The U.S. Army has created one of the most innovative programs of higher education in the world – Army University Access Online (known as eArmyU). eArmyU provides access to quality education for enlisted soldiers across the globe, helping them further their professional and personal goals and providing the Army with top preparation for its forces. eArmyU supports the goal of transforming the military into an Objective Force capable of responding to the diverse and complex demands of the 21st century.
eArmyU is among a series of dynamic changes that the Army is engaging in to transform the Army. Specifically, the mission of eArmyU is to:
Increase retention by allowing soldiers to earn credits, degrees and certificates at low or no cost to them while they serve on active duty.
Develop educated, technology-savvy soldiers who will succeed in the missions and on the battlefields of the 21st century.
eArmyU includes best-in-class providers of online educational programs and services, technology components and program management. These providers compose the backbone of the Army’s distance education programs delivered to its soldiers through a state of the art portal known as eArmyU.com. eArmyU members are market-leaders in their respective industries and are experienced at working collaboratively to deliver integrated solutions to customers. The key eArmyU members are IBM Business Consulting Services, the Council on Academic Management, and an impressive group of education partners, and learning technology and infrastructure support providers.
IBM Business Consulting Services
With more than 60,000 consultants and professional staff in more than 160 countries globally, IBM Business Consulting Services is the world’s largest consulting services organization. IBM Business Consulting Services provides clients with business process and industry expertise, a deep understanding of technology solutions that address specific industry issues, and the ability to design, build and run those solutions in a way that delivers bottom-line business value. In addition to being the prime integrator of eArmyU, IBM provides the hardware to support the eArmyU Technology Packages that are distributed in the program and also supplies the 24/7 managed hosting services.
Council on Academic Management (CAM) serves as an advisory body to the eArmyU project leadership of IBM Business Consulting Services, representing national leadership in distance learning and education. The Sloan Foundation sponsors the CAM. Individuals serving on the CAM represent a broad range of institutions involved in distance learning and education including the American Distance Education Consortium, League for Innovation, Servicemember Opportunity Colleges, Southern Regional Electronic Board, and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. CAM membership also includes faculty members from Jackson State University and the University of Illinois. Consultants who support the CAM include individuals who represent the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)Alliance, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, the Sloan-C Consortium.
Education Partners: The eArmyU network of education partners is comprised of 30 institutions of higher education that provide approximately 145 degree or certificate programs to eArmyU students. The eArmyU education partners have extensive experience and proven success in online learning. Collectively, they have delivered more than 3,000 online courses to more than 250,000 students.
Soldiers enrolled in eArmyU may take courses from 30 different higher education institutions.
All institutions offering degrees belong to the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges Army Degree (SOCAD) or SOC programs. This requirement guarantees transferability of credit among schools and maximum credit for prior learning and military experience.
The colleges and universities that are currently part of the eArmyU Learning Network include:
Amridge University
Anne Arundel Community College
Austin Peay State University
Baker College
Bellevue Univ
Central Texas College
Coastline Community College
Cochise Community College
Columbia College
Empire State College-Center for Distance Learning
Excelsior College
Fayetteville Technical Community College
Franklin University
Hawaii Pacific University
Jefferson Community College
Lansing Community College
Nova Southeastern University
Penn State University – World Campus
Pierce College
Rio Salado College
Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
Saint Leo University Center for Online Learning
Saint Martin’s University
Southern New Hampshire Univ
Southwestern College – Kansas
Thomas Edison State College
Troy University
University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
University of the Incarnate Word
Vincennes University