Friday, May 11, 2012
As one of the top military friendly colleges according to Military Advanced Education magazine, Allied American University prides itself in placing special emphasis on academic support for military spouses, including offering MyCAA (Military Spouse Advancement Accounts) and online associate and bachelor’s degrees
*. Military spouses, in our eyes, are pretty darn valuable. In contemplation of this fact, the Huffington Post recently referred to
military spouses as “heroes.” We wholly agree—except for a very small distinction: military spouses are more like
superheroes.
Yes, that’s right. Like Batman. Like Wonder Woman. Like The Hulk. You may not be able to shoot laser beams out of your eyes or casually balance an airplane on your finger, but you are “superheroic” nonetheless.
Here’s how:
- Dedication: Military spouses are some of the most dedicated individuals on the planet. Similar to Batman, whose persistence in ridding Gotham City of injustice is virtually unparalleled, military spouses dedicate themselves to their families, their counterparts serving in the military, and the military way of life as a whole.
- Multitasking: With his ability to fly and run “faster than a speeding bullet,” Superman is able to save an airplane from crashing on one side of the world and then almost immediately, on the other side of the globe, use his superhuman breath to blow out a fire at the Daily Planet. Military spouses are masters at multitasking in very much the same way. Well, just in a mortal way. One minute you could be feeding the kids dinner, and in the next you could be taking an online course with AAU. Multitasking geniuses, we say.
- Character: Not only does Wonder Woman have the capacity for superhuman strength and flight, she also operates with a very strong sense of empathy and character. She cares deeply about people; and with her Lasso of
Truth, values honesty in all that she does. The same is undoubtedly true of military spouses. Your ability to empathize is strengthened as you build relationships with other military spouses. Your sense of character is strengthened as you ingratiate yourself into the values of the military way of life.
- Independent: Military spouses, by their very nature, are independent. Even if, at times, you don’t want to be, independence is still a strong component of your day-to-day. The equivalent in the comic book world is Catwoman. She has a strong sense of self and knows what she wants. Just like military spouses. Sans the black leather.
- Resilient: At any given moment in the life of a military family, deployment is a possibility. And, with that said, so is relocation. For these reasons, among others, military spouses learn to be very resilient. You know, like Spiderman. Resiliency is one of Spiderman’s strongest attributes. He simply keeps coming back, no matter what is thrown at him: villains, relationships, shoes. Military spouses can relate. You face the change head-on, making the very best of the situation.
- Powerful: Lastly, military spouses are like The Hulk. No, you’re not green. Nor do you have violent and sudden bouts of anger. But you are powerful; strong; forces to be reckoned with. You hold down the fort, so to speak. You carry the world on your shoulders. And for that, your family and the military spouse community at large are eternally grateful. And so are we.
You are valued. Thank you.
Your faithful sidekick,
Allied American University
*If you’re interested in pursuing an online degree with AAU, call (888) 384-0849 or visit the Allied American University website to request a course info packet at no cost!Labels: military friendly colleges, MyCAA, online degrees, support for military spouses
Read more What Do Comic Book Superheroes Have in Common With Military Spouses? Well, Lots.
Friday, May 4, 2012
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| Patricia Drown, Ph.D. |
By PATRICIA DROWN, Ph.D.
Dean of Criminal Justice and General Studies, Allied American University
The criminal justice system is just that: it is a
system. In that system there are those who apprehend; those who try cases, sentence or exonerate; and those who are responsible for corrections and rehabilitation.
But the bigger picture is that the criminal justice system is part of the community ecosystem. How we write our laws, why we write our laws, and most importantly how we enforce our laws and punish offenders says a great deal about our society, more than all the paintings and literature and music combined. The way our criminal justice system is organized and operates tells us and the world what we value and hold sacred. Our laws speak volumes about those whom we as a community feel are vulnerable and how we intend on addressing those who are predators among us.
The sociologist Emile Durkheim says that the establishment of laws and consequences is a way of a society showing a united front, saying “this is who we are.” Those who are criminal justice system professionals are the eyes, and ears and hands of that community.
