cisa schools

When a parent first makes the decision to home-school their child, it may seem all too tempting to rely on other professionals to help educate their child. Current teachers, former teachers and the like are more than willing to educate your home-schooler—but for a big price. Such a price is not necessarily paid in monetary terms. Instead, the very thing that home-schooling parents do not want to happen does happen: parents take away the control from the public school to educate their child, only to hand the control right back over to a teacher that has been educated to teach a public school curriculum.

Let’s face it, in public schools children become nothing more than a number: a statistic that is counted toward the yearly funding a school receives. Children in public schools are herded into the classroom to learn and many sheep get lost among the rest. With not enough herders to bring the sheep back into the flock—such sheep, or children, remain forever lost as they flail around helplessly in the school system. Home-schooling parents are struggling against the grain, to bring their children and their education back into focus where it belongs. Therefore, to put someone else in charge of a home-schooled child’s education is a major and regressive step.

The act of handing over power to another individual can be extremely detrimental to the parent that wants to incorporate faith teaching into the teachings offered to the home-schooler. The teacher that is hired to educate the home-schooler may not have the same faith system or may not incorporate faith teaching in the lessons offered to the home-schooler at all. After all, that is what they are trained to do, to separate church and state. Thus, if the parent wants to ensure that their child is educated according to biblical scripture, it is far better if they remain at the helm of their child’s education at all times. The decision to home-school is a big one and once made, parents should be more than ready to take on full responsibility for their home-schooled child’s education.

In the end, to home-school a child is indeed an incredible responsibility; one that a home-schooling parent should not willingly pass off to another. A home-schooling parent should be a powerful force in their child’s life. In remaining close to their child, the home-schooler and the parent will bond in a way never imaginable. Moreover, faith can be incorporated into the teachings and the home-schooler can then learn to live their life the way that God truly intended.

<!– @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } –>

The Lally School of Management & Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has announced the launch of its new full time, one year MBA Program. Patterned after global MBA programs that are the norm outside the U.S., the new 51-credit hour program replaces the school’s previous 2-year MBA degree program. A new Pathfinder MBA Option for qualifying students is available for recent undergraduates, and replaces the previous Pathfinder MBA program.

The new MBA program was developed by a senior faculty committee comprised of Lally Dean David A. Gautschi, Dr. Jeffrey F. Durgee, Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Associate Professor of Marketing, Dr. Iftekhar Hasan, Cary L. Wellington Professor of Finance, and Dr. T. Ravichandran, Associate Professor of Information Systems and Operations Management.

The new program reflects the growing trend toward accelerated and specialized master’s programs in management education. The demand for intensive, shorter MBA programs, already growing, has only increased during the current economic downturn. According to a recent Wall Street Journal survey of accelerated MBA programs he Journal reports that only about 90 accredited schools worldwide offer accelerated MBA formats, with many of them only recently adding the option. The majority of current programs are outside the U.S., and international focus is a large draw for many students.

Lally’s introduction of the new program culminates a year of introducing new, focused Master’s programs. Building on its new, interdisciplinary MS programs in Technology Commercialization and Entrepreneurship (TC&E) and Financial Engineering and Risk Analytics (FERA) launched within the last year, Lally’s new intensive MBA program not only offers students an accelerated way to boost their careers, but also reflects the globalization of technology management and the global demand for MBA degrees.

The new program enables students to complete an MBA degree in as little as one year by streamlining elective requirements and offering coursework through the summer and semester intercession periods. All MBA Students take 10 required CORE Courses, a choice of 2 “Flex Core” courses, and 5 electives for a total of 51 credits. The new “Flex-Core” option allows students to explore a number of topics in-depth, and electives permit students to focus their training in one of five concentrations: Technological Entrepreneurship, Finance, Information Systems-Operations Management, Marketing-New Product Development, and Global Enterprise Management. Another new feature to the program is the Community Service Practicum course, where MBA students work in teams with faculty advisors to help local small organizations and promote regional economic development.

The accelerated program will continue to teach Lally’s signature integrated MBA curriculum, which emphasizes the connections between functional business areas, preparing students for real world situations where they will work on teams across business functions such as finance, operations, research & development and marketing.

MBA students can choose from four different program options, ranging from 12 to 24 months, and a wide variety of curricular options to build a customized degree program. For those looking for accelerated training, with a minimum disruption of their career path and maximum value, the 12 month option is the most intensive and shortest degree program. For students who want to gain more work experience or to change careers, internship and specialization modules can be added to create an MBA tailored for each student’s needs and career goals. Customized programs can be completed within 17 to 24 months.

About the Lally School of Management & Technology

The Lally School of Management & Technology was founded in 1963 as an integral part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, America’s oldest technological university. Building on Rensselaer’s world-class facilities and leadership in science and engineering, Lally is dedicated to advancing business through innovation. Lally offers graduate, doctoral and undergraduate degree programs in management, and an executive MBA program. Lally’s programs focus on the strategic management of technology and creating value through innovation and entrepreneurship. Located in New York’s Tech Valley, Lally offers a growing portfolio of collaborative programs with enterprises and academic institutions in the Indian sub-continent, China, Europe, and the Middle East.

The U.S. Army has announced that it will provide a new financial aid option for those interested in attending graduate school after they have obtained a bachelors degree in a healthcare-focused field, such as psychology.

The U.S. Army Medical Department will begin offering the F. Edward Hebert Armed Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) for students pursuing higher education in medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, psychiatric nursing, optometry or psychology.

Online masters programs in psychology may provide ample preparation for a demanding career with the army, which is required of program graduates after they complete their degree programs.

Recipients of the scholarship will have their tuition costs – including books, equipment and most academic fees – covered. HPSP participants will also be eligible for a $20,000 sign-on bonus.

Throughout the students’ two-, three- or four-year course of study, the army will provide winners with a monthly stipend of $1,992 to ensure they are focused on being full-time students rather than taking part-time jobs to cover living costs.

In return, scholarship recipients will be obligated to army service, which will commence during school breaks. Students will be paid an officer’s salary during vacation times, when they will train to be part of the army’s health care team.

After graduation, HPSP awardees will be required to perform active duty service and enter the army at the rank of captain. Students commit to serve for a minimum of one year for every year they received the scholarship.

The new captains will be provided with a monthly allowance for food and lodging and have the opportunity to earn promotions and consequent salary increases. They may also strive for residency and fellowship programs, which require an extended service obligation.

HPSP participants will also receive the full benefits of active duty officers, including continuing education, inexpensive or free medical and dental care, housing or a housing allowance, travel opportunities, retirement benefits and savings plans, low-cost life insurance as well as vacation time.

Colonel Rafael Montagno, commander of the army’s Medical Recruiting Brigade, said the program is intended to “[help] finance the education and training for…medical professionals” and preventing the “significant debt” that comes with a masters program, such as an online psychology degree.

Such opportunities may also address shortages of health care professionals nationwide, such as the potential nursing shortage in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire that could leave hospitals with fewer nurses than they need within ten years, the Boston Herald reported.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens with a baccalaureate degree, be accepted into an accredited university or online masters degree program in a specialty such as psychology, maintain full-time status throughout the program and qualify to be a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Reserve.