Credit for Military Service and Training - Policy Revision
George Gehrels, Chair, Undergraduate Council
Celeste Pardee, Assistant Director, Curricular Affairs
An increasing number of military service members and veterans are interested in continuing their education. To recruit this population with a more welcoming message, UA South faculty requested an increase in the credit-maximum for military training and service -- up to 30 units -- that can be applied toward a baccalaureate degree. UA South’s proposal for a policy revision was approved by the Undergraduate Council on 3/05/13, and by the Faculty Senate on 5/06/13. The revised policy applies to all incoming and continuing undergraduate students, effective Summer/Fall 2013.
Revised Policy on Credit for Military Service and Training, http://catalog.arizona.edu/2013-14/policies/military.htm [1]:
A Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services, by the American Council on Education (ACE), is used by The University of Arizona as a basis for evaluating U.S. Armed Forces training.
ACE Military Credit for Undergraduates
Military credit evaluation is completed only after a veteran or student on active duty has been admitted to the University and has submitted all required documentation. The UA will accept up to 30 units of ACE-recommended military credit as transfer work toward a baccalaureate degree. The specific credits are for training programs offered by different branches of the U.S. Armed Forces and certified by ACE, including basic training. This credit will be awarded as general elective credit or department elective credit. Credit for military service experiences also may be acquired through standardized examinations (see credit by examination policy [2]). Documented training experience that falls outside of the regular transfer credit policies of the University, such as credit for Military Occupational Specialties (MOS), will only be considered on a case-by-case basis through a Transfer Credit Appeal available through the Office of the Registrar [3].
Undergraduate Credit for Military Service
For at least eighteen months of consecutive active duty in the armed forces, terminated under honorable conditions, 4 lower division units of military science elective credit will be awarded toward a baccalaureate degree, as long as the total credit for military training and service does not exceed 30 units. If you have earned a commission in the U.S. Armed Forces, you may petition the Office of the Registrar for an additional 12 upper division units of military science, naval science, or aerospace studies elective credit that will apply toward a second baccalaureate degree.
Graduate Credit for Military Service and Training
Any credit for military service and/or training experiences will be awarded through the Graduate College Petition [4] process available through the Office of the Dean, Graduate College.
Justification for the Policy Revision:
- By accepting up to one-year of military training/service credit — considered to be 30 units — toward a baccalaureate degree, the UA will be perceived as a military-friendly institution.
- Under the former credit maximum, the Registrar’s staff awarded up to 24 units of credit for military training/service. But some UA South students could use up to 30 military credits in their degree program.
- ACE military credit is awarded as department elective or general elective credit, and undergraduates in BA/BS programs do not need more than 24 - 28 elective units. However, the BAS degree offered by UA South can accommodate up to 30 elective units. Additionally, many Cochise Community College students are awarded 30 units of ACE military credit toward their Associate of Applied Science Degree, and their transfer to the UA will be more seamless with this increase in the military credit maximum.
- This revision brings the policy in line with the practices and policies of UA peer institutions.
Management of the Policy:
- Veterans and students on active duty should submit their military transcripts to the Registrar’s Office. Evaluation of military documents will continue to be processed as in the past, but the maximum general elective or department elective credit will increase from 24 units to 30 units.
- Undergraduates with documentation supporting additional ACE credit, such as that for Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) that might apply toward a BAS program, may submit a Transfer Credit Appeal to the Office of the Registrar.
- UAccess Student systems will apply no more than 30 units of military training/service experience toward a baccalaureate degree.
Questions about undergraduate credit for military service and training may be addressed to Celeste Pardee, Curricular Affairs, at 621-5375, or at cpardee@email.arizona.edu [5].