ACES provides educational assistance worldwide to benefit Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve soldiers, family members, government employees, and retirees. The mission is to improve the combat readiness of the Total Army by planning, resourcing, and implementing educational programs and services to support professional and personal development. ACES vigorously promotes lifelong learning opportunities to sharpen the competitive edge of the Army by serving as leaders in providing and managing quality self-development programs and services.
A continuum of educational opportunities is offered at both Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield. The Army Education Center is located at Building 100 (FS) and Building 1290 (H). The contact numbers are 767-8331 (FS) and 352-6130 (H).
COUNSELING
Army Education Counselors are available to provide guidance and monitor progress in a variety of areas. Some of these areas include: military and civilian goal setting, educational requirements, educational instruction, information on types of course delivery, funding options, applications and evaluations of credit, and developing a plan of action. From high school completion to doctoral level guidance, an ACES education counselor will assist you in meeting prerequisites and help you find the most economical school with a quality education. Counselors can also discuss veteran’s education benefits and other types of financial aid.
MULTI-USE LEARNING CENTER
Multi-use Learning Center/Army Learning Center is a technology-based location providing necessary training, education, and support materials for soldiers to develop/sustain job-related and leadership skills. Programs are designed to meet unit and individual needs. Academic and Training facilitators are available to assist with a variety of military and academic education services. The Center was designed for quick computer reference and on-line study and a number of programs can be accessed. Some of these include Army e-Leaning (SkillPort), Army Institute for Professional Development (used to access Army Correspondence courses), Reimer Digital Library, CD’s, electronic media publications, regulations in paper format, Credentialing Opportunities On-Line (Certification and Licensing), Army Degree Builders (Degrees to match MOS’s), Army Personnel Testing, and many others.
Complete your above listed computer training at our 60-station location. Operating hours are set for your convenience, including day and evening hours seven days a week. Regarding e-Learning, all Army Civilian employees, Active Duty Soldiers, National Guardsmen, and Army Reservists have access to over 1,500 information technology (IT), business, leadership, and personal development courses online provided by SkillPort. A few of the features include state of the art-courses, online subject-matter experts, online meeting rooms, chat rooms, and a large technical library of articles.
SOLDIER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
Programs are available to provide academic instruction in job-related skills. These programs support readiness and training and are available to soldiers at no cost. Functional Academic Skills Training (FAST) provides instruction in Math, English and Reading to enhance job-related skills, school prerequisites, academic competencies needed for job proficiency, and preparation for advanced training. Other areas include high school completion, English as a Second Language, mission-related language, and MOS improvement training.
LEADER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
These courses provide education opportunities for soldiers so they may enhance their leadership abilities using technology-based, critical thinking, and decision-making skills required to fully transform the Army. They provide opportunities for soldiers to undertake self-development activities that lead to certification, licensure, or degrees. All programs address SKA’s identified in FM 22-100 that support professional development.
POST-SECONDARY PROGRAMS
Post secondary programs are academic, technical, and occupational courses of study leading to a credential. These include NCO LEAD and SOCAD-2 and SOCAD-4 (associate and bachelor degrees). Courses that are part of these programs will be arranged sequentially to allow timely completion of the entire program while you are at Ft. Stewart or allow you to finish by distance learning when you leave. Programs are offered on post that meet the needs of the military population, as shown from a needs assessment conducted by the Education Services Officer. Programs must be from schools that are members of the Service members Opportunity Colleges degree program for the Army (SOCAD) colleges. These colleges work in tandem to form worldwide networks in which one college can accept credits from all other members. This guarantees that Army students and their adult family members can continue toward completion of their degrees even though the Army may transfer them several times. SOCAD Army Career Degrees are associate and bachelor degrees that are directly related to Soldiers’ military occupational specialties (MOSs), provided by civilian institutions that award maximum credit for related military training and occupational work experience, and provide the distance learning course options to fill any remaining knowledge gaps toward requirements. Civilians can also get credit for their previous work experience, national testing programs, industry/occupational certification and licensure exams, as well as distance learning from other accredited schools. By retaining the SOCAD agreement issued by the school, a soldier or family member can complete his or her degree requirements after leaving Ft. Stewart or Hunter.
On-post schools include Central Texas College (CTC), Columbia College (CC), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ER), Savannah Technical College (ST), and Webster University (WU). These schools do not require the ACT, SAT, or GRE. However, math and English placement tests may be required for specific subjects. Non-affiliated civilians interested in attending a college program on-post are welcome.
WORKFORCE TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Training and development opportunities for the Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield workforce are managed by the Installation Training & Development Specialist located in the Army Education Center, Bldg 100. The goal of workforce training and development is to provide a technically competent, high-performance workforce to support current and future missions.
A wide variety of programs and services are available to assist managers, supervisors, and employees with all aspects of training and development of civilian and military members of the workforce. Advice and assistance with course and program development, planning, and evaluation are provided. Career counseling tools and resources are available to both employees and supervisors.
Training and educational opportunities abound through a host of sources and delivery methods. Course catalogs and schedules may be accessed for training and development needs that span the full spectrum of skills, including: leadership, supervisory, legal, medical, engineering, administrative, analysis, specialty, technical, clerical, trades and crafts, as well as basic and remedial skills development. A variety of financial programs are also available to assist with meeting both personal and organizational learning objectives.
