Translating United States Military Occupational Specialties Training into College Credit at a Regional, Comprehensive University

George D. Ford; Janet C. Ford

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Conference: 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Publication Date: June 26, 2016
Start Date: June 26, 2016
End Date: June 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-692-68565-5
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Developing an Academic Framework Supportive of our Military Veterans
Tagged Division: Military and Veterans Constituent Committee
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 10
DOI: 10.18260/p.27081
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/27081
Download Count: 556

Paper Authors

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George D. Ford Western Carolina University

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Dr. George Ford P.E. is an associate professor in the Construction Management Department at Western Carolina University.

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biography

Janet C. Ford Western Carolina University

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Janet Ford, Juris Doctor, is an Assistant Professor in the College of Business at Western Carolina University and teaches in the area of business law.

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Abstract

Abstract

The primary federal military organizations in the United States (US) are the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The occupational training programs provided by these five organizations have reputations of excellence, and service veterans are often sought out by American employers due to the excellent training they receive, along with their service experience. The current momentum of re-enlistments in the services is declining [7, 11], and large numbers of service members will be seeking academic credentials to combine with their military experiences for professional advancement in civilian occupations after they leave the military. These veterans will be supported in their academic endeavors by funding from the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 [14], popularly referred to as the Post-9/11GI Bill. Concurrently, governmental support for and encouragement of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and innovation continues to drive recruitment of promising students into post-secondary STEM programs. Since a number of military training programs cover STEM subjects, administrators of STEM-based programs may be able to increase enrollment in their programs by targeting recruiting activities at service members trained in STEM-containing occupational programs. To facilitate recruiting activities, administrators should be familiar with options for awarding college credit to veterans who have both training and experience in subjects covered by STEM programs. Also, with the success of post-secondary programs being increasingly measured by retention and graduation rates, those programs will benefit by recruiting students who are well-positioned to succeed.

This paper is a primer which will assist administrators of STEM programs in providing support for veterans seeking to further their education. While both active duty service members and veterans may wish to leverage their military training into college credit, this article focuses on veterans. Active duty personnel present issues, such as deployment and relocation, that generally do not affect veterans, and they are likely to be participating in ongoing training programs.

Citation
Format

Ford, G. D., & Ford, J. C. (2016, June), Translating United States Military Occupational Specialties Training into College Credit at a Regional, Comprehensive University Paper presented at 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/p.27081

TY - CPAPER
AB - Abstract

The primary federal military organizations in the United States (US) are the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The occupational training programs provided by these five organizations have reputations of excellence, and service veterans are often sought out by American employers due to the excellent training they receive, along with their service experience. The current momentum of re-enlistments in the services is declining [7, 11], and large numbers of service members will be seeking academic credentials to combine with their military experiences for professional advancement in civilian occupations after they leave the military. These veterans will be supported in their academic endeavors by funding from the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 [14], popularly referred to as the Post-9/11GI Bill. Concurrently, governmental support for and encouragement of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and innovation continues to drive recruitment of promising students into post-secondary STEM programs. Since a number of military training programs cover STEM subjects, administrators of STEM-based programs may be able to increase enrollment in their programs by targeting recruiting activities at service members trained in STEM-containing occupational programs. To facilitate recruiting activities, administrators should be familiar with options for awarding college credit to veterans who have both training and experience in subjects covered by STEM programs. Also, with the success of post-secondary programs being increasingly measured by retention and graduation rates, those programs will benefit by recruiting students who are well-positioned to succeed.

This paper is a primer which will assist administrators of STEM programs in providing support for veterans seeking to further their education. While both active duty service members and veterans may wish to leverage their military training into college credit, this article focuses on veterans. Active duty personnel present issues, such as deployment and relocation, that generally do not affect veterans, and they are likely to be participating in ongoing training programs.

AU - George D. Ford
AU - Janet C. Ford
CY - New Orleans, Louisiana
DA - 2016/06/26
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Translating United States Military Occupational Specialties Training into College Credit at a Regional, Comprehensive University
UR - https://peer.asee.org/27081
DO - 10.18260/p.27081
ER -