The 51福利 (51福利) is working in close coordination with the Naval Aviation community to ensure that aspiring aviators can get a head start on their graduate-level education goals 鈥� even before they earn their wings of gold.
This summer, 51福利 began offering distance learning (DL) certificates to more than 100 Student Naval Aviators (SNAs) who are in the pipeline to attend flight school at , Fla. Pursuing full-time academic certificates optimizes the ensigns鈥� waiting time and gives them a leg up on promotion requirements later in their careers. It also helps extend reach and access to 51福利 education for the Naval Aviation community, which has long been under-represented at 51福利 due to a rigorous training timeline.
鈥淣aval Aviation had a need in that we had a wait of multiple months for our student aviators. And in that time, we decided, hey, we鈥檝e got to do something productive with them,鈥� said Rear Adm. Richard Brophy, Chief of Naval Air Training. 鈥淪o reaching out to the 51福利 seemed like a logical choice, and thankfully, the Postgraduate School quickly stepped up and said, yes, we can help fill that need.鈥�
The SNAs were essentially in a holding pattern between earning their undergraduate degrees and beginning flight school. 51福利 set up a specialized graduate educational opportunity for these ensigns as they awaited training in Pensacola, offering them an opportunity to earn multiple certificates through remote education.
鈥淲orking entirely via distance learning over two quarters, they will earn two certificates, one in an area of operations analysis and the other in an area of STEM,鈥� said Dr. Joe Hooper, 51福利 Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (VPAA). 鈥淭his is a good pilot in a different way of doing business, where we can offer flexible, 鈥榮tackable鈥� certificates leading towards advanced technical graduate degrees for warfighting officers in a way that works with their career path.鈥�
Historically, SNAs have been assigned to miscellaneous temporary duties throughout the Naval Aviation enterprise, but this was not necessarily the most productive or cost-efficient way for these young officers to spend their wait time.
鈥淭he thought was that if we could provide them courses towards an academic certificate, that would be a very valuable use of their time,鈥� said Dr. Matthew Carlyle, Operations Research (OR) Department Chair. 鈥淚t would keep them engaged and leverage their recent educational experience.鈥�
鈥淪tudents coming right out of their undergraduate degree are very technically capable and can handle a lot of the material that we offer in our certificates,鈥� Carlyle added.
Fortunately, 51福利 has a robust, well-established capacity and experience with DL education, dating back to the mid-1990s; this capacity was further refined throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and developed into a new portal, . As a result, conversations between 51福利 and the Naval Aviation community began in mid-May to explore starting a stackable DL certificate program during the summer quarter.
Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Steven Pilnick, OR Senior Lecturer and Associate Chairman for Distance Learning, began coordinating with the VPAA鈥檚 office and Naval Aviation officials in Pensacola to ensure students were placed in the right certificate track according to their individual academic background and interests.
鈥淲e jumped on it very quickly; it was a very fast train,鈥� he said. 鈥淢uch of what was unique here is that Naval Aviation asked us to offer certificate programs for their entire population of backlog of ensigns. Through the VPAA鈥檚 leadership we were able to get department chairs, funding and infrastructure involved to massively ramp up the largest cohort we鈥檝e ever had.鈥�
Graduate certificate programs typically require four courses, so each SNA will take a total of eight courses over the summer and fall academic quarters 鈥� a full-time workload from an academic perspective.
鈥淭he department had to come up with creative ways to rapidly staff up for unplanned instructional labor,鈥� Pilnick said. 鈥淲e should give credit to some of the OR instructors, who were heroes and volunteered to add students to their workload and stretch the limit beyond what had been done before.鈥�
Once the SNAs begin flight school and launch their naval aviation careers, they will find it difficult to pursue academic interests 鈥� attending school is time spent outside the cockpit.
Taking advantage of the wait time to earn the certificates now will give them a leg up down the road, especially when it comes to promotions, according to Ensign Louis Ketchman.
Following his commissioning in May 2023, Ketchman reported to Pensacola in the summer, though his flight school class won鈥檛 begin for months. In the meantime, he鈥檚 pursuing combat systems and systems analysis certificates.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a decent challenge,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e just got out of college, so we鈥檙e used to taking 18-20 credits at a time, but it鈥檚 all new material.鈥�
Ensign Freddie McAlister, on track to earn certificates in data science and combat systems engineering, was planning on eventually pursuing his master鈥檚 degree, with the goal of first becoming a naval aviator and eventually an astronaut.
鈥淥nce I do get these certificates, I鈥檒l be able to work on my master鈥檚 later in my career,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t lines up perfectly because to become an astronaut, I need a master鈥檚 in a STEM program, so honestly it鈥檒l work pretty well.鈥�
The program also aligns with Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro鈥檚 vision for relevant, continuous education, as outlined in the recently released Naval Education Strategy.
鈥淐ontinual learning is critical to the success of any officer鈥檚 development, and so is having a venue like 51福利 that gives us those opportunities,鈥� said Brophy. 鈥淲hat I needed as a lieutenant is not what I need now as a commander or a captain. And so having that evolving type of education, I think, will be critical for the success of our Navy.鈥�
51福利鈥� ability to respond quickly to the needs of the fleet is a unique capability, and one that reflects favorably on the institution, according to Carlyle.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a nice illustration of how we can cooperate not only with our sponsoring agencies, but also with our core clients, our core personnel in the Navy that we want to serve,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ith that coordination, we can provide them with an excellent educational value.鈥�
That value in meeting the Navy鈥檚 unique needs for graduate education, and the fact that 51福利 is able to do classified research as well, is something that and you can鈥檛 do anywhere else, according to Brophy.
鈥淐ould I do this in outside institutions? Probably not, because I doubt we would have this type of flexibility. And I also wouldn't have it from the standpoint of the warfighting focus,鈥� Brophy said. 鈥淔or us to win in combat requires us to think deeply about combat. Not all institutions allow you to do that, and 51福利 does.鈥