Sharing the AUP Program of Study 2015 edition

Shipmates,

Last month I shared with you the news about our new website, and about the new course we’re charting for academics in the Coast Guard Auxiliary University Programs.  Today we’re publishing start-of-year updates to the AUP Program of Study that bring us closer to our goal of an academic program that is more flexible for students at different schools and in different timezones, putting students at the helm of their own educational experience in AUP.

http://www.cgauxedu.us/program-of-study

Many of the great elements the Program of Study offered in the past will remain, but we’ve made some key improvements.

The revamped course catalog provides clear course titles, descriptions, pass criteria, and a link to the course website so that everything you need is in the same place.  The minimum course requirements to graduate haven’t changed.  AUP Graduates will still complete all three 100-level general requirements (blue), their choice of one 200-level elective (orange), and their choice of one 300-level leadership capstone (green), as well as their choice of one operational qualification (purple).  The 2015 edition of the Program of Study makes it more straightforward to find what you need and get it done.

We’ve eliminated the minimum hours per class in favor of a single “minimum 50 hours of AUP contact hours / class time logged” requirement.  Our new model encourages students to take the single-session classes they need in order to make graduation requirements.  We want you to customize your own academic program in a way that supports your professional goals (in and out of the Coast Guard), matches the unique character of your school, and respects the great training many of you are already receiving in your flotilla and from nearby Coast Guard stations.  This simpler requirement gives you the flexibility to do so, rather than forcing you to check a bunch of boxes on your way to graduation.

Our academic forms aren’t on paper anymore.  You’ve met all the requirements for the AUP Senior qualification?  Great - there’s an online form to tell us so.  Same goes for those who are ready to qualify as an AUP Graduate.  You’ve attended a class outside of AUP, say at a skills weekend, DTRAIN, or nearby boat station?  Great - you can submit a Verification of Outside Class Time form on the AUP website.  We’ll get that time counted towards your graduation requirement.  You’ve completed a course and want it logged in D4H (our student information system)?  Submit a Help Desk ticket and tell us so.  

These are small changes, but taken together with our new website, our new course for AUP academics, and other efforts we have in the works to partner AUP units with active duty sponsors, create new opportunities for student internships and special projects, and improve our public affairs presence nationwide I see that AUP is on a good course to have many small improvements add up to a much improved program for our students, and for the Coast Guard.  We’re always looking for opportunities to improve, though, so keep your ideas coming.  Thank you for your service!

Respectfully,
Andrew Welch
Director, Strategic Planning