OU sets up shop at Nellis

The University of Oklahoma has landed at Nellis Air Force Base.

The university, which already offers classes in 40 locations worldwide, set up shop at the Nellis Education Center in Las Vegas last September.

Its success in its first year reflects the demand for higher education on the base.

"OU has already outgrown the classroom space we initially provided for them," John White, education services officer at Nellis, said.

So have most of the classes offered through the Education Service Center, where some 4,000 military and civilian personnel are enrolled in a variety of classes leading to undergraduate and graduate degrees.

"Last year, we spent $1 million on tuition assistance," White said.

The military pays 75 percent of the tuition for its people. Civilians, who can enroll in classes on a space-available basis, are on their own.

White said almost every classroom is filled to capacity -- about 30 students.

Students take classes in the evenings, on weekends, even at lunchtime. They use the Internet, video and every other technological means available to enhance classroom instruction.

One reason for the high interest in education in the military, said Jacqueline De Rocco, who assists White, is that it is considered in promotions.

To meet that demand, several colleges and universities offer courses convenient to military members and base workers.

The service has its own Community College of the Air Force, which offers an associate's in applied science degree, and five nonmilitary college and universities provide a variety of programs at the base, including:

* UNLV. The university has classes leading to a bachelor of science in business administration, workforce education and a master's of education with an emphasis in workforce education.

* Community College of Southern Nevada. The two-year college offers core classes leading to an associate's degree.

* University of Phoenix. The private university offers master's degrees in Business Administration and in Organizational Management.

* Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The aeronautical school offers programs leading to associate's and bachelor's degrees in science of aviation business administration and professional aeronautics; a bachelor of science in management of technical operations and a master's in aeronautical science.

The Community College of Southern Nevada is the biggest presence in educating Air Force personnel, De Rocco said.

"Between 50 percent and 60 percent are enrolled through CCSN," she said.

The University of Oklahoma begins its second year of classes next month -- a program leading to a master's degree in public administration.

The format of the university's advanced program makes it particularly suitable for the hectic life at Nellis -- where personnel routinely are rotated to other assignments every two years and while here spend long periods of time on temporary duty elsewhere, Laura Roberts, director of the Advanced Programs for the continental United States, said.

A student can complete a course in one week of intense class work and can earn a degree in 14 to 16 months.

For example, a course called Program Evaluation will be offered here Sept. 18-23, with classes held Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.

Students get as much classroom time as those spending a normal semester on a traditional college campus.

What makes the intense format work, Roberts explained, is that students receive their textbooks 30 days before the class begins and read all of their assignments in advance.

When they come to class, everyone starts out at the same level and are ready to progress rapidly.

The individual courses also are flexible, Roberts said.

A person can take two hours of credit or three -- three hours involves additional writing assignments at the end of the week of class work.

Courses are nonsequential. Students decide when they need to take a particular class.

"You design your own program, one that is tailor-made for you," she said.

The university tries to limit class sizes to 15 to 20 students, said Laurie Boetcher, who oversees the local office for the university. The majority are military officers, though civilians and enlisted members have taken classes.

The University of Oklahoma flies in a professor for the week of classes.

"Instructors are always available by phone, fax and e-mail," said Roberts, who is based out of Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.

She said the university has been offering the intense format through its College of Continuing Education since 1964 as part of its community outreach service.

Though it only offers a master's of public administration at Nellis, the university offers a variety of programs at other locations around the world -- 12 programs in all.

It was allowed to set up the program at Nellis because it had something not available on the base through other institutions.

Roberts says she envisions other courses being offered in the future, such as an advanced degree in human relations.

She also envisions the programs being taken off base and offered to large companies who have employees who could benefit from the classes.

"We could set up classes at one of the big casinos," she said. "But we must fulfill the military need first."

White said education offered through the military has been a success, pointing out a former student enlisted man named Ernie Collander.

"He started working on a degree through Golden Gate University when he was an airman here," said White, noting that Golden Gate no longer offers courses at Nellis. "Then he went to Officer's Training School and came back to Nellis as a lieutenant and got a master's degree through Golden Gate. Now, he's a general."

White said Gen. Collander was going to speak to graduating students at Nellis in April, but the war in Kosovo kept him in Europe.

"He is a sterling example of the Air Force education program," White said.

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