UMUC Provost Nicholas Allen (third from left) in Maryland prepares to sign a memorandum of agreement via video teleconference with Air War College Commandant Major General Bentley B. Rayburn, in Montgomery, Alabama, March 18, 2003.

UMUC Establishes First Education Partnership with Air University

By Andrea Martino

UMUC and Air War College (AWC), Air University have established an agreement to enable graduates to earn a new, online Master of Science in Management (MSM) degree at UMUC. University Provost Nicholas Allen and Air War College Commandant, Major General Bentley B. Rayburn, signed the agreement March 18, 2003.

This is the seventh UMUC partnership with senior service military schools since August 2001.

The partnership will enable students currently enrolled in the AWC program, as well as those who have already completed it, to earn the new UMUC degree. To be eligible, students must be able to complete necessary coursework in seven years, starting from the time they began at Air War College.

The AWC program incorporates management training and provides a solid foundation for completion of the MSM degree. As the senior school in the U.S. Air Force professional military education system, AWC is the senior Air Force professional military college with selectively manned faculty. AWC annually prepares more than 260 resident and 4,000 non-resident students from all U.S. military services, federal agencies, and 45 other nations to lead in the complex strategic environment emphasizing the global arena, joint, combined, and coalition military operations and the employment of air and space power in support of national strategy.

Said Rayburn, "This is great news—tangible recognition of the value of our nonresident studies. It is exactly the type of news we need in this time of increased operations tempo and decreased opportunity for additional schooling. I am pleased that University of Maryland University College recognizes the academic value of our program and accepts mastery of our courses as satisfactory completion of all but the core courses required for its master’s in management degree."

AWC graduates will transfer 15 credits from the college, then complete six more UMUC management courses and two end-of-program courses for a total of 39 credits to earn their MSM–Air and Space Strategic Studies degree. After completion, those who wish may pursue a UMUC Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree by taking only three more six-credit courses. The UMUC portion of the new program is available completely online, though AWC graduates in the national capital area who wish may take classes at sites throughout northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., or Maryland.

“It is gratifying to include Air War College’s graduates in a UMUC cadre of U.S. military students in 29 countries, including the United States,” said Allen. “Since 1949, we have been dedicated to serving the educational needs of our nation’s armed forces, and UMUC’s expertise in online education enables more military to benefit from having the credentials of a UMUC management degree.”

"This is a celebration of a tradition with us," said Allen. "As events today are showing, there has never been a greater need for an educated military and an enlightened leadership."

For more information about the new UMUC degree program for AWC graduates, visit the organizations’ Web sites www.umuc.edu/mil or www.au.af.mil.