Proposal to Link the University of Akron to the National Guard Network

PROPOSAL TO LINK THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON TO THE NATIONAL GUARD NETWORK (GUARDNET XXI) FOR THE PURPOSES

OF LOCATING DISTANCE LEARNING ROOMS

ON OHIO COLLEGE CAMPUSES AND THE OFFERING OF COURSE

AND PROGRAM CONTENT TO THE GUARD AND OTHER SERVICES

AND CIVILIANS NATIONWIDE: A CONCENTRATION IN OHIO

Steven C. Myers

The Office of the Associate Vice President for Instructional Technology

and Distance Education

February 20, 2000

Version 1.0

Project page http://www.uakron.edu/virtual

Highlights

·  B.S. Emergency Management degree is of interest to Booz, Allen, and Hamilton, curriculum sub-contractors for the NGB

·  Col. Richard, Dreiman, DLPOC, Ohio NG and LTC Greg Hoon, ESO Ohio NG, will visit UA on March 8.

Introduction

This proposal will set out the outline and organization for putting together a collaboration between the Ohio National Guard and The University of Akron on the basis of discussions conducted over the last year. In particular, it will link The University of Akron to and through GuardNet XXI for purposes of delivering our course content and serving the citizen soldiers of the Ohio National Guard and other civilians in the areas of the GuardNet XXI room locations. In addition, since the Guard in Ohio has only deployed one distance learning room and has scheduled two additional rooms, the collaboration between The University of Akron and the National Guard may have the benefit of determining the locations of all of the distance learning rooms to be located within the State of Ohio including at least one DL room on the campus of The University of Akron. A goal of the National Guard is that no citizen soldier will be further away than 50 miles from a technology classroom. This collaboration will create a win-win situation for the Ohio National Guard by helping locate their facilities and provide for a shared use which is provided for under Congressional mandate. The shared use of the National guard facility is on a cost-recovery basis and the legislation expects that the National Guard, who has need for the equipment primarily on the weekends, will share with communities and educational institutions throughout the week as available.

This proposal will explain how this relationship can take place. It depends on the consultant, Dr. Mike Abbiatti, Associate Commissioner for Information and Learning Technology of the Louisiana Board of Regents and Lt. Colonel in the Louisiana National Guard (Ret.). Mike Abbiatti has put together the nation’s most unique and premiere relationship between the Louisiana National Guard and the Louisiana Board of Regents and is well known in the National Guard educational arena. He was a speaker at the Knoxville conference and has agreed to assist us in an effort to fully participate in the guard’s voluntary education program. In particular, his recommendation is that President Luis Proenza of The University of Akron and The Adjutant General, Major General John H. Smith, meet and agree that this collaboration is of importance to both institutions.

Before this meeting takes place, a series of events need to occur and a series of questions need to be answered. I had the benefit of working with Mike Abbiatti at the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (NLII) Conference in New Orleans on Jan. 21, 2000, and Dr. Abbiatti has outlined a process for us to follow.

Before we meet The Adjutant General (TAG), it is imperative that the TAG be briefed by the CEO of the National Guard, Maureen Lischke, who has agreed orally to make sure that the Ohio TAG is briefed before we make this approach. The essence of her brief is that shared use with higher education is a concept supported and encouraged by the National Guard Bureau, NGB. Also, before we meet with the TAG there are certain staff officers that will need to be approached by individuals from The University of Akron. This will be detailed below. The President of The University of Akron will need to be briefed before he meets with the TAG. The focus of his briefing will be the result of answers to the questions posed in the outline below. In particular, Mike Abbiatti will work with us in order to make certain that the process followed is flawless and the results with the maximum opportunity for The University of Akron and the Ohio National Guard. Mike proposes some day in late March or early April to be on campus to meet with all of the various constituency groups on campus including the President, and then on the day following to accompany the President to his meeting with the TAG and to be present at that meeting or to be on hand for questions that may arise.

Timeline

1. Write a fact sheet

·  Answer to all the questions posed below

·  Include all background material available

1. Need copies of briefing minutes from the National Guard Bureau CIO once that briefing has taken place.

·  We need to know that the TAG has been briefed by Maureen Lischke, the CIO from the NGB in Washington.

·  We need to know that President Proenza has been briefed and we should have the CIO/TAG briefing materials before that should occur

1. Have Mike Abbiatti on campus to meet with our administration and other support people within the institution. (Day one of his two day visit). The support groups will include technical, curricular and student services personnel.
2. Have the TAG, the University President and Mike Abbiatti meet together in Columbus

·  Day two of Mike Abbiatti’s two day visit

·  This will be a 30-minute meeting. The goal of which is the President and the TAG agreeing to the points of the proposed points in the decision brief.

·  First, there will be a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation which should be presented by the President. This must be a military-style “decision brief.” We should use the local PMS (Professor of Military Science), LTC Tim Gorrell, to help structure and write the decision brief. LTC Gorrell has agreed to this.

·  Second, there will be 15-minutes for discussion

1. On the same day that the TAG, the President and Mike Abbiatti plan to meet, we should set up a meeting with the POMO (Plans, Operation and Training Officer), the IMO (Information Management Officer), and the DLPOC (Distance Learning Point of Contact).

·  Set up a meeting with the POMO, DLPOC and IMO for a tour their facilities.

·  Call the General’s Chief of Staff to set up this meeting. This Chief of Staff will likely be of the rank of Colonel.

