Educational Assessment team visits Altus AFB Published May 8, 2012 By Airman Klynne Pearl Serrano 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The Department of Defense Educational Assessment team from Management and Training Consultants, Inc. visited the base May 1, 2012 to conduct a third party review of base educational programs. "This educational assessment is a new DOD-level review and each branch in the military will undergo this process," said Donald Sprague, 97th Force Support Squadron chief of education and training. "Altus Air Force Base is representing the Air Force and is the first base for this whole education assessment." "The assessment team came to review the quality of the education programs that are provided by the Air Force," Sprague said. The team also compared the level of support the base education office provides to military personnel to the support offered when attending college at a campus. "The team was impressed with the facilities in the classrooms on base," Sprague said. The assessment team collected feedback from service members pursuing their college education. "They were pleasantly surprised at how candid the students were and how dedicated the students were to get their education," Sprague said. "I thought the assessment process was very productive," said Airman 1st Class Don Nathaniel Wentzel, 97th Medical Operations Squadron bioenvironmental engineering technician. "The school I attend is an online school so students do not get to interact in person," Wentzel said. "The assessment allowed me to listen to other students' experiences with online schools, so I learned a lot from that." "The education office has also given me resources to help search for a master's program that suits me," Wentzel said. The information and feedback that was gathered will go directly to the secretary of defense. The team is not yet giving out any specifics about its assessment of the educational programs on base, Sprague said. "However, the education assessment team was overall extremely impressed with Altus Air Force Base, our hospitality and the students they talked with."