Michael Parks was packing for basic training for the United States Air Force Reserves recently when he received the good news: His core courses at Georgia Perimeter College would count toward a community college degree in the Air Force. The future mechanical engineer said he hopes other airmen take advantage of the opportunity to learn from outstanding faculty at GPC while serving their country.

Georgia Perimeter College has formed a joint venture with the Community College of the Air Force to offer core curriculum online classes to airmen via the General Education Mobile program. 

GPC will offer online courses meeting the general education degree completion requirements in the areas of oral communication, written communication, mathematics, social science and humanities. The agreement enables CCAF students to complete the 15-hour general education course requirement for the Associate of Applied Science degree, said Mark Eister, GPC’s director of military outreach. 

“Airmen simply sign up for their general education requirements in a single block of courses from GPC, providing greater educational continuity and faster completion of an associate degree,” Eister said.  “Through GEM, students will take five CCAF courses online with GPC, providing anytime, anywhere availability.”

The opportunity to take online courses while stationed anywhere in the world will help many earn their degrees, said Parks, a GPC Clarkston student.  “It’s a great idea because you can work toward your degree and reach your goal of getting an education while serving,” he said. “Whether you are on campus or far away, GPC is meeting students where they are.”

GPC has a Military Outreach Center staffed by military veterans. The center offers an extensive support network for distance learners, including academic advising, tutoring and technical support and assistance, Eister said. “Our online instructors have successfully completed comprehensive training designed to teach them how to deliver quality instruction via the Internet while also providing one-on-one support and guidance,” he said.

GPC serves one of the largest military populations of any institution in the University System of Georgia–more than 700 current military members, veterans, families and dependents, Eister said. Georgia Perimeter has been named to the 2012 and 2013 “G.I. Jobs” Military Friendly Schools list.

 “We want service members to know that they have a home at GPC; we will do our best to make the transition to college as smooth as possible,” Eister said.

For more information, visit http://depts.gpc.edu/militaryoutreach/ccaf.htm.