Getting Credit Where It's Due
Written by J.B. Bissell
MAE 2012 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 (February)
Pursuing one’s college degree is a major life decision and a huge commitment. Four or so years down the road when you’re posing for pictures in your cap and gown with diploma in hand, it will all be worth it—but make no mistake, there will be times when you question the process and its fundamental merit. One of those moments will most likely be right at the outset.
To put it simply (and honestly), applying to college can be a hassle. There are deadlines and exams and essays and all sorts of other hoops that need jumping through. Because of all this, it might tempting to breeze past the application procedure as quickly as possible in order to just get on with the learning. Tempting, yes, but if you don’t take the time to ensure that you’re setting yourself up in the most favorable educational position at the very beginning, you could be delaying that momentous—and well deserved—graduation picture at the end.
“Many of the skills obtained from military experience are not fully understood by those who have not served in the military,” said Barb Schultz, associate executive director at Upper Iowa University’s Center for Distance Education in Fayette, Iowa. “There are tangible skills that are deserving of the awarding of civilian course credit for comparable military schooling. For example, the evaluation of the equivalent general business or personnel supervision credit for completing primary and advanced military leadership development schools.” In other words, you could be in much better academic standing than you think, and there’s a good chance that at least some of your military training and service can be counted as college credits, which means you’ll probably be able to skip a handful of otherwise required courses. That translates into saving not only time, but also dollars.
The ACE Factor
Essentially, the organization that’s responsible for assigning academic value to military training is the American Council on Education (ACE). “Through the work of our Military Programs department, a servicemember’s military training and on-the-job experience are assessed, evaluated and recommended for college credits by faculty from across the country,” said Evelyn Howard, associate director of Military Programs at the American Council on Education. “This serves as a key link between servicemembers’ military experiences and current college curricula.” This information is then provided to institutions of higher learning in the form of the Army/ACE Registry Transcript Service (AARTS) and Sailor/Marine/ACE Registry Transcript (SMART) documentation. Members of the Air Force receive transcripts from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) and the Coast Guard uses the Coast Guard Institute to maintain educational records. “When a college or university accepts these credit recommendations,” added Howard, “they are recognizing the quality and value of the training and on-the-job experience of our service members outside the military environment.”
At last count, approximately 2,300 colleges and universities were recognizing that quality and value and relying on ACE for relative equivalencies between military experience and certain college classes—but don’t think that it’s a simple or arbitrary evaluation process. “From a purely academic perspective, the transfer of knowledge in a military environment and a classroom environment are different,” explained Schultz. “In many cases, however, the learning outcomes could be quite similar. Many people do not realize that military schooling and training includes hours in the classroom as well as hands-on practical application of the lessons learned. These skills should be recognized in the credit evaluation process for all degree levels based on the students’ service school records.”
Pop quizzes and final exams are one thing, but having to actually apply a specific textbook theory during an exercise in a practical “real-world” environment— as soldiers so often must do—could be argued to be an even more enriching and fulfilling way to learn. “Experiential credit is often more complete than a classroom-only experience,” Schultz continued. “This is why, in my opinion, ACE evaluates the various military schools and occupational specialties (based on rank and responsibility levels), reviews training objectives and outcomes, and recommends credit that may be awarded. Some credit is recognized as vocational only, some equivalent to lower level undergraduate credit, and some as upper division credit—and in some rare instances, learning outcomes are recognized as equivalent to graduate level credit. So in my mind,” she said, “the question is not how the learning was accomplished—military versus academic— but was it accomplished, and were the desired outcomes and standards met. ACE is the broker in this process.”
Alternative Crediting Options
ACE may be the primary broker, but there are some other academic credit agents out there, too. “Most institutions will recognize the American Council on Education’s recommendations,” said Roberta “Bobbie” Flaherty, executive director emeritus, National Academic Advising Association at Kansas State University in Manhattan. Even though “only a few military specialties fully equate to specific institutional courses—foreign language, for example—more generic credit recommendations may be applied as ‘elective’ credits.” These could include physical education, military strategy, basic flight instruction, police investigation, and so on. Keep in mind that “most degree programs will have a limited number of electives, but they can be fulfilled with military credits,” Flaherty continued. In addition, “when a direct equivalence is not possible, some institutions may ask for further documentation or assessment of knowledge to apply credits to specific courses or encourage testing through the College-Level Examination Program or other nationally accepted assessments,” she said. “Some schools might even have a method or policy for the assessment of ‘experiential learning’ that they could recommend.”
