What's Important:
Credit for Professional Training
College credit for professional training is important to our students. If you have attended training that has been evaluated for credit, let us know.
Scholarships & Grants:
Financial Aid for Education
More than $67 billion in scholarships and grants was distributed in support of students across the nation. Take advantage of the sites on the Financial Assistance page that match student profiles to potential sources of scholarships and grants.
Reminder:
Student Handbooks
Be sure to download the Student Handbook. It walks you through the steps needed for us to provide you with assistance and describes our support.
In the Beginning:
Our organization began in 2000 with our first contract in place to support the entire Army National Guard, all 360,000 citizen-soldiers, with our first generation Automated Degree Planning system (the predecessor of Degree Quest). The first few years we focused exclusively on serving those who serve this nation in uniform, but branched out in 2005 to offer support to those in the civilian sector, as the need for our support is just as great outside the military as it is for those in uniform.
The Growing Years:
In 2005, we began providing support to the Yum Restaurant Chain, which includes A&W, KFC, Long John Silvers, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell nationwide. Soon thereafter, we began providing support to employees of USAA Federal Savings Bank and Insurance, as well as to the Department of Veterans Affairs assisting the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Divisions in many states. In 2008, Diebold, the nation's largest provider of ATM and bank vault timers, engaged our support to take care of their workforce, as did U.S. Airways and their wholly-owned subsidiaries, PSA Airlines and Piedmont Airlines. A number of smaller companies have also asked us to support their employees.
Where we're going:
As you've seen on this site, what we offer to those desiring to further their education is a service that is desperately needed, yet relatively few know that we are here to provide them with the technology, resources, and support that we offer. As such, our goal is to get the word out, informing corporations and government agencies that we can empower them to get more for less, as they can provide excellent higher education opportunities to their workforce while significantly reducing the amount of money their organizations spend to do so. We also want to communicate to individuals that we can empower them to accelerate their progress to a degree, while saving them a substantial amount of time and money along the way. As such, we have formed a fantastic team to make this vision a reality...
Team Bio:
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Tim, Founder and CEO Tim is a retired senior officer from the U.S. Coast Guard who served as an Education Officer on a small base ('89-'91), as well as on a large installation ('91-'93). He also managed the higher education programs for the entire USCG from '93-'98 as the Service Chief of Education, with more than 330 Education Officers across the nation being supported by his staff. Tim served as a firefighter and paramedic for a major municipality for many years before entering the military. Tim served in the Air Force initially, then inter-service transferred to the Army to become an aviator. Years later, the opportunity arose to transfer to the USCG, where he served most of his career as a search and rescue pilot. Tim earned an Associate's, two Bachelor's, and two Master's degrees from colleges including the University of the State of New York, the University of Phoenix, and Regent University at Virginia Beach while serving in the military and has continued on toward a doctorate degree. |
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Prentiss, Cofounder and President Prentiss one of the founders of our organization and worked closely with Tim to develop the state-of-the-art Degree Quest system. Prentiss not only has expertise in the technical aspects of digital streaming of college credit into degrees, but is well familiar with practically every aspect of higher education. He served at the DOD’s higher education national headquarters (DANTES) in Pensacola full-time from 1995 through 2000, when he joined Tim to create the National College Counseling Center. Prentiss earned both of his degrees from the University of West Florida. |
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Patrick, Director of the Counseling Center Pat served as the Education Officer for the USCG in Seattle from 1990 to 1995, providing counseling support using first generation multi-institutional degree planning software. Then he transferred to the USCG Institute providing service-wide higher education support to thousands of students. In 2003, Pat retired from active duty and assumed a GS position as USCG Registrar, facilitating formal review of academic records, degree plans, and admissions support for students across the nation. In 2005, we relocated Pat to our headquarters in Pensacola, where he has served students from corporations since his arrival. In fact, over these past few years, he has overseen the creation of more than 102,821 Assessments and Degree Plans, inspiring them to press onward to earn their degrees. Pat talks the talk and students listen because he walked down the same path as they, using college credit for professional training, college examinations, and courses from multiple colleges to earn his degree from Excelsior College in Albany, NY. |
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Darrell, Director of Church and Congregational Student Support Darrell has a passion for helping those serving in the ministry, yet need additional skills to supplement their ministerial income, and spearheaded our church outreach. He also understands how members of congregations can be positively impacted by the support that we offer, especially in these tough economic times, and expanded the program to offer support to all church members. Darrell understands the value of education, as he has earned a Bachelor's, Master's, and doctorate degree and is an ordained pastor, himself. |
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Tom, High School - Home School Outreach Director Tom is a retired senior enlisted member who personally benefitted from our support, which led him to apply to work on our team. Tom has traveled the nation speaking to groups and is our proponent for delivering the message of how our support can assist high school students to get a jump-start on college to hundreds of home schooled families nationwide. |
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Sabine, Seminar Developer and Instructional Designer Sabine has not only a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology from Southern Nazarene University, but also has earned her Ph.D. in the field from Northcentral University. She has been an undergraduate faculty for Columbia College, as well as a graduate level faculty for Liberty University. One of our founding members and a member of our Board of Directors, she was instrumental in the development of our online seminar for student development and is our expert regarding the systemic approach to student support and the positive impact that results from empowering people to enhance their employment through education. |
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Sabrina, Systems Security Systems security is a critical aspect of the support that we provide to our clients, as federal law (the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974) requires that we safeguard the information regarding the students that we support. Sabrina has a Master of Science degree in Information Security from the University of Maryland and is our trusted right hand person regarding this important facet of our organization. Sabrina also serves on the Board of Directors of one of our affiliate organizations, the Counseling Connection, and desires to take this support to the Caribbean, where her family resides. |
We have many others on our team visiting corporate headquarters, military installations, and other organizations across the nation. Of course, we also extend our gratitude and appreciation to those who have served on our team, both past and present, in helping us provide outstanding support to the clients we serve and, most importantly, the students we have assisted over the years.