Don’t you want to be a part of that? Join us today in AAU's
criminal justice bachelor's or associate degree program and help to make your community the place you want it to be.
Patricia Drown, Ph.D. is the Dean of Criminal Justice and General Studies for Allied American University. She holds a Ph.D. in Human Services and Criminal Justice, as well as a master's degree in Counseling Psychology.Labels: criminal justice, criminal justice degree, criminal justice degree program
Read more A Criminal Justice Degree and the Sociology of Crime
Monday, April 30, 2012
By TIMOTHY J. PEREZ, M.S., MCSE, MCITP
Dean of Computer Information Systems, Allied American University
The economic climate that many organizations face has limited their ability to train their employees in the ever changing world of Information Technology (IT) and Computer Information Systems (CIS). A recent survey from CompTIA shows that those in the IT field need to take it upon themselves to ensure that they stay up to date.
The interesting thing to note is while this knowledge gap continues to grow, so does the demand for individuals with current IT and CIS skills. Perhaps you have thought about entering or renewing your skills in the area of CIS. Allied American University provides flexible IT and CIS
online degree and certificate programs specifically designed to meet the needs of the busy working adult.
Susan Hall’s
“Comp TIA: IT Skills Gap Widening” posting on the ITBusinessEdge web site provides a detailed overview of the need for strong IT skills. I hope you’ll agree that now is a great time to embark on an educational journey here at AAU to continue to build and renew your IT and CIS skills.
Timothy Perez is a seasoned technologist and a passionate educator. He has expertise in a wide variety of technical areas and holds various IT certifications from Microsoft, CompTIA and CIW. He is a doctoral candidate in Information Systems with Dakota State University, and holds an MS in Information Systems from National University and a BS in Computer Information Systems from Chapman University.
Labels: CIS, IT certifications, online computer information systems degree
Read more The Need for IT Skills
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
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| Bill Luton, PhD |
By BILL LUTON, PhD
Dean of Business and General Studies, Allied American University
No...really. Are you engaged? I’m not snooping into your personal life with that question, I’m snooping into your business/marketing life.
If you’re one of the thousands of people trying to start a small business (or you’re planning to do it soon), and you’re relying heavily on social media to get it off the ground, you must be engaged with the people you’re trying to reach.
It used to be enough to just communicate in a one-way, mass-media style, manner...
...but that’s not enough anymore!
You need to engage your followers and customers in conversation. This helps retain old customers, and it especially helps gaining new ones. No matter how much great information you “bestow” upon your waiting public, nothing pulls ‘em in like seeing a true conversation taking place.
Did you know that customer testimonials are much more effective than what you say about yourself?
Think about it... when you’re going to meet someone new, doesn’t the “testimonial” of your friends count a lot more than anything else? When you’re looking for a job, isn’t your potential new company interested in your references? (Side note: If you are the type to just write “References upon request” on your resume, chances are you’ve already sealed your fate! So include references!)
Here’s your charge for the next two weeks: Engage with people, in your personal life as well as your work life. Do you think your friends want to converse much with you if all you ever do is “post on their wall” and you never reply to anything they have to say?
Business is exactly the same way. You’re not creating a single relationship with hundreds of people, you’re creating hundreds of
relationships. So go out and...
Get engaged!
Bill
Luton, PhD, is the Dean of Business and General Studies for Allied
American University, an accredited online college. He holds a PhD in Organization and Management,
as well as an MBA in Management and Strategy. Labels: AAU, Bill Luton PhD, business administration, General Studies Degree
Read more Are You Engaged?
Friday, April 6, 2012
In the face of mounting debt and looming budget cuts, California State University system officials have announced plans to implement a college enrollment freeze for most CSU campuses next spring semester. In addition, all pending fall semester applicants will be waitlisted.
Needless to say, this is heartbreaking. This move will not only negatively impact new CSU students, but also those who had hoped to transfer to a CSU from community college. Some will be waitlisted and others will be denied admission altogether.
So, what do you do? College students and parents of college students everywhere are undoubtedly grappling with this very question. Because, at the end of the day, this is education; it is the foundation for future growth and achievement; and it is certainly not something to be taken lightly. Here at Allied American University, we don’t think so either. We wholeheartedly believe in providing genuinely budget-friendly options for students to start or finish out their degree.
