Reimbursable tech certification hits Fallon with Vincennes University

A Vincennes University (VU) education program has opened up more learning opportunities in Fallon with a focus on affordability, efficiency and job skills.

Encompassing civilians, VU’s Military Education Program has a new site in the Churchill County Library Annex on Maine Street as well as on Naval Air Station Fallon.

VU’s Western Regional Director Glenn Karrmann and Marketing Outreach Manager Jodi Barnett said their focus has been to assist the community education-wise with its military presence and growing technology bubble.

“How can we prepare the people of Fallon and surrounding communities to best take advantage of the opportunities that are about to come upon them,” Karrmann said was a question asked as the university, base and county came together. “Maybe it’s logistics. Maybe it’s running a warehouse for Panasonic. Maybe it’s forklift operators.”

The university and the library are currently offering the course Information Technology Gateway Training, a 40-hour class aimed at certifying students in technology security. The CompTIA (Computing Technology Industry Association) security course plus the exam will certify the student to apply their knowledge for an operation’s technology risk mitigation.

Barnett said just a few benefits of the certification are the student is able to identify risk, participate in risk mitigation activities as well as provide infrastructure, application, information and operational security.

Students who successfully complete the course are also able to apply security control to maintain confidentiality yet integrate. Additionally, they can pinpoint appropriate technologies and products, troubleshoot security events and incidents as well as operate with awareness of applicable policies, laws and regulations.

“You can get Microsoft-certified in Security Plus and get a very good-paying job — whether it’s on base or out in town — and it didn’t cost you a dime by the end,” Karrmann said.

The $1,000 tuition is reimbursable upon successful coursework completion; exam reimbursement is as well after passing the certification test. Tuition includes the on-site instructor, course materials, lab fees and test vouchers. It’s recommended students complete A+ and Network+ classes prior to this course.

“This course in this area is typically around $1,500-1,700 for the same thing,” Karrmann said. “We come out even with this; this is just a community service and to say, hey, we’re in the neighborhood.”

Karrmann and Barnett said the university’s offerings have opened doors to get that interview even if new to or heading back into the workforce. They added businesses could come to them too, seeking a boost in education and moral. For example an accounting firm could request a one-hour lunch course and over the course of a year have employees earn their accounting associate degree.

Degrees offered at Naval Air Station Fallon include General Studies, Business Administration/Business Management, Homeland Security & Public Safety (Law Enforcement Concentration) and Supply Chain Logistics as well as numerous online courses with flexible meeting times.

Barnett said tuition rates are well within the U.S. Department of Defense tuition guidelines. (Textbooks are loaned free of charge for on-site classes.) The university also accepts the GI Bill, the MyCAA program for military spouses, financial aid and self-pay. Also military experience may yield college credits, and CLEP/DANTES tests afford credit.

Different military schools — as well as police academy — even boot camp, rank indoctrination classes and rate/MOS training can also fill in the gaps toward a degree.

“It’s much more efficient,” Karrmann said.

Barnett added it eliminates the “basketweaving 101” type of elective courses. She also said the course packets created for individual students are extremely flexible — her team understands usually first-hand how a military schedule works, from duty days to deployments.

“We can actually go to you and start on any Tuesday and run for eight weeks meeting the necessary contact hours,” she said. “We get it … I’m gonna sit with your kid while you take your final.”

Started in 1801, VU is Indiana’s first college and founded by someone who would later become president of the Unites States; William Henry Harrison, the ninth U.S. president, founded VU while serving as governor of the Indiana Territory.

The brick-and-mortar public institution in Vincennes, Ind., expanded in 1986 to include a military outreach program. It has provided programs for over 75,000 active duty and reserve/guard members as well as military dependents both on and off military installations nationwide, even aboard Coast Guard cutters. The university has 38 sites in 15 states and offers 200 associate and bachelors degrees as well as certification programs.

Contact Churchill County Library Director Carol Lloyd (775-423-3932 extension 6; celloyd@clan.lib.nv.us) or NAS Fallon Site Director Lisa Slaymaker (775-423-3932; lslaymaker@vinu.edu) for more information including specific tuition fees and the next registration/course periods.