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Newly Accredited Certificate Program at the Academy

Stefanie Senkow | January 10, 2022

What was once a plan of study has now become an accredited certificate program for the Sciences department at the Coast Guard Academy. The Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) plan of study received accreditation as a certificate program by the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) on December 17, 2021. Students who complete the four core courses, one elective course, and a qualifying capstone experience, earn a GEOINT certificate from the USGIF to accompany their B.S. degree.

“There were 19 universities in the country that offer this certification, and now we are the 20th!” said Dr. Lucy Vlietstra, GEOINT Certificate Coordinator.

The GEOINT program prepares cadets to leverage geospatial information as Coast Guard officers for strategic planning and decision-making during field operations. Cadets of any major can take this program, and the USGIF GEOINT certificate signals to detailers and future employers those graduates skilled in GEOINT tradecraft.

In the fleet, a background in GEOINT can be used to identify illegal fishing hotspots, predict areas of the ocean where ships may be in distress, detect oil spills and forecast drift trajectories and investigate maritime threats to national security. This certificate program is for the officer that likes to analyze imagery and other data, detect meaningful patterns, and solve problems.

There are currently ten students enrolled in the program on track to graduate with this certificate in May.

Learn more about this newly accredited certificate program.

Sponsor Family Application

Thank you for submitting your application to be part of the Sponsor Family Program. Your application will be processed in the upcoming week. Coast Guard Academy’s policy on background screening now requires all adults (everyone 18 and older living in the home) who volunteer to mentor, teach, coach or sponsor cadets, whether on or off Coast Guard Academy grounds, to be screened every 5 years. They are required to provide personal information (name, birth date and social security number) for the purpose of conducting a criminal background check.

The Security Officer at the Coast Guard Academy, CWO2 Gina Polkowski, is overseeing this process. Her email is: Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.

Sponsor Family designations fall into several different categories. Below are the guidelines to help you determine how best to meet the background screening requirement:

If you are Coast Guard active duty you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
If you are a Civilian working for the Coast Guard you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
If you are non-Coast Guard Active Duty, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
If you are non-Coast Guard civilian who has a current security clearance or National Agency check, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
All civilians in the families who are 18 years or older and do not have a security clearance or a National Agency Check are required to be vetted through Mind Your Business, the third party vendor hired by the Coast Guard Academy for the vetting process.

After you complete your application, please e-mail the Sponsor Family Program Coordinator at CadetFamilySponsorProgram@uscga.edu. In your e-mail, you must include the e-mail address and phone number of every adult living in the home. The Sponsor Family Coordinator will then initiate the background check process and you will receive an email with further instructions.

Important things to note:

There is a Sponsor Family Training that is a one-hour training which we ask sponsors to attend once every four years. This training is designed to give you an overview of the program, what is expected of you as a sponsor, and what you can expect from your cadets. This training will also help familiarize you with the cadet regulations onboard CGA. You will be notified via e-mail once the training is scheduled.

The matching process of swabs to families will occur during July and August. Please bear with us and remain flexible through this process. There will be a meet and greet scheduled on Campus, typically in late August. This will give families an opportunity to formally meet their cadet if they have not already done so. Details on this will also be via email.