Unlike our CSU counterparts, our tuition rates are very stable so students don’t have to worry about exorbitant and sudden increases year-to-year. Plus, we’re 100% online. So, in this world of ever-increasing gas prices, students won’t feel any pain at the pump.
As a privately held university, AAU won’t be affected by state-controlled budget cuts. And, as a brightly resonating consequence, students benefit from a consistent and stable pool of classes to pick from, as well as the certainty that they will get the class they want. At AAU, there are no waiting lists or subsequent delays—nothing to keep students from the education they wish to attain. Conversely, as an accredited online university, classes can be taken at the pace and the location that is most comfortable to the student, which makes it easily applicable to full-time working students and parents. AAU also has federal financial aid eligible program, in addition to affordable payment plans.
Choose from an array of online Certificate and Degree Concentration programs, as well as online Associate and Bachelor’s degrees. For an alternative to budget cuts, denials of admission, waitlists and enrollment freezes, check out the self-paced, 100% online, budget-friendly and student-focused Allied American University.
Labels: AAU, Accredited online university, federal financial aid, federal student aid
Read more AAU Helps Students Who Have Been Waitlisted and Frozen Out of Enrollments
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
There are many times in life that we seem to step up to the glass window with an onlooking “gatekeeper” looking impatiently as if to say... “Passport, please?”
Obviously, the most frequent place you’ll hear this is when you’re in line trying to get into a foreign country, or back into the United States. But I think there’s a little more to the metaphor, and that’s what I’d like you to think about this week.
In order to break this metaphor down and get some mileage out of it, we need to answer a few questions:
- What does the passport signify?
- Who is the person behind the glass?
- Where do I get this passport?
- What if I don’t have one?
You can answer these questions in rapid-fire. First, the passport signifies many things... first, your high school diploma, next, all the other info you need to get into college, beyond that, the quality work you have to do to get past the person behind the glass on college graduation day, and then finally, the document you receive that gets you across the stage! Your diploma.
Are there other “passports” out there that help you along the way? Absolutely, but studies show that there is absolutely nothing in this universe like an online college degree to earn you the best shot at getting the best job, for the best pay, and with the best upward mobility.
Who is the person behind the glass? Well, I’ll let you wander there on your own. Some of those people can’t wait to open the door and let you through after “stamping you APPROVED...” and some would like nothing better than to slam the door in your face.
The thing you need to remember is that if your “documentation” is in order, the door is going to swing open for you, and a new world of possibility will be unlocked.
Where do you get this passport? Well, from Allied American University’s Business School, I hope! My job is to make sure that the “ingredients” in your passport are among or exceeding the best in the world. That’s my commitment to you.
And as for the last question... what if you don’t have one? Well, we can get you on track to take care of that problem right away!
I, for one, can’t wait to get out my APPROVAL stamp and send you through with a smile. It will be hard and it will be challenging, but I know you can do it! See you soon?
Image by Jeff Sandquist
B
ill Luton, PhD, is the Dean of Business and General Studies for Allied American University. He hold a PhD in Organization and Management, as well as an MBA in Management and Strategy.
Labels: business administration, online college degree, online degree
Read more Online College Degree: A Passport?
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
There are so many metrics and figures used to determine whether or not an economy is healthy. Is there growth? Where is the growth? How does it affect me? When will it affect me?
If you’re asking some of these questions right now, you’re not alone!
The important thing to realize is that, if you want to stand out above the pack when we’re on the upswing, you must have your degree!
So keep on plugging away at your business administration degree courses.
The DOW has flirted with 13,000 over the past few days, and jobless claims are dropping. Does that mean jobs are growing on trees? Absolutely not! It just means confidence is coming back, business is picking up, and there are a few more opportunities now than there were in the recent past.
p>Think of yourself as a publicly-traded company on the stock market right now. When Americans finally have a little money to spend, which stocks will they choose to invest in?