·  Should request a one-hour tour

·  Starts with a military-style inbrief of 10 minutes.

·  Followed by a 40- minute tour

·  Followed by a 10-minute out brief

·  Goal is to walk out with a schedule of how to implement the plan

1. Critically important is that time cannot be allowed to pass once the TAG has agreed. We must be prepared to move rapidly.

·  A technical meeting should be set up between the IMO and the technical support staff at The University of Akron. This should occur within one week of the meeting with the TAG.

·  There should be a prior brief for all of our techs who will be working in any way on GuardNet XXI. Mike Abbiatti has agreed to meet with these when he is on campus.

·  Copies of presentations on the National Guard, such as Bob James’ NGIforum presentation, Mike Abbiatti’s on the LA experience, and Lt. Col. Veemers’s NGIforum presentation should be made available to the technical support group. Bob James is the technical support director at EDS. EDS has the contract for the technical support of GuardNet XXI. [Each of these will be on the project website: http://www.uakron.edu/virtual/ngb.

·  The whole network topology should be available for this meeting—including the entire military not just the National Guard.

·  The technology employed is still H.320 and H.321.

·  There must be a curriculum meeting scheduled within a couple of weeks of the TAG approval.

·  This should be addressed by our curriculum specialists and the ESO.

·  ESO stands for Educational Service Officer. The ESO reports to the POMO. LTC Greg Hoon is the ESO for the Ohio NG.

·  Must begin a needs assessment.

·  We must learn how the ESO’s work.

·  We must create a dialogue between us and the military.

·  We must know whether they have talked to anyone in higher education before and what experience they with other schools.

·  We must know what is the current relationship between The University of Akron and the National Guard Bureau with respect to National Guard students who may already be enrolled in The University of Akron.

·  We should know how many people are enrolled with VA benefits

·  We should know how our Veterans Affairs Office deals with Article 32 and other financial aid relationships with the military.

·  Mike Abbiatti has agreed to meet with our curriculum specialist and student affairs staff to talk about these issues the day he is on campus.

1. Information needed from the TAG Chief of Staff

·  Who is the POMO and ESOs. [LTC Greg Hoon is ESO]

·  Where are their current facilities? [Columbus]

·  What are the plans for future rooms? [2 planned,one at Akron, Canton ANGB]

·  Can we locate or relocate those rooms? [yes according to DLPOC]

·  Find out who the DLPOC is (distance learning point of contact)? [Col.Richard Dreiman]

·  All distance learning rooms cost between $45,000 to $176,000.

Questions and Answers and Suggestions

·  The National Guard website is DTT.NGB.ARMY.MIL. We should be well aware of what is on this website. [This appears to be behind a firewall].

·  We must be ready to deliver full academic programs both in-state and out-of-state. [Booz, Allen and Hamilton have an interest in our BS in emergency management degree. Richard F. Koester, DTTP-Northeast Regional Manager, Booz-Allen & Hamilton Inc. also has indicated that no other college or University is offering a degree program nationwide.]

·  We should seek to become part of the National Guard Bureau’s plan for distance learning in Ohio.

·  We can offer training for their personnel.

·  We can contract and manage the facilities as they are installed. This would include both scheduling and proctoring. The National Guard has a need for these rooms to be supported and would likely be willing to write those contracts.

·  We need to emphasize that higher education wants to partner with the National Guard.

·  We need to have a needs assessment done from not only the point of view of The University of Akron, but from the point of view of the National Guard Bureau.

·  Where are the people that need training and education?

·  What do they need?

·  We need to find out for what the TAG will be using the network? What is the TAG’s plan?

·  We need to ask what is the shared-use plan of the Ohio National Guard Bureau. We should be prepared for them to not know. If they do not know or have not prepared a shared-use plan, this is in our advantage. The terminology used and understood is “shared-use”. Shared-use requires cost recovery and we can help set the fees once the TAG has given his permission for the collaboration to take place.

·  Cost recovery or partial cost recovery .

·  We should see if the National Guard can buy in on the Department of Administrative Services’ contract. We believe that they can. If so, we are probably closely tied to the State already. If not, making use of this, we might be able to make them aware of it. If they can not they are locked in to the EDS rates for connectivity.

·  Making a contract with the National Guard to be the planner for the National Guard Bureau for shared used for other agencies. This is something the National Guard Bureau has to do. Is something that they would willingly contract out. The idea would be that any agency who wants to use the rooms of the National Guard would apply to The University of Akron under the National Guard contract for scheduling and cost recovery.

·  The goal of the National Guard is that there will be a room within 50 miles of every citizen soldier in the state. If we move quickly, we can influence the locations of these National Guard Bureau rooms and they could be located on two-year college campuses or other desirable outlets for The University of Akron’s distance learning program. For example, a room at Shawnee State would help us expand our offerings there. Also, once approved nationally (such as the room at akron/canton ANGB) it can be moved by local TAG approval within 50 miles and the University of Akron is within that radius.

·  Among our curriculum offerings is emergency management bachelor of science degree. An offering that we have already sent to Booz Allen in Hamilton the curriculum consultants for the National Guard. The National Guard is closely tied to this type of degree and by The University of Akron providing this degree for the National Guard’s needs, this may be of great benefit to us in lowering the cost recovery, again, as a contract.

·  Given the number of contracts that we could enter into with the National Guard we can defer, in part, or in total the per hour use fee for shared-use that the National Guard will need to charge everyone else. This would make the economics of The University of Akron using the facility all the better.