Guantanamo Bay residents interested in continuing their education have many options available to them despite being located at an isolated base in Caribbean.
Students are able to attend classes in an online environment with many colleges located in the states.
Columbia College, the only on-site college located at the naval installation, offers students the opportunity to attend college in person or take its online courses, offering associate, bachelor’s and master degrees.
For residents contemplating attending school, the college will evaluate their school transcripts to determine the number of credits that can be transferred to Columbia College and to develop a degree plan for earning a diploma.
“We meet with students to evaluate their previous educational history, academic transcripts from other colleges, and military transcripts if they are active duty,” said Michael Matheny, Director for Columbia College, Guantanamo Bay Campus.
Residents interested in having their past course work evaluated do not have to be a registered Columbia College student for this service.
“Anyone can schedule an advising appointment for an unofficial evaluation,” said Annie Stuart, an Enrollment Assistant at the Guantanamo Bay campus. “To get a formal evaluation, you have to be a student.”
For many students, physically attending classes with others is preferable to taking online courses.
“It offers yet another way for students to learn,” Matheny said. “There are several different learning styles and we frequently hear from the students who look for and seek out the in-seat classes.”
For students beginning college after high school or others who are returning to college after a period of time, in-seat classes can help ease them into the online learning environment.
“It gives them the college and classroom experience and helps them connect with the teacher and the other students,” said Stuart. “It helps students jumpstart their education because it gets them interested in a subject and they are able to continue with online classes as well.”
For upcoming semesters, Columbia College will be introducing in-seat courses that have not been held before at the GTMO campus.
The college is offering a Spanish course that will begin in August and will also be introducing an environmental science course and a religion course later this year.
According to Stuart, many prospective students worry about having access to information when trying to complete their courses.
“A lot of students are worried about library access when they take classes,” said Stuart. “But we have a massive online database of books, journals, and catalogues, so there is no need to worry about not having a college library right down the street.”
Students also have access to the college’s computer lab to help complete their courses.
“The lab is intended for people working on their educational pursuits,” said Matheny. “It’s an educational computer lab for active students.”
Although the computer lab is run by Columbia College, any student attending a college is welcome to use it.
“We welcome people from other schools if they would like to do their class work in the computer lab,” said Stuart. “It’s a nice quiet place to study and is air conditioned.”
Although the base is remote, there are still opportunities available for GTMO residents to further their education, according to Matheny.
“I want the community to understand that they have access to a valuable resource here that offers an opportunity to further their education and be productive in that process during their time here in Guantanamo,” said Matheny. “Their education does not have to be on hold because they are at a remote place. They still have avenues to access higher education.”
| Date Taken: | 07.29.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.29.2010 13:27 |
| Story ID: | 53637 |
| Location: | NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 216 |
| Downloads: | 105 |
This work, GTMO's Columbia College Offers Students Alternative to Online Courses, by Terence Peck, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
