The State University of New York (SUNY) has announced a partnership with the United States Naval Community College (USNCC) to launch a pilot program to improve and strengthen the naval education of sailors, marines, and coast guardsmen. The program starts this month.
It will be the first step to achieve USNCC’s central goal to “provide world-class, naval-relevant education to a globally deployed force to enhance operational readiness and improve warfighting capabilities.”
The collaboration with SUNY and four other institutions seeks to produce graduates that possess sound decision-making capabilities, critical thinking skills, ethical character influenced by naval heritage and values, and a keen understanding of the ocean. This will help them become valuable assets when they become enlisted service members.
SUNY Support
SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras expressed his excitement about the project in a press release declaring, “SUNY is proud to support our nation’s service members by increasing access to the higher education they need to better serve our country while advancing their careers.”
“Our new collaboration with the [USNCC] brings together the expertise of SUNY Empire State College in serving military students and delivering online instruction with the added support of SUNY Online to provide the best possible educational experience for USNCC students, he added.
While the pilot program collectively chose 500 to 600 students. SUNY’s class will comprise more than 130 students who will enroll in Naval Leadership and Ethics, as well as other courses such as Literature and Contemporary Mathematics, in time for the spring semester.
USNCC President Dr. Randi Cosentino explained that undergoing this collaborative process will further enhance the Phase I Pilot program as it gathers information and insight throughout the semester.
“The pilot will allow us to collect important data that will inform the development of the USNCC. Working with leading colleges will help us explore outcomes around the design of the program, the processes involved, working relationships, and overall impact,” he said.
SUNY is joined by Northern Virginia Community College, the University of Arizona, the University of Maryland Global Campus, Alexandria Technical and Community College (MN), and the Virginia Community College System in providing USNCC with educational support for the program.
