Grantham Graduate Nominated for GREAT Award

Each year, the Career College Association (CCA) asks each member institution to nominate a recent graduate for its GREAT Award. Since its inception in 2004, the GREAT Award has honored recent college graduates who have overcome extraordinary difficulties and circumstances to be where they are today. This year, Grantham University nominated Sergeant First Class (SFC) William Simmons.

SFC Simmons has served in the United States Army for 19 years and is currently stationed in Fort Polk, Louisiana. Over the years, he has traveled extensively and has deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently, he works as an Observer-Controller training the troops to prepare for combat. In addition to his years of dedicated service to the Army, SFC Simmons also assists at his church by creating Web pages and media presentations, as well as volunteering as a deacon and Assistant Co-President of the Youth Department.

Despite his hectic work schedule and deployments, SFC Simmons earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems on December 3rd, 2007. He chose Grantham University because we offered the degree program he was interested in and because of the excellent service he received during the enrollment process. "No matter where I am in the world, whether it's Iraq or Afghanistan, if I need assistance, Grantham is always available to help me," said SFC Simmons.

The flexibility of our distance learning program was also very appealing to him. Because Grantham's online course format allowed him to study at his own pace, he was able to complete his bachelor's degree in two years and nine months and is now pursuing a Master of Science degree in Information Management Technology at Grantham.

In addition to being an extremely positive and enthusiastic person, SFC Simmons is a dedicated student who believes in the value of an education. His focus and determination allowed him to excel academically and achieve the goals he set. After he retires from the Army, SFC Simmons would like to use the skills and knowledge he obtained while earning his degrees to work in the business sector.

SFC Simmons is a great example of how much you can accomplish in life if you remain motivated and determined to reach your goals. On behalf of the staff at Grantham, congratulations on your nomination!

Online Store Now Open

Thank you very much for your patience over the last few months as Grantham University's Online Store underwent its makeover. The revamped store is open and ready to serve you. It has a new look and feel, new Grantham clothing and accessories, and all items will be shipped directly from Grantham's bookstore in Kansas City, MO. To visit the Online Store, go to: www.grantham.edu/gear. The store can also be reached by visiting www.grantham.edu and clicking the "Shop Online" link located on the left-hand side of your screen. Remember to show your Grantham pride by ordering your Grantham gear today!

Grantham University Partners with OOIDA

Recognizing that it is equally important for owner-operators to have both trucking experience and business acumen, Grantham University and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) have partnered to offer members and employees the opportunity to take courses online. OOIDA members can enroll in an undergraduate or graduate degree program, or take individual courses to brush up on skills like accounting, mathematics and business management.

Members and employees can take advantage of a special tuition rate, and required textbooks and software are covered, at no additional cost, by a textbook and technology grant.

"Grantham University proud to partner with OOIDA," said Joseph McGrath, Grantham University's Provost. "Grantham's goal is to provide OOIDA members with the opportunity to further their education, while they continue to manage and grow their businesses." With over 160,000 members, OOIDA represents the interests of independent owner-operators and professional drivers on all issues that affect truckers. Since 1973, the Association has actively advocated the views of professional truckers through its interaction with state, provincial and federal government agencies, legislatures, the courts, other associations, and private businesses to advance an equitable environment for commercial drivers. For more information about OOIDA, visit: www.ooida.com.

Student Spotlight - Amber Sholes

In August 2006, Amber Sholes enrolled at Grantham University to earn a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. Because she is the full-time mom of a three year-old son and a one year-old daughter and works part time at her local Habitat for Humanity, Grantham's flexible distance learning format was very appealing to her. Her family is her number one priority. "Sitting in a classroom for several hours a week would make me miss so much of their lives," said Sholes. "They are growing so fast, and I don't want to miss any of their milestones."

Sholes likes the fact that she can study and submit assignments when it is convenient for her. "I have discovered through Grantham that I can have my family and work on my future at the same time," she said.

In addition to spending time raising her children and working for Habitat for Humanity, she spent a few days in June 2007 with University employees at the Focus on the Student Event in Kansas City, MO. Sholes spent time with the Grantham team members who are helping her progress through her degree program, and she also provided valuable feedback about what the University is doing right and areas where the University could improve. Everyone at Grantham greatly appreciated her feedback and the suggestions we received from the other attendees.

Recently, Sholes earned her associate degree in Business Administration and is still working toward earning her bachelor's degree. Because she has a love for marketing and photography, she plans to use her degree to find a career that incorporates both.

Grantham University would like to congratulate the following recent graduates:

Job Fair in the Washington, D.C. Area

On Friday, March 14th, a Corporate Gray "Military-Friendly" Job Fair is being held at the Waterford Reception Center in Springfield, Virginia. The job fair is open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. with free employment-related seminars starting at 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. This job fair is free to all job seekers, and specifically targets transitioning and former military service members. Civilians are also welcome to attend. For more information on the corporations attending the job fair and to pre-register, visit: www.corporategray.com.

