The Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program at UNA will not be closing in 2015, as originally announced on Oct. 2. The ROTC program has been moved from the Army’s program-closure list to a probation process, said program director Lt. Col. Michael Snyder.

“There’s parameters of what (probation) means that I don’t know yet,” Snyder said. “It has something to do with how the Army will establish a more definable process that involves the Army battalion, it’s leadership and the university in meeting some benchmarks.”

Snyder believes the initial closure announcement and the current probation are linked to the number of commissioned officers the program puts out each semester, he said.

“ROTC exists in order to commission officers for our Army, so (the initial closure plan and probation) are related to that,” he said.

Although unsure of exactly how the program was removed from the closure list, Snyder credits university leadership and elected officials with doing the work, he said.

Snyder does not currently have any information concerning how long the probation period will last, he said.

“I think (Army leadership has) changed their procedures and policies regarding when and how to close an ROTC program in the future,” Snyder said. “They’re going to adjust that process involving the unit and the university leadership.”

One concern the news of the 2015 closure created for UNA ROTC cadets was that freshmen and sophomores were not going to be able to become commissioned officers through the program, said Kelly Norton, a junior and ROTC cadet.

“Now we’re going to be able to help the freshmen, like the seniors and juniors helped us when we were younger,” Norton said. “This program really teaches a lot and (the program’s faculty and staff) really care about us as cadets, individuals, and we’re like a family. Even though we kind of get annoyed by the younger people sometimes, we want them to be here.”

Tyler Putt, a freshman cadet, said he was planning to transfer schools in order to participate in a program that could commission him as an officer.

“It basically put me in the position of either having to transfer or completely drop a program, but that was completely out of the question for me — I would have had to transfer,” Putt said. “I was looking into Alabama and Auburn, but God’s hand just helped. I’m definitely staying.”

Other programs from different universities reached out to Snyder to provide a place for the cadets to transfer to when the 2015 closure was still on the table, Snyder said.

“I really got a feel for other programs that reached out in a professional and honest way to help our cadets,” Snyder said. “I’ll (be looking for) opportunities to train with those ROTC programs in the future.”

For now, Snyder expects he’ll receive more information on the probation process and what the Army expects of UNA’s program in the upcoming week, he said.

Editor’s Note: Editor-in-Chief Corinne Beckinger contributed to the reporting of this story.