2024 Self-Study Report

Departmental Overview

Montana State University's Army ROTC and Air Force/Space Force ROTC (Air Force ROTC) programs are part of the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering (NACOE). Students participating in ROTC are also members of the NACOE-ROTC Community. Coordinated under the NACOE, a Leadership Board organizes signature events and fosters academic support. These efforts bring students interested in earning a degree while preparing to lead in the United States military together so they can support each other in reaching their goals. Organizational chart 1 shows ROTC programs are supported at the college level.

In Organizational Chart 2, further explains ROTC programs as two (2) units and affiliated with the university through the NACOE as the parent college. Color is used to distinguish between units. Army ROTC (green) and Air Force ROTC (blue) are housed under the NACOE (orange) through ROTC programs (orange). Solid lines demonstrate direct report structures with the program leaders reporting directly to the Dean of the NACOE. In the university structure, the program lead can be compared to a department head who reports to the NACOE Dean in matters related to program affiliation. Through the university, each ROTC unit has a liaison employed by the university. While the program lead and faculty may change regularly in response to military orders, the university liaison holds the institutional, typically staying in this role for long periods of time. They are familiar with university systems and processes, have relationships across campus, and know the student cadets.

The primary purpose of ROTC programs is to recruit officer candidates from college student populations and prepare them for commissioning as a military officer at the completion of their college degree. Like pre-med or pre-law programs, ROTC programs have coursework student cadets must complete to commission after graduation. Army ROTC and Air Force ROTC are the two ROTC programs offered at Montana State University (MSU). A minor in Military Science is also offered.

Mission

ROTC programs support the state’s land-grant mission by

• Fostering collegial engagement across ROTC units (Army and Air Force), NACOE college and greater university.
• Integrating academic learning and discovery into the core of problem solving.
• Developing a culture of peer-led mentorship and sharing technical expertise.
• Empowering student cadets to be transformational leaders in today’s complex world.

Goals

ROTC program goals align with Montana State University’s strategic goals of learning, discovery, engagement, integration, access, and stewardship.     

ROTC programs focus on educating and training students pursuing a military commission alongside their academic discipline.

ROTC Programs foster student discovery of their role in becoming military leaders with high resiliency and moral character.

NACOE-ROTC community fosters collegiality between units, supports academic success, and builds leadership skills.

Strategic Plan

            Scholarships through ROTC programs provide an opportunity for students from rural Montana communities to attend college and move into a rewarding career. This is particularly important for first generation and Pell eligible students. The NACOE-ROTC Community program establishes an environment with peer and faculty mentors to support student entrance and progress through an academic degree into a military commission upon graduation.

ROTC Programs

MSU houses an Army ROTC, Air Force ROTC and a minor in Military Science within ROTC programs under the NACOE. Currently, cadets pursue either the Army or Air Force ROTC commissioning track. Student cadets complete 32-48 ROTC course credits in addition to a 120-128 credit bachelor’s degree. Both are required for commissioning as a military officer upon graduation. Commissioning coursework meets academic standards and learning outcomes as determined by the U.S. Military. Assessment and changes to the curriculum are determined by military leaders and disseminated through all ROTC programs in the country.

Army ROTC Commissioning Program

Commissioning coursework for Army ROTC student cadets is shown in Table 1. Student cadets average 8 additional credits per academic year to the 30/year standard to graduate in a 4-year timeline. Although the additional courses meet university criteria for a minor, student cadets do not receive a distinction on their university transcript.

Air Force ROTC Commissioning Programs

Commissioning coursework for Air Force ROTC student cadets is shown in Table 2. Student cadets take 5-7 additional credits per academic year to the 30/year standard to graduate in a 4-year timeline. As with the Army ROTC commissioning coursework, the additional courses meet university criteria for a minor, but student cadets do not receive a distinction on their university transcript.

Military Science Minor

            The minor in Military Science minor is available for any student at MSU. It was put in place in the early 2000’s by the Army ROTC unit commander. Table 3 describes the 24-29 credits currently required to complete the minor.  Student cadets may choose to add the minor as an addition to their commissioning coursework. This is formally added through the Registrar’s process and completion is recognized on the student’s academic transcript.

Student Enrollment, Commissioning and Graduation Trends

Historically, students interested in ROTC did not have a way to explore military careers without committing to a semester of classes. Each year about 2% of incoming first-year students act on an interest in ROTC and military service. According to course enrollment data, 852 students added ROTC to their academic plans, progressing to degree completion and commissioning. Other challenges for enrollment include misunderstanding what ROTC is students arriving needing foundational content before taking degree-specific courses. Both affect students acting on interest or curiosity.

Table 4 shows six (6) years of graduation and persistence percentages for ROTC Students from 2012 to 2022 along with overall averages. Over a 10-year period, student cadets persisted into year 2 at a rate of 75.4%; 65.2% into year 3; 57.5% into year 4; 33.5% into year 5; and 8.4% into year 6. The low persistence into year 6 makes sense with the knowledge that ROTC programs have a commissioning timeline expectation of 4 to 5 years, depending on the program. Over the same 10-year period, student cadet graduation rates start in year 2 at .3% and increase in year 3 to 3.2%; 24.6% in year 4; 49.5% in year 5 and 52.1% in year 6. 

