Attaining Higher Education
Offered By
About this Course
Attaining Higher Education is a course designed to facilitate the successful transition of active duty service members and veterans to postsecondary education, whether at a two- or four-year college for an associate's or bachelor's degree, or even graduate school. Too often, service members and veterans transition with little information, or incorrect information, about what makes students successfully realize their goals through higher education. Frequently they are left to navigate a difficult and complicated transition to higher education without robust support or complete information.
This course is designed to break down the process of transition to education and to assist service members in finding an educational program that fully maximizes their potential. The course:
- lays out how to approach admissions processes to institutions of higher education
- guides students through the self-assessment needed to determine if and how to apply wisely
- challenges students to consider the factors which make a college a right fit for them
- offers an overview of the college application process, whether at a community college or four-year college
- provides a summary of the most common sources of financial aid available to many transitioning service members and veterans
From intentional decision making--a method through which service members and veterans connect their life and military experiences with a potential academic or career path--to choosing a right fit college, understanding the application process, and financing their education, this course will provide tangible ways to successfully navigate all of these benchmarks in the transition to higher education.
While this course is open to everyone, the content has been tailored specifically for active duty service members and veterans, especially those who aspire to start school or return to school soon, and higher education professionals who work to support student veterans.
Instructors
Beth E. Morgan
R.J. Jenkins
Skip Bailey
Tanya Ang
Tanya has supported the military-connected student community for more than 20 years. She has served as an advocate for student veterans at Veterans Education Success, at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and also served as the Director of Veterans Programs at the American Council on Education. Prior to joining ACE, Tanya worked at two universities including working as an Administrative Analyst for the Vice President of Student Affairs Office at California State University - Fullerton and as Associate Registrar at Vanguard University where most her work focused on the non-traditional student including military and student veterans. She was the certifying official at her institution for student veteran GI Bill benefits and worked hand-in-hand with the various offices on-campus to ensure students received the benefits and the support they needed to successfully navigate their academic career. In her current role, she works to ensure military-connected students have access to high-quality education to achieve their long-term career goals. Tanya is the first in her family to graduate from college and earned her BA in Communications at Biola University and an MA in Organizational Leadership at Vanguard University.
Dirk Vanderlaan
Tiffany Decker
Tiffany Decker leads Columbia’s School of General Studies graduate and professional school initiatives, and in collaboration with the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, develops new initiatives to support undergraduate research. She also facilitates curriculum development for GS's international dual- and joint-degree programs, helping build degree plans across a range of academic disciplines.
Prior to joining GS, Tiffany worked at MIT, where she focused on access for underrepresented students into STEM fields. In this role she was recognized by Harvard and Google for her pioneering research initiatives. A native Californian, Tiffany moved across the country to start her career as an English teacher with Teach for America in Paterson, New Jersey. In this role, she was named a District Model Teacher. A first-generation college student hailing from long line of service members, Tiffany’s scholarship focuses on student access to tertiary and graduate education. She holds a B.A. in English and history from Agnes Scott College and an M.S.Ed. in higher education administration from the University of Pennsylvania.
Nick Utzig
Nick Utzig is a PhD candidate in English at Harvard University, where he works as a teaching fellow and studies the influence of militarism in the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Nick’s dissertation considers the ways in which the return from war is featured in English Renaissance drama.