Referrals Help One Student "Share the Joy"

Brett Sturgeon is the reigning champion of referrals. Not content to merely refer one co-worker to the school and collect his reward (a free credit hour or a $100 gift card), Brett pushed the referral program further than anyone ever had, becoming the conduit for seven of his co-workers to enroll at American Sentinel.

What's his secret? Brett was a successful student at American Sentinel, and when he told co-workers at Providence HealthCare Systems how he was achieving his dream of a bachelor's degree, he found that many of them had the same dream. What helped Brett was having a boss, David Weis, who was himself a graduate of American Sentinel and knew firsthand how distance education can transform lives. David offered the company's moral and financial support to anyone who wanted to further their education. "The word went out," Brett explains. "I was asked many times about the education I was getting. I voiced that American Sentinel was really good, very affordable, and really worked with you to maximize your time and energy." Soon his co-workers were signing up, and Brett was awash in gift cards.

Talking with Brett, it's easy to see how he inspired his co-workers. A Navy veteran with a can-do attitude, he extols the virtue of setting goals and sticking to them. "It all comes down to drive and character," Brett says. "You can always do one more push-up."

Or in Brett's case, get one more referral. In November, Brett completed his bachelor's degree and gained a major promotion, which he fully expects will inspire even more co-workers to fill out applications. Who knows? Seven referrals may just be the beginning. And all those gift cards? Brett put them back in the company educational pool. "More bait to get people hooked into learning," Brett says. "I just wanted to share the joy."

Not everyone will challenge Brett for the referral crown, but anyone can benefit from a referral. If you know someone who is interested in an American Sentinel education, fill out the referral form. If the person you refer enrolls in a degree program and completes one course, you will earn your choice of a free credit hour towards your next purchase of credits or a $100 gift card.

Rent Your Textbooks and Save

Much has been written about the rising cost of textbooks in the last few months. At American Sentinel we are looking at a number of ways to try and reduce the cost of textbooks for our students. In addition to looking for ways to add e-books to courses this year, we have identified a textbook rental resource called Chegg.

There are no monthly subscription fees to use Chegg. Rental fees are dependent on the individual ISBN with savings of up to 70% or more. Chegg offers thousands of titles to choose from. Textbooks are searchable by ISBN/ Title/Author/Keyword making it easy to find out if your books are available for rent.

As an added bonus, Chegg is working with students and organizations to help improve the environment. Renting textbooks helps keep books in circulation and ensures that one less new book will need to be printed this year. In addition, for every textbook a student rents, Chegg will plant a tree in their name.

To start searching for textbooks to rent, click here.

Moodle Upgrade: Assignments

On Monday, January 28th, the Moodle Assignment module was updated to include additional features. Professors are now able to upload a commented version of the student's assignment and post comments when grading the assignment. The student may add comments for the Professor to view, too.

Previously submitted assignments have access to these features, but only ungraded assignments will receive postings in this new manner.

When uploading an assignment, there is an additional step. After the assignment file is uploaded, Moodle allows the student to add comments. Whether or not the student wishes to add comments, they must click on the "Send For Marking" button of the page. If the student does not complete the process, the assignment will show in the system as a draft copy until the "Send For Marking" button is clicked.

Mary Adams Appointed to the DETC Commission

Ms. Mary Adams, President of American Sentinel University, was appointed to the DETC Commission by Jan Larson, DETC Chair. Ms. Adams will serve as an institution member to replace the vacancy left by the resignation of Mr. Tom Kube. Her term will expire in 2010.

Prior to joining American Sentinel in 2004, Ms. Adams was the President of Aspen University for 16 years. She is one of the founders of the online school and is responsible for developing its original MBA program.

Ms. Adams has participated in more than 50 accreditation visits for DETC and others, and is currently the Chair of the DETC Research and Education Standards Committee. She has spoken at many DETC Conferences, Seminars and Workshops in the past. Ms. Adams received two DETC awards: the Distinguished Service Award in 1999 and the Distinguished Recognition Award in 2003.

Michael P. Lambert, Executive Director, DETC

Email us:
services@americansentinel.edu
American Sentinel University
2101 Magnolia Avenue, Suite 200 || Birmingham, AL 35205
2260 South Xanadu Way, Suite 245 || Aurora, CO 80014