“As military spouses, we understand the challenge of earning a degree or navigating the competitive job market while caring for your military family,” said Allison Perkins, Editor at SalutetoSpouses.com. “SalutetoSpouses.com is a community where military spouses can find support, information and resources tailored to their unique needs.”

The expansion of the site coincides with Military Spouse Appreciation Day, which is on Friday, May 6.

Salute to Spouses Scholarship

Bryant & Stratton College Online has a tradition of successfully serving the educational needs of military veterans, retirees, active duty personnel and their families. Sponsored by Bryant & Stratton College Online’s military relations department, SalutetoSpouses.com is the home of the college’s Salute to Spouses Scholarship, which awards $6,000 towards a Bryant & Stratton College Online degree to spouses of active duty military personnel. The expansion of the site builds on the success of the scholarship and increases the resources available to military spouses interested in earning their degree or building a sustainable career.

SalutetoSpouses.com will engage its user community on a variety of topics through forums and blogs. Registered community members will also be able to receive a monthly newsletter that keeps them apprised of new content that has been added to the site that month.

“We understand the commitment and sacrifices that military spouses make. We are proud to support them with the Salute to Spouses scholarship and now with SalutetoSpouses.com, which will help by providing critical information on career and education issues specific to their experience as a military spouse,” said Ed Dennis, Military Relations Manager at Bryant & Stratton College Online.

About Bryant & Stratton College

Established in 1854, Bryant & Stratton College is one of the nation’s pioneers in career education and is the premier provider of online associate’s degrees. For more than 155 years, the college has assisted students in acquiring the career skills necessary to succeed in the workplace. Currently, Bryant & Stratton College Online offers four online bachelor’s degree programs, eleven online associate’s degree programs and ten online certificate programs in a variety of fields, including business, criminal justice, financial services, healthcare, human resources and information technology. Some online programs are not yet available in all states. The college also offers flexible scheduling at its 17 campuses located in four states: New York, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Bryant & Stratton College is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). The MSCHE is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Bryant & Stratton College Online proudly supports U.S. troops and their families and is a member of the Service members Opportunities College (SOC) consortium. Bryant & Stratton College is also an approved institution for the training of U.S. veterans and their family in accordance with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The classes will be lead by Kim Dority, an experienced speaker who has presented at numerous career conferences using her perspective as a career coach, information specialist and founder of Dority & Associates, Inc, an online content development company.

Anyone looking for tips and tricks on how to get ahead in their career path can benefit from the three-part series, which emphasizes that students should be preparing for life after graduation long before donning the ceremonial cap and gown.

Coupled with the rough economy, today’s competitive job market necessitates that students plan for their career as early as high school. Even college graduates will have to prove their worth, no longer being able to flash a college degree and land their dream job.

Dority stressed this point, saying that although having a college degree is essential to developing a career, job-seekers must do more to stand out among the competition.

She said recent college graduates who have little experience have trouble promoting themselves and building upon their skills after graduation. But, with the help of networking and “building their professional brand,” job-seekers can distinguish themselves from other job applicants, she said.

Her webinars are set to explain exactly how to take these steps, breaking the process into three topics.

Dority’s first webinar for Bryant & Stratton College, entitled “Jumpstart Your Career,” will be a general introduction to the idea of starting to plan for career opportunities before graduation day. The second webinar, “Build Your Professional Brand” explains how students can display their experience, personal and professional strengths and interests to the career world, helping them to establish value further than the points listed on their printed resume.

The third and final webinar, “How To Build a Resilient Career,” points out that even after finding a post-graduation job, people must continue to plan for their future in order to have a true career. Dority advises that a resilient career comes by making wise and informed decisions, taking responsibility for those decisions and rolling with the punches when plans are taken in a different direction. Confidence is another key point stressed in this webinar.

Scott Traylor, Associate Campus Director for Online Education at Bryant & Stratton College, said he is excited the college is able to offer Dority’s knowledge free of charge, to anyone who is interested. He said the webinars are intended to get people thinking about how they can become actively pursue their future by positioning themselves for success before college graduation. And as employers receive hundreds of applications for a single job description, viewers of the webinars will ideally learn how to stand out in the crowd.

The webinars also include a free hand-out that is available for download at Bryant & Stratton College’s Web site.

For information about specific dates and times of the webinar series, visit www.bryantstratton.edu.

This ceremony will be the first time that a graduation has been hosted on Second Life.  The ceremony will include a procession, commencement speaker, and conferring of degrees to students that are dressed in caps and gowns.  The commencement address will be given by Second Life founder Phillip Rosedale. 

Bryant and Stratton started using Second Life five months ago.  The virtual world has allowed the school to hold open houses, student events, and even campus tours.  Classes are not held in Second Life, but the school is considering making guest lectures in Second Life.

The school got the idea for a virtual graduation as a way for online students scattered throughout the U.S. to gather together in one place without actually traveling to New York, Ohio, Wisconsin, or Virginia for the physical graduation.  The school expects at least 40 of the 133 online graduating students to attend the virtual ceremony. 

The school has prohibited anyone except for graduates, staff, and family members from attending the Second Life graduation.  This graduation on Second Life could prompt other online schools to come up with some type of virtual graduation so that students throughout the U.S. can attend graduation.  The school is considering the idea of guest lectures, and it will be interesting to see if they have virtual classes in the future.   It will be interesting to see if other online schools follow in Bryant & Stratton College's footsteps.