Veterans, How to Reduce the Time it Takes to Earn a Four Year Degree

Time served in the military is not easy, training is difficult, schools are tough, and service members make a lot of sacrifices to serve their country. Ambitious service members who are striving to further their education while on active duty, or after separating from the military, often have to take classes while already maintaining a busy schedule.

The Department of Defense (DoD) understood the difficulties facing service members and veterans seeking to pursue college degrees, and the value of the training that service members received in the military, so in 1945 they created a military partnership with the American Council on Education (ACE).

Military Training and Schools have Educational Benefits in the Civilian World

ACE and the DoD have worked together to evaluate most of the training and schools offered in all branches of the military. ACE has determined an educational value for the training, schools, and military experiences that it feels transfer over to civilian college education. When you start thinking about taking college courses you should make sure the college can accept the ACE recommendations for college credits.

Keeping Track of Your Military Training and Schools

You have enough responsibilities while you are on active duty, so each branch of the military has a system in place to keep a record of your military training. All you have to do is review it on occasion to ensure that it is accurate and up to date. When you are applying to a college your branch of service will forward an official copy to the school.

Air Force. The Air Force has the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) keep records of all Air Force education and training. The information may be viewed at the CCAF Web site

Navy and Marine Corps. The Navy and Marine Corps use the Sailor-Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript (SMART) computerized system to keep track of your military training and schools

Army. The Army uses the Army American Council on Education Registry Transcript (AARTS) computerized system for enlisted personnel to keep track of your military training and schools

Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has an education section, the Coast Guard Institute (CGI), keep a record of all training and schools attended. Service members should send the CGI all documentation of training and schools

Service Members Opportunity College (SOC)

The SOC is an organization of approximately 1800 colleges and universities who are working together to assist service members and their families further their education. The intitutions that are a member of the SOC have already agreed to use the values that ACE has placed on military training and education.

Your Military Experience Adds Up and Reduces at the Same Time

All college degree programs have elective courses that must be taken so that you receive a well rounded education. In most cases your military training and education that ACE assigns values to will count towards college elective courses. Use the ACE Military Programs guidelines to determine how much credit they have assigned to courses you have already taken.

An example is the nine week Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense School that some enlisted Marines attend. ACE has determined that this course should count as three semester hours in environmental science or studies. That is three semester hours you have already earned towards a college degree if you completed that school.

Use the time you have spent serving your country to reduce the time it will take you to earn a degree.

Kelli Smith writes about colleges and universities, community colleges, online schools, and career development. She is the senior editor at www.CollegesandUniversities.org.