families, Doug often finds himself recommending online universities. “For most people with jobs and family, going online is an outstanding option. It’s also absolutely great for deployed soldiers. In most cases, there would be no other way for these soldiers to get their degrees.”

For the few younger, just-out-of-high-school soldiers he advises, Doug usually tries to dissuade them from going online. “I’m categorizing here, but I haven’t often seen younger students with the desire or drive I think necessary to complete online coursework.”

The same goes for accelerated programs, either online or at a brick-and-mortar school. “I’m not sure a younger student would have the motivation to make the sacrifices necessary for an accelerated degree. But if one came to me with a pretty high level of commitment, I certainly wouldn’t dissuade them.”

Whenever dealing with students, Doug’s (and the other educational officers at posts throughout the world) goal is to be a catalyst for their education. “It is not my goal to push people into school. I’m here to fix problems, answer questions and do what needs to be done to enable them to get the degree they want.”

For the truly dedicated student, Doug thinks accelerated programs are outstanding. “The fast pace keeps students actively engaged and working towards their degree. God bless the students who are able to do it—it’s a heck of a schedule, especially with training and family-but the tradeoff is that you make headway fast. You won't get bored.”

While Doug only advises a handful of students who have selected AIU Online—so he is not as familiar with it as with other programs—he says he has recommended it. “It [the university] is accredited by a recognized accrediting agency, and the interaction between the school, students and my office has always been easy and painless. It can be quite demoralizing for a student to be stuck between a school asking for tuition and an education office that doesn’t have the necessary paperwork from the school. I haven’t had that happen with AIU [Online].”

But not all paperwork is a school’s responsibility, and Doug can’t stress that to his clients enough. “First and foremost when preparing for college is managing your paperwork: your tuition assistance, G.I. Bill, AARTS transcript, everything. You can lose out on a lot of benefits if you don’t pay attention and know what you've filed and what you haven’t.”

While education offices can help military students handle such paperwork, Doug suggests soldiers approach unit commanders for help as well. “I know that when I was young—17, 18, 19—I was intimidated by approaching my sergeant or section sergeant, but just do it. Most of the time they’re really happy to help and they’re right there with you.”