JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) College of Allied Health Sciences (CAHS) enables Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard students to earn college credits in specific medical specialty training programs during their military enlistment. The Medical Education and Training Campus (METC) is a branch campus of CAHS.
METC technical training instructors are educators who support initial entry and prior service students attending skill-level awarding specialty training programs. These instructors must be appointed as CAHS faculty to comply with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) accreditation standards. The MSCHE is the USU’s regional accreditor and conveys the authority to award college credit and confer degrees.
The METC Instructor Certification process is an internally developed and administered instructor development program. The faculty appointment process entails review and collaboration between METC and USU CAHS leaders to ensure those who seek faculty appointments meet the university’s standards for academic appointment. Professionally qualified faculty members are critical to the university maintaining its regional accreditation status in good standing with the MSCHE which authorizes granting of Associate of Science Health Sciences and Bachelor of Science Health Sciences degrees to students who graduate from the METC training programs. Without CAHS appointed faculty members within a program, students could not be awarded college credits or degrees.
Currently, there are 116 METC leadership personnel and instructors appointed as USU CAHS faculty within 16 affiliated credit or degree granting programs. Initially, instructors complete the METC Instructor Certification program and then volunteer to become appointed faculty within their assigned affiliated programs. Then, through the faculty appointment process, these individuals are verified to possess applicable academic degrees, professional credentials, and experience requirements for appointment as faculty.
In addition to serving as faculty in METC skill-level specialty training programs, they also serve as faculty of record for METC instructors who participate in the Education and Training Administration and Leadership (ETAL) degree program. The ETAL degree program is available to enlisted instructors providing instruction in METC programs and is designed to enhance the efficacy of instruction, administration, and leadership within training programs. All qualified instructors assigned to a METC program are eligible to be nominated as faculty to support this program.
To begin the nomination and appointment process as USU CAHS Faculty, an instructor should make a request for appointment directly to his or her Program Director. If the Program Director concurs with the member’s request, they will contact a USU CAHS Faculty Support Specialist and nominate the member for appointment. Faculty Support Specialists will provide information and assistance from beginning to end of the appointment process.
Once appointed, faculty members can gain valuable knowledge and experience with higher education administration by participating in the college’s Curriculum Committee (CCC) meetings. All faculty are eligible to attend and engage in meetings with attendance by program’s faculty and leadership, as well as USU CAHS leadership. The CCC meetings are held to carry out the committee’s responsibility to design, manage, and evaluate coherent and coordinated curriculum which lead to student completion of undergraduate degrees.
Another unique experience available to faculty members is the opportunity to participate as one of the two Faculty Senator positions available to the CAHS in the USU Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate fulfills the faculty’s academic responsibility by development and expression of the views of the faculty with respect to educational policy and its implementation, scholarly activity, university service, and faculty welfare.
All appointed faculty are presented a certificate of appointment signed by the university’s president and they are added to the university’s official faculty rolls by the human resources department. The appointment affords a clear and present distinction that can be included on military and civilian resumes. It may prove beneficial to anyone considering part time employment (requires compliance with Services’ policies), as an adjunct faculty member with a college or university, or those who might seek to enter the teaching profession at any level after separation or retirement.
The first METC program became affiliated with the USU CAHS in 2017. Today, service members who complete the following programs are eligible to earn the ASHS degree: Preventive Medicine Technician, Medical Laboratory Technician, Histology Technician, Urology Technician, Neurodiagnostic Technologist, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Radiologic Technologist, Respiratory Therapy Technician, Cardiovascular Technician, Respiratory Care Practitioner, Ophthalmic Technician, and Pharmacy Technician. Those who complete the Nuclear Medicine Technologist program can earn the BSHS degree and those who complete the Hospital Corpsman Basic and Nutrition Science programs receive college credit hours.
The College of Allied Health Sciences is proud to work closely with administrators and faculty members at the Medical Education and Training Campus. Together we are elevating the formal educational opportunities and professionalism of the DOD’s enlisted medical forces in support of the readiness of America’s Warfighter, as well as the health and well-being of the military community.