BOARD DATE:	  1 March 2011

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20100017137 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests 2 years of constructive service credit for completion of a 2-year Master of Public Health (MPH) Degree.

2.  The applicant states that she completed the MPH Degree from 2001 to 2003 and then entered medical school.  She was an Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) recipient.  After graduating from medical school, she was ordered to active duty as a captain, pay grade O-3, in 2007.  Her date of rank was established as 2006, reflecting 4 years of medical school and 1 year of a master's program.  However, her master's program was for 2 years.  She contends that her MPH Degree adds subjunctive skills to her primary specialty of psychiatry and increases her ability to perform in her anticipated duty positions.  Her secondary specialty is preventive medicine.  She believes that her master's degree was calculated as a 1-year program as opposed to a 2-year program, and wants the full 24 months of constructive credit.

3.  The applicant provides copies of her Degree/Enrollment Verification, dated 
4 June 2010; and her Graduate Academic Record from Tulane University, dated 8 June 2010.

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  At the time of her application, the applicant was serving on active duty in the rank of captain as a Medical Corps officer with a primary specialty of psychiatry.

2.  On 17 May 2003, the applicant was awarded an MPH Degree from Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana.

3. Orders A-05-711089, United States Army Human Resources Command, St. Louis, Missouri, dated 2 May 2007, ordered the applicant to active duty as a captain, Medical Corps, with a report date of 13 June 2007.  She was given an active date of rank of 13 June 2006.

4.  In the processing of this case, an advisory opinion was obtained from the Program Manager, Graduate Medical Education Division, Office of the Surgeon General, Falls Church, Virginia.  The opinion stated that the applicant had been previously granted 1 year of constructive service credit for the MPH Degree.  The Department of Defense Instructive (DODI) 6000.13 is the governing directive for granting entry grade/constructive credit.  Paragraph 6.1.2.2.2 provides that credit for master's and doctorate degrees in a health profession other than medicine and dentistry, whether it is a primary degree or an additional advanced degree, shall be awarded based on actual full-time equivalent education of up to 2 years for a master's degree and up to 4 years for a doctorate.  The applicant's transcript indicates that she completed the degree in one year (Fall 2001 to Fall 2002).  In the Spring of 2003, she completed a Capstone Experience [practicum] for which no credit was granted.  Accordingly, the opinion is that the applicant was granted the appropriate amount of constructive service credit and the additional year should be denied.

5.  On 9 January 2011, the applicant responded to the advisory opinion.

	a.  She states she was enrolled as a full-time student from 29 August 2001 to 9 May 2003.  During this period, she paid tuition and participated in student activities.  During this 2-year academic period she fulfilled the stated objectives and requirements of the MPH Degree.

	b.  She states that the MPH Degree required completion of 45 credit hours; a 300 hour Capstone Experience (practicum) in an actual international agency, program, or project; and proficiency in a language other than English.

	c.  She states that while the Capstone Experience [practicum] is not reflected as coursework credit on the transcript, it is an essential part of the educational experience.  It was a required part of the degree.  Graduation requirements would not have been met without completing this experience.

	d.  She states that her capstone project (practicum) was to intern, without pay, in the Pan American Health Organization Area on Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief.  Her internship required a minimum full-time commitment of 40 hour weeks for a period of 6 months.

	e.  She states she distributed the degree requirements in a demanding fashion by frontloading the coursework.  She asks the Board to take into account that she was a full-time student for 2 years and completed the degree requirements of a 2-year program in 2 years time.  She requests that she receive commensurate recognition and compensation through constructive credit.

6.  The applicant provides with her rebuttal response a copy of the course requirements for the MPH Degree from Tulane University.  It indicates that the graduation requirements for completion of the MPH Degree include a total of 45 didactic credit hours and completion of the 300 hour practicum with submission of all required forms in a timely fashion.

7.  Department of Defense Instruction (DODI) Number 6000.13, Medical Manpower and Personnel, dated 30 June 1997, implements policy, assigns responsibilities, and prescribes procedures to carry out medical manpower and personnel programs.

	a.  Paragraph 6.1.2: Constructive Service Credit.  This credit provides a person who begins commissioned service after obtaining the additional education, training, or experience required for appointment, designation, or assignment as an officer in a health profession, with a grade and date of rank comparable to that attained by officers who begin commissioned service after getting a baccalaureate degree and serve for the period of time it would take to obtain the additional education.

	b.  Paragraph 6.1.2.2.2: Credit for master’s and doctorate degrees in a health profession other than medicine and dentistry, whether it is the primary degree or an additional advanced degree, shall be awarded based on actual full-time equivalent education of up to two years for a master’s degree and up to four years for a doctorate.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant contends that she should be given 2 years of constructive service credit for completion of a 2-year MPH Degree.

2.  The requirements as written in the DODI 6000.13, paragraph 6.1.2.2.2 clearly state that constructive service credit will be based on actual full-time equivalent education of up to two years for a master’s degree.

3.  The available evidence clearly shows that the applicant was a full-time student for 2 academic years.  Furthermore, the requirements for completion of the MPH Degree required 45 credit hours of coursework and a 300 hour practicum (Capstone Experience).

BOARD VOTE:

___x___  ___x_____  ____x____  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected to show she received 2 years of constructive service credit and adjusting her date of rank for captain, pay grade O-3 accordingly.



      _______ _   x_______   ___
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.



ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100017137





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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20100017137



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