| Jack,
After having been through Phase I of EEP last session, and also
being eligible for SERP, I have concluded that if either option has any
appeal, the decision should be based most upon two things: (a) what you
really want to do after DEC, and (b) what is "most right" for your
personal situation. The latter is of no small importance, BTW. That
one is very complex for many, if not most, of us. Nearing retirement
age, family, economics, readjusting to the chosen environment and its
requirements, all need to be thought through seriously.
Given the date today I assume that, if accepted into EEP, you can still
proceed with Phase I and not jeopardize the decision date for SERP. If
you have little or no prior experience with Education, or it is old, my
recommendation is to proceed with EEP Phase I, if only for the
exposure. (This assumes you have more than a passing inclination for
that field.) The world of education today is much different than it
was 20 or more years ago; participating in Phase I is meant to be an
"information dump" for the benefit of the enrollees, to give you as
much data as possible upon which to formulate a decision. It is very
worthwhile. Here, too, I assume that participating would not negate
electing SERP; I cannot see how it would. (If you are not aware, there
is a Notes conference dedicated to the issues surrounding SERP, just as
there is for EEP. The former was opened in just the last few days.
You should be a member of both.)
The trick here is, since both EEP Phase I and the SERP decision
date are so close, you would need to be extremely on top of both at all
times in order to make the best decision--the reason being that the
real answer, in my opinion, comes from within; anyone can do a
balance-of-accounts for benefit analysis and be reasonably right (for
practical purposes). Only you can make the final decision for you,
because it becomes very personal.
Good luck!
-wlb-
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| WLB,
Your answer is most thoughtful and useful. Thank you.
Jack
BTW, you mentioned that there is an EEP notes conference. I looked
thruough EASYNOTES.LIS seaching for eep, education, engineer, into,
and other strings and could find nothing on EEP.
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Perhaps you should think of the purpose of each program.
The EEP program is inteded for people who are interested
in making a career of education. If you are so inclined,
you should consider EEP. If you are trying to find the
best path away from Digital, the EEP program may help you
at the expense of people genuinely interested in contributing
to the enhancement of quality education in our society.
I don't know much about SERP, but it might be a better fit
for your intentions.
-Jim
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