The Air Command and Staff College Online Master's Program

Academic Calendar for application and registration windows.

In April 2006, the Secretary of the Air Force and Air Force Chief of Staff authorized Air University to design, build and launch an online master's degree program. Launched in 2007, this program provides Air Force majors and civilian equivalents an educational opportunity to meet the needs of our service while also accommodating today's high operations tempo. The OLMP has a proven track record, garnering praise from students and instructors alike. Additionally, it has been reviewed and approved by both regional and joint accreditation teams.

In August 2009, the Air Force decided to leverage the success of the existing OLMP to offer more tailored professional education opportunities and expand those opportunities to mid-level captains under a new "concentration" construct. Within this construct, seven of the existing OLMP courses (21 credit hours) will become the core curriculum required of all students. For captains enrolled in the expanded program, other 12 credit-hour concentrations, which examine specific educational/professional areas in more depth, are being developed. The first new concentration to be implemented, the "leadership concentration," includes four leadership courses specifically designed to meet the developmental needs of captains.

In January 2011, based upon the MOA between Air University, Air Education and Training Command, and the USAF Weapons School, Air Combat Command, is specifically designed to award 12 Graduate Credit Hours of concentration credit for graduates of the 23-week Weapons Instructor Course (WIC) program graduating after January 2009.

 

The new leadership concentration is specifically designed to prepare captains for the leadership responsibilities they will face as they progress through their careers in the USAF. Eligibility -Military - Active Duty USAF O-3s who: 1) Have 6 years TAFCS or more, 2) Completed SOS, 3) Do not have a master's degree. Please note that civilians are not currently eligible for this program.

(Open to majors, major-selects and civilian equivalents)

Previously referred to as the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) OLMP, this concentration mirrors the ACSC resident program's learning outcomes through asynchronous, online interaction between faculty and students. The academic program consists of 11 eight-week courses (7 core courses, and 4 concentration courses) for a total of 33 semester hour's credit. Students graduating from the joint warfare concentration will receive intermediate level PME (non-resident) and JPME Phase 1 credit along with the master's degree.

NOTE: This is a separate program from ACSC's traditional distance learning, non-master's program (NMP - previously called the correspondence course), and not an addendum to it. Course credits will not be transferred from the NMP to the OLMP. Officers may elect to take whichever program meets their particular needs best, based on eligibility requirements.


JPME Credit - Graduates receive JPME Phase I credit. Phase I emphasizes the fundamentals of joint force organization, planning, and operations. It also serves as the foundation for follow-on study at the Phase II level.

IDE Credit - Graduates will earn Air Force Intermediate Developmental Education (IDE) credit upon successful completion of this program.

Accredited Master's Degree - Air University (AU) is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Thus, all graduates with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better earn an accredited Master's in Military Operational Art and Science degree (the same degree awarded to ACSC's resident students) and will receive a diploma.

Military (USAF) - O-4 selects and O-4s on active duty, non-extended active duty, Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard. Individuals with either a Master's Degree or who have completed IDE, to include ACSC, may apply. However, individuals who have completed both a Master's Degree and IDE are not eligible.

Prior to applying for the OLMP, you need to ensure your military records accurately reflect your current educational level. Refer to the Air Force Personnel Center Website, Education and Training link, to do so. You must confirm that the education level data accurately reflects all college degrees you have earned. If it does not, contact the Office of the Registrar/AFIT at 937-255-6234 and select option 6 to have this information updated.

You also need to be sure that you can log into the AF Portal, with your CAC.

Sister Services (Military): The OLMP Joint Warfare Concentration allows eligible US Navy, US Army, and US Marine O-4 or O-4 selects admission. There will be a limited number of applicants that will be accepted. If you are interested in applying for admission, please submit a student support ticket, by clickimg on “Request Support”and "Submit a Ticket." Fill out the Contact Info, choose "Prospective Student" under User Type, choose Air Command and Staff College under "Organization", Select the program you wish to pursue and finally select “Student Services” under ACSC Request Type.