Recognition of experiential learning differs at each institution, of course, and potential students need to completely understand the expectations and probable outcomes at their school of choice. Flaherty hasn’t been directly involved in this particular area for some time and acknowledges that things have certainly changed, and continue to do so, but during her time “we worked with individual faculty members to determine the most appropriate method for assessing one’s learning in a subject taught by that faculty member,” she explained. “Some would require essays discussing the subject, some would require oral exams, and some would ask for additional work after the assessment to receive credit for an equivalent course.”
It’s also crucial to note that this exchange between military training and academic credit is not taken lightly. As Dean Vakas, the director of military and federal programs at Parkville, Missouri’s Park University, explained, “There is a difference between training for a job and an education for a career or profession. Training is usually related to acquiring knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) for the current job. The education a student receives in a college program is about preparing students to be critical thinkers for future positions and responsibilities. That being said,” he continued, “certain KSAs acquired in a military training environment can be practically correlated to the KSAs of a college course. For example, public speaking or written communication skills acquired in a training environment correlate well to speech and language courses in college.”
Getting Started
No matter what one’s training background or experiential learning credentials might be, the first step is to pick up the phone or stop by a college admissions office and start the process of collecting all the credits you’ve got coming to you. “Park provides unofficial AARTS, SMART, CCAF and Validated Learning Equivalency evaluations for all military servicemembers,” Vakas said. This “provides prospective students with a rough estimate of where transfer credit may apply toward the degree of choice, and an overall number of acceptable credits. Once the servicemember or veteran completes an application and submits all necessary documents, an official degree audit is completed within two weeks.”
The benefits of speaking with an adviser at any of the institutions you might be interested in cannot be overstated. As Flaherty said, “An academic adviser in the area of a student’s interest should be the first point of contact after getting in touch with an admissions representative. It is important to see somebody who can assist the student with institutional policies regarding military training and make any appropriate referrals to assist the student at the institution. Unfortunately, many veterans have been misled about the extent that their military training will be utilized toward a degree or, on the flip side, are not made aware of all the methods available to get the most credits for that training.” Academic advisers are in place to answer questions about these topics and make certain that students have as smooth a transition as possible into academia. They can help potential learners explore possible majors, assist with transferring previous credits, maximize financial aid opportunities, suggest “test out” or advanced placement options, and even find course offerings that fit best with family and work obligations.
Many advisers are well versed or are becoming quick experts on armed forces-focused issues. As more veterans are returning to higher education with the extended GI Bill benefits, institutions are realizing the need to provide a network of support for these veteran students and to provide guidance in maximizing credit for their military experiences,” Flaherty said. “Many academic advisers are specifically trained to work with veterans and their unique experiences as they return to higher education.” Schultz confirmed this development. “Our admissions advisers who work closely with prospective students from the military are well trained in the type of credit awarded for military experience as well as the various tuition benefit programs for military members,” she said. At Park University, “there is a team of resources … and we provide continuous training to all enrollment counselors to give them the tools necessary to best support the military population,” added Vakas. “This model ensures that servicemembers do not have to wait if their ‘designated’ resource is busy or out of the office.”
On to Graduation
Over the years, San Diego State University has developed a reputation for offering a tremendous network of support for the military population, and it all starts with a dedicated application process. “I am responsible for outreach and admissions assistance for active duty military, veterans, and military spouses,” said Frank Roberts, a retired Army officer who is now the military liaison officer at San Diego State University. “This includes providing guidance on SDSU admissions criteria, the appeals process, special military admission programs, and academic credit questions. After a military member or veteran applies and/ or is admitted, SDSU has adviser-evaluators who are trained in the evaluation of military transcripts.” Once those transcripts are assessed, students will know exactly how much academic credit they’ll receive for the military training they completed while enlisted. The obvious, and immediate, benefit will be the ability to skip a few classes. By all accounts, though, that’s just the beginning.
Another important educational benefit one’s military experience may provide, albeit, a more abstract one, is the increased potential to succeed in the classes that he or she must still take. “Military experience, training and skills, such as self-discipline, mission focus and time management, provide for a mature, concentrated and global perspective within the college classroom and the campus environment,” Roberts said. This level of maturity and desire to succeed, along with any transferred credits you’ve already earned, will almost certainly give you a head start on the road to that final picture in your cap and gown. ♦