Coastline awarded as military-friendly school

Coastline Community College has been honored as the country’s top institution that supplies quality educational programs to the armed services.

The award is given each year by the Council of College and Military Educators; this year, the event was held Jan. 29 in Honolulu.

Ed McKenney, dean of Coastline’s military programs; Shawn Mann, manager of military program outreach and recruitment; and Joycelyn Groot, director of contract education, were all present to accept the award.

Coastline also was named one of the top 20 military-friendly schools in the United States by Military Advanced Education, a publication dedicated to U.S. servicemen and women stationed worldwide. This is the second year in a row that Coastline has been cited as a “top 20” school.

“Let me congratulate you and the entire staff at Coastline Community College for the inspired effort you put into making it easier for our men and women in uniform to advance their careers by enhancing their educations,” Publisher Glenn Berlin wrote in an announcement.

Thousands of servicemen and women stationed worldwide are taking classes at Coastline Community College through the college’s distance learning program. They complete their classes online or through other distance learning modes, which include independent study, PDA courses and CD-ROM courses.

The alternate students often acquire enough credits to complete a degree without ever setting foot on a Coastline campus.

Recently, Coastline launched a Military Spouses Program that enables military-dependent spouses to take online courses at a reduced tuition rate, with free textbooks and no application or registration fees.

“Military spouses require and deserve the same types of educational support and opportunities enjoyed by our service-members,” Mann said.

For more information, call (714) 546-7600 or visit coastline.edu.

— Candice Baker