 

PLEASE NOTE before submitting a ticket, Sister Service applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Applicants must have a regionally accredited Bachelor’s degree,
• Applicants must be currently serving in the US Armed Forces (active, guard, or reserve) in the grade of O-4 or selected for promotion to O-4,
• and
• Applicants must NOT have completed both a Master’s degree and Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) Phase I. (If you’ve completed one or the other, you can still apply.)
• 
  Civilian - Only USAF Federal Civil Service employees with at least 2 years civil service and a bachelor's degree, in the grade of GS-12/13 may apply.
  
  Scan and E-mail a completed AF Form 4059 to the AFPC/DPIF Leadership Development group box (can be found in the global) no later than the date identified in the current ACSC Nomination Call (contact your local civilian personnel office for this information).
• 
  Do not apply directly to ACSC. If selected for the program, you will be notified by AFPC/DPIFA with instructions for applying with the school. If you have any questions, please contact AFPC/DPIFA at DSN 665-2524 (210-565-2524) or contact your functional Career Field Team (CFT).
• 
  Civilian Program Quotas are approximately 150 Air Force civilians per year.
• 
  

(Open to eligible captains)

The leadership concentration is specifically designed to prepare captains for the leadership responsibilities they will face as they progress through their careers in the USAF. The academic program structure remains unchanged: 11 courses with 7 core courses, and 4 concentration courses for a total of 33 semester hour's credit. Students graduating from the leadership concentration will not receive IDE or Joint PME credit, but will receive a Master of Military Operational Art and Science degree.

Accredited Master's Degree - Air University (AU) is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Thus, all graduates with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better earn an accredited Master's in Military Operational Art and Science degree (the same degree awarded to ACSC's resident students) and will receive a diploma.

Military - Active Duty USAF O-3s who have Total Active Federal Commission Service of 6 or more years, completed SOS, and do not have a master's degree.

Captains will have an opportunity to apply for admission each eight-week term. Due to resource and programmatic constraints, space is limited and not all who apply may get selected. Eligible students can apply for admission through the AU portal (see below). Students will be notified within 7 days after the application window closes if they are selected. More information on the application process will be provided as it becomes available. Please check back for updates.

If you meet the eligibility criteria and wish to apply, follow the steps below. You also need to be sure that you can log into the AF Portal, either with a user ID and password or your CAC.

Civilian - At this time civilians are not eligible for this program.

 

(Open to eligible captains)

The operational warfare concentration, based upon the MOA between Air University, Air Education and Training Command, and the USAF Weapons School, Air Combat Command, is specifically designed to award 12 Graduate Credit Hours of concentration credit for graduates of the 23-week Weapons Instructor Course (WIC) program graduating after January 2009.

The academic program structure remains unchanged: 7 core courses (21 credit hours) and awarded credit (12 credit hours) for a total of 33 semester hour's credit. Students graduating from the operational warfare concentration will not receive IDE or Joint PME credit, but will receive a Master of Military Operational Art and Science degree.

Accredited Master's Degree - Air University (AU) is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Thus, all graduates with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better earn an accredited Master's in Military Operational Art and Science degree (the same degree awarded to ACSC's resident students) and will receive a diploma.

Military - Active Duty USAF O-3s who have Total Active Federal Commission Service of 6 or more years, completed SOS, do not have a master's degree, and graduated WIC after January 2009.
Captains will have an opportunity to apply for admission each eight-week term. Due to resource and programmatic constraints, space is limited and not all who apply may get selected. Eligible students can apply for admission through the AU portal (see below). Students will be notified within 7 days after the application window closes if they are selected. More information on the application process will be provided as it becomes available. Please check back for updates.

If you meet the eligibility criteria and wish to apply, follow the steps below. You also need to be sure that you can log into the AF Portal, either with a user ID and password or your CAC.

Civilian - At this time civilians are not eligible for this program.

 

• Log into the Air Force Portal (AFPortal).
• Once logged in, perform a search for either the "AU Portal" or "AUREPMPROD" items.
• Create a new account by clicking under the red bar.
• Select the "Distance Learning" link at the left side of the web page and then choose, "Online Master's Degree Program (OLMP)", then choose "Apply."
• Under "Step 1 - Select a Curriculum", select the desired concentration and the application form will appear.
• Step 2, click "Next" and fill out any required missing information and click "Save."
• Step 3, click "Submit Application."
• Shortly after submitting your application, you will receive an E-mail confirming receipt of your application

The majority of course material is available online at no charge to the student. However, some courses may require students to purchase books from public sources at their own expense. They are not available for purchase directly from AU.

