<p>I spent 30 years in the Federal Government. I see little need need for such an academy. Lawyers, economists, librarians, scientists, diplomats, police and security personnel, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals, engineers, investigators, park rangers, and generalists are well-trained in existing college programs, on-the-job, in the private sector or in state and local governments, or in existing government academies (FLETC and the FBI Academy.) </p>
<p>A waste of resources. Put the money towards improving salaries and providing additional job-related training for those already working in the government.</p>
<p>I can definitely see where you're coming from. However, for many people, a program like this academy would be a great "fast-track" to a substantial position in the civil service. I know that I'd love to know that after I'm done, I don't have to go on USjobs.gov and fight my way through the thousands of sites and tens of thousands of apps.</p>
<p>You know as well as I do that most people will not be offered a PMF. For those of us interested in intel or State, it's incredibly hard just to get an internship. I lucked out, but most don't.</p>
<p>One issue I do see with this academy is that a lot of people may finish the program and then not get a job because of a failed clearance...</p>
<p>It is an interesting idea, but why is there a need for this? What specialized training would these students receive? Military academies exist because the cadets/midshipmen undergo a lot of training related to their branch of service. I thought that most universities would give the kind of education needed for a PSA. </p>
<p>I visited the USPSA site, and I think that the program has great potential. I had not realized the recruiting issues in the public service sector, and how much student debt played into it.</p>
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One issue I do see with this academy is that a lot of people may finish the program and then not get a job because of a failed clearance...
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<p>The applicant could be investigated for the clearance when they are applying to the Academy as a hs sr rather than as a college sr.</p>
<p>Very true, but that's okay for initial entrants to an academy.</p>
<p>My D is a college freshman. Simce she was a hs junior, she has had a basic clearance for federal summer hire positions. I don't think she'll have a problem undergoing a more in-depth investigation for a more secure/secret clearance when necessary for higher levels.</p>
<p>Secret clearance is not that hard to get (it doesn't get you a whole lot of access to sensitive material either). Mine only took a couple months to have cleared, which is fairly quick for security clearances (from what I'm told).</p>
<p>Any investigations for secret clearance would likely occur after entering the academy. That is, if they follow how the other academies operate. The people who investigate applicants can get pretty backed-up sometimes.</p>
<p>I've seen people get dinged on secret, believe it or not! But yes, secret's not that bad. I would imagine, however, that most people wanting to go to an academy of this sort would want TS or compartmentalized clearances to do the "interesting" work. In that case, it could be pretty miserable to get dinged because of a failed poly or foreign family member you have few ties with.</p>
<p>Yeah, I agree with you. I would imagine that the same thing currently happens at the service academies. I doubt that most people would have issues with it, though.</p>
<p>I don't know how many jobs require clearance. I spent 15 years in the Justice Department and never had the need to get any kind of clearance. Never had any kind of clearance that I knew about in the Department of Education. I retired in 2004.</p>
<p>Wow! I got excited reading all of your thoughtful posts about the Little Idea That Could -- an idea that my friend Shawn Raymond and I have been advocating for about 15 months. I strongly encourage all of you to contact me directly to learn more and, if you interested, find out how you can get more involved in our movement.</p>
<p>I understand that some people do raise their eyebrows when they see Sen. Clinton's name atop the bill, and they wonder if this is just political hot air. Most assuredly, it is not. I cannot speak for Sen. Clinton, but I can promise you that the movement extends far beyond her. We are working with literally hundreds of people in higher education, the military, and the government to create a Blueprint for the Academy. A new draft will be available in May, and it will be accessible on the website <a href="http://www.uspublicserviceacademy.org">http://www.uspublicserviceacademy.org</a> . I hope that people will take the time to read it.</p>
<p>A few quick responses to some of the comments:
1) International students bring perspectives and experiences to campus that simply cannot be replicated in any other way. A truly international education involves both American students going abroad and also having foreign students come here. They will come at the expense of their home countries, and thus there will be no cost to the American taxpayer. </p>
<p>2) How will the Academy be different? I could go on for pages! Suffice to say that no civilian institution has a leadership development program anywhere close to what we envision. From the required core courses to the 11-month-a-year schedule to the off-campus enrichment programs to the mandatory service work in the community, the Public Service Academy will be far more intense than existing colleges. This will not be just another liberal arts school that happens to be funded by the federal government -- it will be qualitatively different, and better.</p>
<p>3) Why do we need it? Again, pages are needed. Simply put, young people are not going into public service in the numbers or at the level of quality that we need. We belittle public service work in this country, and we need to change our culture. Having a flagship institution that establishes a standard of excellence is one part (though not the only one) of the solution.</p>
<p>Again, thank you for your thoughtful comments. I look forward to hearing from you all.</p>
<p>Asch, thank you for offering additional comments regarding the academy, especially clarifying that the international students will attend the Academy at no cost to the US taxpayers. </p>
<p>I made the comment because the Senate version of the Bill only mentioned that the foreign governments would be subsidizing the expenses. Considering that the expenses of the Academy will be about $650,000,000 before its first student graduates, the expenses for each international student would be in the hundreds of thousand of dollars by graduation. </p>
<p>This said, the point that the Academy will be stronger with an enhanced diversity is well taken.</p>
<p>Asch, has there been any thought into creating a semester exchange program with the other service academies? Currently, each academy has such a program. I believe that they are very benefitial to the cadets/midshipmen and each academy.</p>