Comparisons between non-ROTC students with their ROTC peers seen in Table 5 which shows six (6) years of graduation and persistence percentages for non-ROTC students from 2012 to 2022 along with overall averages. Over a 10-year period, non-ROTC students persisted into year 2 at a rate of 72.1%; 61.5% into year 3; 51.5% into year 4; 24.7% into year 5; and 8.6% into year 6. Over the same 10-year period, non-ROTC student graduation rates start in year 1 at .1% and increase in year 2 to 1.8%; 7.9% in year 3; 31.5% in year 4; 47.2% in year 5 and 51.6% in year 6. Contrasting a small number of students to a larger group has some limitations, but the objective is to learn the persistence and graduation differences between the populations. The knowledge will be used to understand student group characteristics to inform program assessment and development.

Comparing a small number of students to a larger group has some limitations, but there are several reasons for this action. First is understanding the persistence of rates of ROTC versus non-ROTC students. Because degree completion is a requirement for commissioning as an officer in the US military, second is understanding persistence to graduation rates. Tables 4 and 5 show persistence rates and graduation rates are slightly higher for ROTC students compared to their non-ROTC peers from year one to year five. Considering the factors within the ROTC program and the motivating influence of a scholarship program tracking degree progression are important elements for understanding student success.

Persistence to degree completion is a focus of the university. Degree completion and commissioning into an officer role in the U.S. Military is the focus of ROTC Programs. Table 6 shows the number of student cadets who met degree completion and commissioning goals from 2017 to Spring 2023.

Unlike other ROTC programs in the United States, student cadets add the military science minor on as a separate program. In most cases, this adds credits students do not have time to complete and meet their commissioning timeline. Table 7 presents enrollment (40 students) and minors awarded (18 students) data from the last 7 years. Unless the military science minor is restructured to align with commissioning program courses, the number of students enrolling and completing this minor will follow the current trend of low enrollment and low completion.

Career Readiness and Mentorship

            Career readiness and success for ROTC cadets is measured by meeting commissioning commitments. This looks like timely progression through an academic degree, graduation, and accepting a military commission. Timely progression is established on a 4-year or 5-year timeline by the cadet, their academic and ROTC advisors. ROTC cadets include commissioning coursework for the Army or Air Force ROTC program and their academic degree requirements on their academic plans.

ROTC programs prepare student cadets for commissioning into a military officer position upon degree completion.  Much like pre-medicine and pre-veterinarian programs, ROTC provides teaching and mentoring in combination with a student’s progression through their primary degree. The difference is rather than moving into graduate school at the completion of their degrees, ROTC student cadets commission as officers and are assigned to a job within their military unit. A student cadet’s academic degree informs the jobs they commission into upon degree completion.

At MSU ROTC includes two of the four military branches: Army and Air Force. Each unit has a leader assigned to serve in this post by their respective service. The program faculty are active senior military officers and not employed by the university. This is important for career training and mentorship. ROTC leaders and faculty set expectations for student cadets while demonstrating and communicating what is expected of a military officer. Because they are active service members, ROTC commanders and faculty rotate into and out of their assigned posts as dictated by their military commander, usually two to three years.

Academic Advising and Mentoring

            Academic advising and mentoring have been under review in the last year. The purpose is to strengthen the support systems for ROTC student cadets. The following adjustments have been implemented with ongoing assessment and review planned.

1. Academic Advising for ROTC cadets is supported by ROTC University Liaisons, the NACOE Assistant Dean.
2. Mentorship for ROTC cadets is supported through an organized peer mentorship program. The Peer Liaison Outreach Team (PLOT) are junior and senior student cadets who participate in mentorship training. They plan signature events and support freshman and sophomore student cadets as they adjust to the demands of college and ROTC.

Measures Taken to Support Student Success

            In 2021 Air Force ROTC leadership met with the Assistant Dean and a member of the academic advising team to discuss challenges with student cadets meeting their commissioning goals. When this happens, the student cadet loses their scholarship and the role they were set to move into as a commissioned officer. It is important to note that these opportunities through Air Force ROTC are very competitive. For many student cadets, losing their funding and commissioning opportunity means they leave the university. 

During this discussion, it was determined that student success needed to be addressed at the overall ROTC program level. The past year has been focused on working with Army ROTC leadership, Air Force ROTC leadership, and NACOE leadership to determine what this will look like moving forward.

Summary of Assessment

Two factors have influenced the lack of established, consistent annual assessments to meet university standards. One is the transitionary nature of ROTC leadership and faculty along with their primary purpose of training student cadets for their future roles as military officers. Their charge comes from the US Military as their employer. Second, is the source of curriculum development for ROTC coursework. Coursework comes from the US Military and is structured to meet their learning outcomes and objectives for officer training. Courses cannot be changed by an individual ROTC program and/or unit which has resulted in assessment gaps for the university.  Assessment happens on the military side based on their metrics, goals, and outcomes.

Considering the factors within the ROTC programs and the motivating influence of a scholarship program tracking degree progression are important elements for understanding student success. The Military Science minor was established 20 years ago by ROTC leadership. The goals and outcomes this minor was meant to establish have been lost with the frequent transition of leadership. Additionally, there is no record of an established plan for ongoing assessment and evaluation to show alignment with university goals and objectives.

The NACOE Deans Office has been focused on ROTC programs, their structure within the college and how to support students pursuing commissioning along with their academic degree. As part of this project the military science minor is being reviewed for possible restructuring to align with a cadet’s commissioning program or removal as an available minor. This determination must be made first with the NACOE Dean, the ROTC program leaders (both Army and Air Force), and the Office of the Registrar before establishing an assessment protocol, timelines, and plan for who will take responsibility for preparing necessary reports for the university.