Convert Your Military Experience to College Credit
by Joshua Hudson
The military is a real-life classroom. Your experience and training may be worth college credit. That’s why the American Council on Education (ACE) created recommendations for colleges to accept military experience and training for course credit.
The Army and Navy maintain a database of your MOS and course descriptions which are organized in a recommendation for course credit. The Air Force and Coast Guard transcripts do not have ACE recommendations, but courses are considered community college credits and are evaluated like any credits from a two-year institution.
When enrolling in school, you can order an official transcript from your branch of service sent to your prospective college for evaluation. Transferring military earned credits will help you save money and complete your degree faster.
How to Get Your Transcript
ARMY Soldiers can request their military transcript through the Army American Council on Education Registry Transcript System (AARTS) at http://aarts.army.mil. AARTS will send an official transcript to your institution. It will not mail a transcript for personal records, but soldiers can view and print their transcripts online anytime.
NAVY AND MARINE CORPS Sailors and Marines can access their transcript through the Sailor/Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript (SMART) at www.navycollege.navy.mil/transcript.html. SMART will also include additional college courses that you completed if you send transcripts to them. It’s helpful because it keeps your education information all in one document.
SMART and AARTS transcripts contain only enlisted service training and education achieved on duty. Officers or warrant officers can request certain documents and work with their educational institution to receive college credit. The SMART/AARTS services are free and you can request as many copies as you want. Requests are processed and mailed within two to three days.
Using the Transcript
Schools will use the SMART/AARTS credits differently. Most have limits on the number of credits each will accept. You also must have declared your major or course of study for your school to conduct the evaluation.
The University of Maryland University College has served military students for nearly 60 years and has more than 50,000 among its total enrollment. It is one of 11 institutions in the University of Maryland system and has streamlined a process for military students that may be different from other University of Maryland institutions. Its audit team evaluates SMART/AARTS transcripts and decides whether or not to accept ACE’s recommendations.
“Depending on what major they select, our degree audit team will review the transcript and place it into their degree plan,” explained Andrew Wilson, assistant director of military advising at UMUC.
When you’re ready to enroll, make that transcript request a priority. “We can’t do a credit evaluation without the transcripts,” Wilson said.
Military students who use the SMART/AARTS transcripts at Servicemember Opportunity Colleges benefit even more because SOC schools guarantee to accept certain ACE recommendations.
Park University is a SOC member and has supported military education since the 1970s. Its main campus is in Parkville, Mo., but it also has campuses on military bases around the country and distance learning opportunities.
“We are a degree completion school,” said Eileen West, registrar at Park University. “When they bring their SMART and AARTS credits to Park, we guarantee a two-year completion time if they can stay with us long enough.”
Park University will accept the transfer up to 90 qualifying credits, but students must complete at least 30 credit hours at Park.
Wilson urges military students to plan out their degree on their own and stay the course. “Be dedicated,” Wilson said. “A lot of our students make the extra effort to complete their education, and our military advising and UMUC are proud to help them reach their education goals.”