Participants are required to own or have access to a computer with high-speed/broadband Internet capability, and possess at least an intermediate level of computing skills, defined as the ability to:

• Organize and manage files and folders in the operating system of choice
• Receive and submit electronic course materials
• Use a word-processing program effectively
• Use a spreadsheet program for grade book purposes effectively
• Send and receive e-mail (including attachments)
• Download and execute files from the Internet

Hardware/Platform	Apple Macintosh	Microsoft Windows
Operating System	MacOS X 10.5 or higher	XP	Vista
Browser	Safari 2 or Later	Internet Explorer 7	Internet Explorer 7
	Firefox 1.5 or later	Firefox 2.0 or later	Firefox 2.0
	Netscape 7.1 or later	Netscape 7.1 or later	Netscape 9
CPU Memory	512 MB of RAM	1 GB of RAM	2 GB of RAM
Java Runtime	http://developer.apple.com/java/	http://www.java.com/
Processor Speed/Type	800 MHz Power PC G4 processor or better	1 GHz Intel Pentium III/AMD Athlon processor, or equivalent/better
Monitor Resolution	1024 x 768
Internet Connection	Any high-speed connection (e.g. Cable Broadband or DSL)
Hard Disk Space	9 GB	20 GB
Free Hard Disk Space	3 GB	15 GB
Audio Card	24-bit sound card
Video Card	Virtual memory turned on and allocated to at least 128 MB	64 MB VRAM with True Color (24-bit or 32-bit)

Browser	Supported Desktop* Browser Versions
Chrome**	Version 36+
Edge**	Version 1+
Firefox	Version 31+
Internet Explorer	Version 9+ (Windows only)
Safari	Version 6+ (MacOS only)

* Mobile app versions of these browsers aren't support at this time, although users may have success using them.

 

** Google Chrome versions 42+ and Microsoft Edge do not support NPAPI-type plug-ins including Java plug-ins and many media browser plug-ins. Blackboard doesn't support these these browsers for use with the Virtual Classroom and Lightweight Chat tools, the multiple-file upload interface, or embedded media that require NPAPI plug-ins for viewing.

 

A handful of features in Blackboard Learn require particular additional software to be installed. Without these, the features themselves do not function. For this release of Learn, the following features have plugin requirements:

 

• Multiple File Uploads in Course Files and Content Collection requires the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) from Oracle enabled as a browser plugin. The single file upload tool does not have this requirement. The upload applet is signed by Blackboard and includes a timestamping authority that allows the applet to run even after the certificate has expired.
• The Virtual Classroom Tools in courses require the JRE from Oracle enabled as a browser plugin. The Virtual Classroom applet is signed by Blackboard and includes a timestamping authority that allows the applet to run even after the certificate has expired.
• The Meeting Room and Blackboard Collaborate synchronous communication features, available via Building Block, require download and installation of the Blackboard Collaborate Launcher application, but do not require the Java JRE browser plugin.
• The Record from Webcam feature of the Content Editor requires the Flash Player browser plugin from Adobe to successfully save the recordings to YouTube. Adobe Flash Player version 11 or 18 is the recommended version of the Adobe Flash Player plugin, but the YouTube service ultimately determines the version required for this plugin. For Google Chrome, the Record from Webcam feature is supported with the built-in Flash support, requiring no plug-in installation.

 

JRE versions 7 and 8 are the recommended versions for features that depend on it. JRE version 6 may work, but could result in unexpected behavior. Oracle has acknowledged some security issues with JRE version 6.

 

Plugin Links:

 

• Download link for JRE on Oracle's site.
• Windows auto-download .cab files for JRE on Oracle's site - scroll down to links for version 7.
• To learn more about security and JRE, see this Blackboard Security Advisory.
• Download link for Adobe Flash Player on Adobe's site.
• More information about the Blackboard applet timestamping authority on GeoTrust's site.