Creating and Maintaining a Strong Password System

By: Mary Landesman, About.com

Most of us have multiple sites we visit which require logins. So many, in fact, that it's tempting to use the same username/password combo for all of them. Don't. Otherwise, it takes only the compromise of a single site's credentials to have a toppling domino affect on the security of all your online assets.

It's also tempting to just let your browser's autocomplete feature deal with it, remembering not only your usernames and passwords, but also all the personal information you repeatedly enter into forms. Again, don't. Doing so just makes it that much easier for malware and attackers to obtain your credentials and personal information.

Creating unique passwords
Before you begin creating strong passwords, you need to consider the use of those passwords. The intent is to create strong passwords unique to each account, but easy enough to memorize. To do this, first begin by splitting the sites you frequently login to into categories. For example, your category list might read as follows:

• social networking sites
• auction sites
• ecommerce sites
• email accounts
• banking sites
• forums

A word of note about forums, never use the same password for a site's forum as you would for logging into the site itself. Generally speaking, the security on forums is not as strong as it is (or should be) for the regular site and thus the forum becomes the weakest link in your security. This is why, in the example above, forums are split into a separate category.

Now that you have your categories, list the sites to which you must login under each appropriate category. For example, if you have a Hotmail, gmail, and Yahoo account, list these under the category "email accounts." After you've completed the list, you're ready to begin creating the strong, unique, and easy-to-remember passwords for each.

Creating strong passwords
A strong password should be 14 characters in length. Each character less than 14 makes your password a little easier to compromise. If a site absolutely won't allow a password that long, then adapt these instructions accordingly.

Following the 14 character password rule, use the first 8 characters as the common portion to all passwords, the next 3 to customize by category, and the last 3 to customize by site. So the end result ends up like this:

common(8)|category(3)|site(3)

Following this simple rule when you change your passwords in the future - which, remember, you should do often - you'll only need to change the first common 8 characters of each.

One of the commonly recommended means of remembering a password is to first create a passphrase, modify it to the character limit, and then begin swapping characters for symbols.

To do that:

1. Come up with an 8 letter passphrase that is easy to remember.
2. Take the first letter of each word to form the password.
3. Substitute some of the letters in the word with keyboard symbols and caps (symbols are better than caps).
4. Tack on a three letter abbreviation for the category, also replacing one of the letters with a symbol.
5. Tack on a site specific three letter abbreviation, again replacing a single letter with a symbol.

As an example:

1. In step 1, we might use the pass phrase: "My favorite uncle was an air force pilot."
2. Using the first letters of each word, we end up with: mfuwaafp
3. Next, we swap some of those characters with symbols and caps: Mf{w&A5p
4. Then we tack on the category, i.e. ema for email, and swap out one character of ema: e#a
5. Finally, we add the site abbreviation (i.e. gma for gmail) and swap out one character: gm%

We now have a password for our gmail account of Mf{w&A5pe#agm%

Repeat for each email site, so perhaps you end up with:
Mf{w&A5pe#agm%
Mf{w&A5pe#aY%h
Mf{w&A5pe#aH0t

Now, repeat these steps for the additional categories and sites within those categories. While this may look hard to remember, here's a tip to simplify - decide in advance what symbol you will equate with each letter. As an example, always use "&" for the letter "a" in all of your passwords, "{" for the letter "u," etc. But if you do that, make sure you pick a passphrase that doesn't have a lot of repeating characters. For example, had we used that method in the above example, we would end up with Mf{w&&5pem&gm& - this is too many of the same symbol, so it no longer is considered a strong password. Use symbols that you can remember, but aren't already widely used as character substitutes.

Remembering passwords
A common and dangerous myth about remembering passwords is that they should never be written down. This is patently false. In fact, you are far less likely to be compromised by physical access. And frankly, if someone does have physical access to your computer, it doesn't really matter whether you've written down your passwords or not - you've already lost the security battle.

Of course, this doesn't mean the passwords should be jotted on a sticky note and stuck to the monitor or under the keyboard. That's a definite no-no. Instead, keep the password reminder list in a locked file cabinet, safe box, or similar secure container.

You can even maintain the list on the computer itself, provided the file containing the passwords is encrypted with a strong password itself. And by creating passwords based on category, you've eased the need to revisit the list constantly, since you only need to remember the first 8 characters, the category abbreviations, and then the specific site abbreviations. Though that may still sound hard to remember, in practice it's much easier.

And remember, the more we're forced to memorize, the stronger our brains become. So managing such a password system isn't just healthier for your security, it may be healthier for your brain!

Upcoming Events

February 18th - 22nd - Council of College and Military Educators Conference
February 27th - Bethesda Naval Medical Center Education Fair
February 28th - Andrews Air Force Base Visit

Quote of the Month

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."

~Anatole France