I__. - International Military Testing Association

Clearly these systems are felt to be valuable resources. Over 90% of the
users felt the systems were either essential or very important additions to
the education centers.
cost effectiveness is difficult to determine, but when one notes the amount of
time spent using the software and compares this to the hourly cost of a GS
9/11 guidance counselor it is apparent that money is being saved. with
increased quantities, the price of the leases becomes even less. Site
licenses also provide more software at an even greater saving. The fact that
family members and DOD civilians can also access the systems at no additionai
cost further enhances the cost effectiveness.
.
Better utilization of the counselor time is apparent by the data indicating
the number of users that did not need to meet with a counselor upon.completion
of their use of the software. The number of clients indicating that they were
better prepared to meet with a counselor also allows the counselor to provide
assistance with things other than simple information giving. (e.g. information:
integration)
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. DANTES seriously investigate the possibility of adding some of the
requested additional dat,a bases. Working with the vendors to incorporate
these data bases into the existing systems should be relatively easy. The
vendors have been asked to identify SOC schools in their next editions.
2. As the personnel resources of the education centers are being drawn down
and more Service members are being released from the Service, these systems
should be expanded to reduce the quantity of personal counseling. Education
centers should consider increasing their investment in computer hardware in
order to expand their counseling efforts. When on-site scoring becomes
possible, sites will want the capability to take advantage of this enhancement.
DANTE.9 plans to expand the program to approximately 250 sites, but only
to those sites that are willing to participate in training and have the
hardware available. Several Educational Services Officers stated that the
addition of CAGIS was extremely valuable in augmenting their resources for
Project Transition.
3. Increasing the "user friendliness" should be a major objective of the
vendors. While the information in the systems is valuable, difficulty in
accessing the information diminishes the usefulness of the systems. The
vendors need to be aware of this shortcomming and either provide additional
training or provide more technical support to the education centers.
4. Counselors need to overcome their reluctance to use the computers. Their
resistance to become involved with computers is denying wider use of the
systems. The counselors do not really know how much information each system
has and inconsequence do not take full advantage of the breadth of information
available. An effort should be made to work with the counselors during workshops
and national conventions.
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