CCAF Task Force formed to address student concerns

  • Published
  • By Brian Ferguson
  • Barnes Center for Enlisted Education

Air University has initiated a task force to address issues Community College of the Air Force students are having with transcripts, graduations and communications following its move to the AU Student Information System.

The CCAF Task Force began looking at these and other issues Jan. 8, 2024, and is led by the Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education Commander Col. Damian Schlussel.

“We recognize and understand the impacts the Community College of the Air Force transcript processing delay is having on many Airmen and veterans,” Schlussel said. “The CCAF Task Force is consulting with industry experts for additional expertise in resolving some of the technical and software issues.” 

Air University released its enterprise-wide student information system, June 20, 2023. The AU SIS was designed to make it easier for students to check their course progress in real time and less cumbersome for educators to track students’ academic lifecycles. It replaces a dozen decades old semi-autonomous systems that became increasingly difficult to update.

However, since its release, the system has not returned accurate CCAF data from many of its automated processes. As a result, staff are required to process every transaction by hand to ensure data accuracy.

“With over 400,000 students, it is not practical to expect CCAF staff to complete every process manually,” Schlussel said. “The system must function as designed.”

While transcript timelines can be delayed up to 90 days for some non-priority requests, CCAF remains operational and able to provide a wide range of education programs and pathways for students.

“We prioritize transcript and graduation requests for currently serving Airmen with implications on promotions, commissioning, DSD, retirements and separations,” Schlussel said. 

The CCAF Task Force is also working to determine what can be done to correct the upload and download issues between the AU SIS and the Air Force Military Personnel Data System.

“The SIS must integrate with other legacy systems across the Air Force,” Schlussel said. “All options are on the table.”

Instruction for submitting a transcript request can be found here or by going to https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Registrar/Transcript-Requests/.