War College

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The following was written in 1976:

GW War College Program in Decline

In 1969, academic programs offered by GW at military installations were the object of protests by students who charged GW with being “a vital part of the American war machine.” The programs lost all student interest in the wake of the Vietnam War, but a modified program is still offered by GW. “Back in the 60’s students were protesting that we were teaching how to make war,” said Prof. Harry R. Page, associate dean of the School of Government and Business Administration (SGBA), which offers one of the programs. “My answer,” Page continued, “was that we have a Department of Defense and if we can contribute to educating them and making it better managed, we should do it. If you’re going to do it, you should do it right.”

GW once offered academic programs at five different military schools. There are now only two such schools where GW has programs, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) and the National War College, both located at Fort McNair in Southwest D.C. The School of Public and International Affairs offers a one-year program at the National War College, while SGBA offers one at ICAF. “If students at ICAF wish to become candidates for a GW degree,” Page explained, “they are taught by GW professors. Each student earns 36 credits to get an M.S. in administration.” Page also pointed out that other programs at ICAF are not as rigorous because “they are not for degrees.”

Students at the National War College have the option of earning an M.S. in international affairs. “There are 140 students at the War College,” said retired Marine Corps. Col. Robert C. Burns, who is the coordinator of GW’s National War College Program, “but not all of them take our program since many of them already have degrees. “The academic year runs from August to June,” Burns continued, “and students must have 30 semester hours and must validate their degrees by taking a comprehensive exam.” Burns estimated there were about 30 War College students in this program.

Tuition at both schools is $81 per semester hour, as compared with the on-campus rate of $94 per semester hour. Burns pointed out that this is primarily because the war colleges do not have to pay building maintenance costs. Both schools admit 140 students, of which one-fourth are sent by the Air Force, one-fourth by the Army, one-fourth by the Navy and Marines, and one-fourth by the civilian components of the government, including representatives from all Cabinet-level departments.

GW once had programs at three other military schools. Included were programs at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., the Air Force War College at Maxwell Air Force Base and the Army War College. GW eventually decided it did not wish to be associated with military schools at such great distances and dropped them. In most instances, universities located closer to the War Colleges took over the programs.

The War Colleges themselves offer no degrees. The GW program, which began in 1961, offers students there a chance to earn GW degrees. “The graduates of this program are very successful,” Page said. “Many became admirals and generals and not just military men go there.”

Despite this favorable estimation of the 15-year-old program, Page believes the program at ICAF is “practically dead” because most of the senior officers now attending the school already have degrees, and “by the time they’ve selected to go to ICAF, they’re not interested in another degree.” In 1961 the program at ICAF included 88 students. This figure continued to climb each year until it peaked in 1964 when 105 students were enrolled. Since then, the number has dropped until there are presently only 26 students.

“We have sent out a questionnaire to all students selected by the government to go to the school next year,” Page said. “We asked them if they’d be interested in the program. It will ruin again only if enough students are interested.” Page admitted, however, that he thought this would be the program’s last year. “War College leads people to the conclusion that we are teaching how to make and conduct a war,” Burns said, “I think the name is wrong, since the thrust of the program is how to conduct our nation’s affairs without conducting a war.”

Document Information

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Author or Source: Hatchet, January 26, 1976
Document Location: University Archives
Date Added to Encyclopedia: December 21, 2006
Prepared by: Lyle Slovick, Assistant University Archivist

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