If you want it to be you, you need to become “a good bet.” The best way to do that is to show the following:
- Growth
- Consistency
- Skill
- Potential
Call it Dr. Bill’s GCSP formula if you want, but better yet... don’t do that, because no one will know what you’re talking about. :-)
Better still, just embody these values, use continuing education for growth, your own hard work ethic to prove consistency, elbow grease and competency based on what you’ve learned in your program to show skill, and good old fashioned self-confidence, mixed in with all the other traits I just listed, to show potential.
Let me know how the search is working for you. If you’re going to be a stock, be a star, not a dud.
All the best,
Dr. Bill Luton
Dean of Business
bluton@allied.edu
Image by Images_of_Money
Bill Luton, PhD, is the Dean of Business and General Studies for Allied American University. He hold a PhD in Organization and Management, as well as an MBA in Management and Strategy.
Labels: business administration, business administration degree courses
Read more Business Administration: The Economy's Looking Better... Now What?
Thursday, February 23, 2012
What would you do if you could turn your business education upside down? In other words, are there things that should be done differently that you, from your perspective, can see and experience that give you a unique perspective? Guess what? You know there are many things you would change if we were to set up the ideal world of business education opportunity for you.
So since that’s true, why don’t you do something to help yourself... actually, why don’t you do two things:
- Write a list of things you would do that would turn your business education upside down (for the better).
- Here’s the tricky one... now you have to translate that list into the language of life and business outside these hallowed walls!
In other words, it’s easy to write a list of things someone else should do to make your business education better, but what can you do to impact it? And beyond that, what can you do to impact the business you may be already running? Is it struggling? Is it not quite open for business?
Here’s the bottom line: If we can use the same critical eye we use to judge things we mostly cannot control, imagine how it would be if we turned that critical eye on the things we can control!
I urge you to do that today.
- Make your list (and be brutal).
- Turn that list upside and apply it to yourself/business/dream.
- Make some directional changes as a result, and START TODAY!
Image by Abulic Monkey
Bill Luton, PhD, is the Dean of Business and General Studies for Allied American University. He hold a PhD in Organization and Management, as well as an MBA in Management and Strategy.
Labels: business administration, business education
Read more Business Education - Turning It Upside Down
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
- Malcolm ForbesAlthough I am excited about all of our degrees at Allied American University, there is one that has a special place in my academic heart:
General Studies. The Associate and Bachelor's degrees in General Studies exposes students to an ocean of knowledge and in a very real sense gives them the classic education that was always intended to be part of the college experience. In the General Studies department, we have some of America’s best minds ready to instruct you in the Arts, Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, as well as clear up the mysteries of Mathematics, English and Literature.
Now, do not feel left out if you are a Criminal Justice, Computer Information Systems or Business major! These same excellent instructors will be leading you through the general education requirements of your online college degree course.
Welcome to Learning! Welcome to Allied American University
Patricia Drown, PhD
Dean of Criminal Justice and General Studies
Image by pfv.
Patricia Drown, PhD is the Dean of Criminal Justice and General Studies for Allied American University. She holds a PhD in Human Services and Criminal Justice as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology.
Labels: College courses online, geneneral studies, online college courses, online college degree
Read more General Studies College Courses Online - The Classic Education Experience
There are many times in life that we seem to step up to the glass window with an onlooking “gatekeeper” looking impatiently as if to say... “Passport, please?”
Obviously, the most frequent place you’ll hear this is when you’re in line trying to get into a foreign country, or back into the United States. But I think there’s a little more to the metaphor, and that’s what I’d like you to think about this week.
In order to break this metaphor down and get some mileage out of it, we need to answer a few questions:
ill Luton, PhD, is the Dean of Business and General Studies for Allied American University. He hold a PhD in Organization and Management, as well as an MBA in Management and Strategy.
There are so many metrics and figures used to determine whether or not an economy is healthy. Is there growth? Where is the growth? How does it affect me? When will it affect me?
What would you do if you could turn your business education upside down? In other words, are there things that should be done differently that you, from your perspective, can see and experience that give you a unique perspective? 
Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
Patricia Drown, PhD is the Dean of Criminal Justice and General Studies for Allied American University. She holds a PhD in Human Services and Criminal Justice as well as a Masters in Counseling Psychology.
