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o make the most of prior learning service members must be prepared! The three-step process recommended is: Determine, Evaluate, and Learn (DEL), basic guidelines to help them on the pathway to educational success.
Transfer Military transcripts: • Include a description of military schooling and work history in civilian language. • Display degrees, apprenticeships via the United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP), and certifications/licensure and tuition assistance courses (past or current) for Marine Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard Joint Service Transcripts. • Serve as an advising tool working with academic and career counselors. • Help prepare a resume and explain military work experience to civilian employers.
1 – Determine Long and Short-Term Goals The last couple of years has shown that life can be unpredictable. Will we ever go back to normal operations? No one knows! Regardless, It’s up to the service member to set goals and chart their course. Whether they are looking to save time to degree completion, lower the cost of tuition books and fees, or getting help with career planning, leveraging prior military experience is a valuable and important 3 – Learn How Credits Transfer tool to propel a member toward educational success. Acceptance of recommended transfer credit is determined by the receiving institution. When the college 2 – Evaluate Military Training and Experience or university determines whether (and how much) The Joint Services Transcript (JST) provides docucredit to apply to an individual record, that credit will mented evidence of service members professional then appear on the service member college/univermilitary education and training and occupation experiences. When evaluating prior military learning sity transcript. Typically, grades are not included with experiences, members should ask two key questions: the transfer process, so they are not factored in as part of the grade point average (GPA). First, am I getting maximum education credit for
what I’ve learned through my military training and on the job experiences? Second, am I wasting both time and money taking courses that may have already gained credit recommendations through ACE? It is important that service members audit their military transcripts for accuracy and understand the details of this specialized tool. This critical step of auditing supports research of degree programs, job pathways, certificates, or professional licenses for alignment. It is also an important action in determining potential gaps that a member will have to mitigate to meet goals.
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Academic institutions establish their own transfer credit policies and procedures. It is recommended that service members immediately identify and locate these policies to help them understand the process and set a plan for making the most of their credit recommendations. When researching these policies, members will want to pay attention to the details listed in the institution’s catalog or bulletin. Often, the transfer policies will be general in nature. As they continue to research transfer information, look for more specific requirements for credit being transferred from another accredited academic institution, the military, professional training, or testing.
