RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 13 March 2006 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20060008652 I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in the case of the above-named individual. Acting Director Analyst The following members, a quorum, were present: Chairperson Member Member The Board considered the following evidence: Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records. Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion, if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests that she be given a waiver for time in grade so she can be promoted to captain 6 months after her promotion to 1st lieutenant. 2. The applicant states that she was appointed as a 2nd lieutenant when she graduated with a Bachelors Degree from the Interservice Physician Assistant Program (IPAP). However, after her graduating class the IPAP was accredited as a Masters Degree program and graduates are now commissioned as 1st lieutenants. 3. Because of that change, she and others who graduated from her class are junior to officers with less time as a Physician Assistant because those officers graduated from the later classes. The applicant believes that this is an injustice which could be corrected by giving her a waiver to be promoted to captain with 6 months time in grade as a 1st lieutenant. 4. The applicant provides excerpts from her military records and her academic transcript for her Master of Physician Assistant Studies, with diploma. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant, US Army Reserve, on 17 September 2004. She is currently serving on active duty as a 1st lieutenant. 2. In the processing of this case an advisory opinion was obtained from the US Army Recruiting Command (USAREC). The USAREC stated that the applicant graduated from Physician Assistant School in September 2004 with a Bachelor of Science degree. In accordance with Department of Defense Instructions (DODI), the applicant is not entitled to additional constructive service credit. The DODI only provides constructive service credit for officers with a Masters Degree in a Physician Assistant course of study. The USAREC adds that since nobody on active duty has received constructive service credit for a Bachelor of Science Degree in a Physician Assistant course of study, they cannot support the applicant’s request. 3. The applicant was provided the advisory opinion and opted to submit a response. In that response the applicant clarifies that she is not asking for constructive service credit; she is asking for a waiver for time in grade from 1st lieutenant to captain. She states that when the IPAP changed to a Masters Degree program, the basic curriculum of the program did not change. She then specifies what did and did not change when the IPAP changed to a Masters Degree program. She concludes that it is an injustice that officers who graduated up to 18 months after her are given leadership positions over her because they were commissioned in a higher grade then she was commissioned even though they have essentially the same education. 4. In an Extract from the Bulletin of the School of Allied Health Professions College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, dated March 2004, it was stated that students entering the IPAP prior to 1 January 2003 were awarded a Bachelor of Science degree upon successful completion of the program. In January 2003, the IPAP converted to a graduate level physician assistant program. Based on the revised, more intense curriculum IPAP students entering and successfully completing the IPAP after 1 January 2003 were awarded a Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) degree by the University of Nebraska. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. It would appear the crux of the applicant’s request is her contention that her training was essentially the same as the training given in the Masters Degree program. 2. In this regard, the applicant describes the similarities and differences between the Bachelors Degree and the Masters Degree programs. 3. However, in the Bulletin of the School of Allied Health Professions College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, it was stated that the Masters Degree program entailed a revised, more intense curriculum than the Bachelors Degree program. 4. Since a college of medicine revamped the IPAP curriculum to support its elevation to a Masters Degree program, it must be accepted that there are significant differences between the Bachelors Degree and Masters Degree programs. 5. In addition, the applicant enrolled in the IPAP with the understanding that she would be awarded a Bachelors Degree and would be commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant upon graduation. Both of these occurred. There is no error or injustice in the fact that a curriculum change in later classes resulted in the IPAP being changed to a Masters Degree program. BOARD VOTE: ________ ________ ________ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ___jlp___ ___wdp__ ___pms__ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice. Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned. __________William D. Powers______ CHAIRPERSON INDEX CASE ID AR20060008652 SUFFIX RECON YYYYMMDD DATE BOARDED 20070313 TYPE OF DISCHARGE (HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR) DATE OF DISCHARGE YYYYMMDD DISCHARGE AUTHORITY AR . . . . . DISCHARGE REASON BOARD DECISION DENY REVIEW AUTHORITY ISSUES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.