Perceptions and attitudes of participating soldiers toward the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges Associate Degree Program (SOCAD) and the relationship of selected demographic variables

The purpose of this study was to gauge the perceptions and attitudes of participating soldiers toward the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges Associate Degree (SOCAD) Program. SOCAD is a voluntary off-duty associate degree program designed for Army noncommissioned officers and warrant officers. Two major research questions guided this inquiry. The first question was designed to determine the perceptions and attitudes of participants toward SOCAD. The second question related to the relationship between soldier participation and selected demographic variables such as age, gender, educational level, pay grade, marital status and term of enlistment. The questions were investigated by conducting a cross-sectional survey of the views of SOCAD participants on eight factors: (a) overall program impressions, (b) program mechanics, (c) program quality, (d) motivation, (e) benefits, (f) leadership influences, (g) progress toward the associate degree, and (h) demographics.

From a verified Army Data Master File, 1,959 SOCAD participants were stratified by pay grade and randomly selected from a population of 9,799 active duty respondents to participate in the survey. A 65% return rate was attained. The questionnaire schedule was used as the principal method of gathering the information. The instrument was pilot tested for validity, and reliability was established at .83 by computing an internal consistency alpha level. All data gathered were coded and analyzed using the SPSSX software package. The chi-square test of association was used to determine statistical significance of relationship between SOCAD participant satisfaction with the program and selected demographics.

Summary of findings: (a) 85% of the SOCAD participants reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the overall operation of the program; (b) over three-fourths of the respondents rated counseling support as good or excellent; (c) nearly 85% of all respondents indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the educational services provided by SOCAD colleges; (d) the top motivating factors for entering SOCAD were desire to get a better job when discharged from the Army (93%), being able to work on associate degree regardless of location (93%), and opportunity to use tuition assistance (85%); (e) one-fourth of the respondents agreed that involvement in SOCAD has encouraged them to stay in the Army; (f) among all pay grades, 34% agreed that they receive leadership encouragement to participate in the program; (g) slightly more than two-thirds of the respondents were satisfied with their rate of progress in the program; (h) when stratified by demographics most SOCAD participants were satisfied with the program. Very few differences in satisfaction levels were noted among the subgroups used in the study, and even then the differences were only slightly significant. Open-ended comments and additional analysis supported the above findings.

In conclusion, the SOCAD program was perceived by the respondents to be a very effective and highly respected program that is meeting its goal of providing soldiers the opportunity to earn associate degrees in selected technical areas. Several program operational areas are identified for further study.