MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (04/07/2006) -- Marines and Sailors ready to separate from the Marine Corps or looking to enhance their current careers can enroll in the Military Academic Skills Program to refresh their school fundamentals and to ready themselves for future challenges.

The MASP course, sponsored by Copper Mountain College aboard the Combat Center at no cost to service members, is a four-week class designed as a basic skills refresher to prepare Marines for college-level studies, said Dr. Jim Arneson, director of base programs for the college.

“Many of our students are near the end of their enlistments and are preparing to leave active duty,” said Arneson. “Others do it because they are career Marines who are going to laterally move into another job field. Either way, it brings them up to a high school graduate level of study.”

The MASP class covers three basic disciplines: reading, writing and mathematics. Students attend both morning and evening courses unless they are already proficient with either their math or English skills.

Because the course is through Copper Mountain College, it is also open to spouses and civilians who qualify with the Test of Adult Basic Education, said Arneson.

Marines planning to laterally move into another military occupational specialty sometimes don’t have a high enough general technical score on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery to qualify for the job they would like.

This course may be the answer they are looking for, said Gunnery Sgt. Patrick E. Whitaker, base career planner.

“A lot of Marines just are not aware of this class,” he said. “But this program definitely helps. The Marines who take advantage of this really seem to do well. Marines with a low ASVAB score and want to lat move, I tell them to go and take this class because it definitely works.

“I once sent a Marine there with a GT score of 92,” Whitaker continued. “He walked out of that class with a 128. All he did was take it seriously. It’s a great program.”

Marines who enroll in the class to better prepare themselves for college also say it has helped them improve their skills and study habits.

“I came here because I wanted to sharpen my skills before I hit the civilian world, just like most of the other Marines,” said Staff Sgt. Francisco Urena, Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Tank Battalion, who is acting as a class leader among the 23 other students. “I’m heading to college and after being away from school for eight years, my skills are a little rusty.

“Just after being here one week so many things have come back to me that I’m amazed at how easy it is to pick it back up,” continued Urena, a 25-year-old Lawrence, Mass., native, who plans to return to Massachusetts to attend school. “Before we started, everyone took the TABE test to see where we were. We retested and almost everyone has seen big improvements.”

The enrollment process is relatively simple, said Arneson. Applicants need only fill out the MASP contract form and have it signed by their supervisor and officer in charge and return it to the Copper Mountain College office. They will then take the TABE test to determine their placement and meet with Arneson to be assigned to a class.

Once class begins, a student is only allowed two absences from both the morning and afternoon courses.

“Students are only allowed two absences and on the third absence, they are dropped from the class,” said Arneson. “Also, when they are absent, we have to inform their units.”

For Anita Williams, an adjutant professor at Copper Mountain College and a MASP mathematics instructor, her experience has been positive as she helps Marines and Sailors get back into the classroom.

“I love teaching Marines, and I get to have fun with them here,” said Williams, a Marine spouse and Rocky Mountain, N.C., native. “They learn that learning can be fun, even those who don’t like math.

“Here, they are in teams and rely on each other,” she continued. “Marines do that well. In college, the professor will not always be available and they will most likely have to rely on their fellow classmates for help.”

Williams has a no-calculator policy in her class and said she enjoys watching her students prove to themselves what they can accomplish.

“This is simply a great course that gives them the opportunity to succeed,” she said.

Ellie