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SOCAD Publicity
SOCAD College Lists SOCAD Networks Lists For additional information: Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges |
SOCAD Frequently Asked QuestionsHow do I begin a SOCAD degree? Why is the SOCAD Student Agreement important? How does SOCAD guarantee course transfer? What degree programs are available? What if I can't attend regular classes? How do I present my MOS and Army courses to a college evaluator? Why not just take college courses? Can my family benefit from SOCAD? What about tuition assistance, financial aid, and the GI Bill?
SOCAD stands for "SOC Army Degrees." It is made up of colleges that offer associate and bachelor's degree programs on or accessible to Army installations worldwide. They evaluate your past learning experiences (college courses, tests, MOS's, Army schools, etc.) and provide you with a SOCAD Student Agreement that lists credits awarded and those still needed to graduate. If you relocate and must complete your degree with courses from other colleges, they guarantee to accept transfer courses from SOCAD colleges without individual approval.
How do I begin a SOCAD degree? Contact your Army Education Center. You will be helped with program selection, advised about tuition assistance, and referred to a SOCAD college that will, after you take no more than six semester hours, evaluate your learning experiences and provide you with a degree plan called a SOCAD Student Agreement.
Why is the SOCAD Student Agreement important? It gives you a one-time evaluation of everything you've done that can be credited toward your college degree, and it lists what you must still take to graduate. You will not have to be re-evaluated each time you go to another post or college. Instead, after you complete your residency (usually 25 percent of the program) with your home college (the one that issues your agreement), if you have to relocate, future courses at other colleges can complete your original degree plan. Keep your SOCAD Student Agreement and avoid taking unnecessary courses by referring to it each time you register.
The ACE Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services is a reference colleges use to determine what credit is recommended for your MOS's and Army schools. They are provided to colleges and education centers, not to individuals. Ask your counselor about it. The recommendations must match requirements in your degree for you to receive credit.
SOC publishes large, loose-leaf directories of the colleges offering degree programs in its SOCAD-2 (associate degree) and SOCAD-4 (bachelor's degree) systems. The handbooks list college requirements, courses guaranteed to transfer, points of contact and academic programs available on Army posts worldwide. They are provided to colleges and education centers, not to individuals. Ask your counselor about them.
Most colleges require you to take at least 25 percent of your degree program with them to receive their degree — not necessarily on campus, but from their offerings on base or elsewhere. If possible, satisfy residency before you are reassigned, unless you know you will return. If you find it impossible to complete residency, ask your counselor about a Learning Assessment program that requires no residency or a Distance Learning program that lets you satisfy residency through courses delivered outside of a classroom.
How does SOCAD guarantee course transfer? When colleges join SOCAD, they examine each others' courses and guarantee to accept them without being asked. The SOC DNS Handbooks list courses whose transfer is guaranteed in this way. When a course isn't available under this arrangement or there is no SOCAD college where you are assigned, the home college must approve courses individually.
What degree programs are available? Nearly 30 degree programs (SOCAD Curriculum Networks) are available at the associate and bachelor's degree levels. Ask your counselor to check the SOC DNS Handbooks to verify what is available at your post. If you want to pursue a curriculum that hasn't been networked, ask the SOCAD college to enroll you as a "Non-Network" student. Using this option, colleges can give you the same evaluation, SOCAD Student Agreement, and guarantees of the regular networks for any curriculum they are willing to support under SOCAD.
What if I can't attend regular classes? Most SOCAD classes are taught in regular classroom settings--Traditional
Delivery. But you can also choose Distance Learning courses that
are taken anywhere by Internet, correspondence, computer, or
TV. Another choice is Learning Assessment colleges that evaluate
your experiences for credit, manage your degree program, award
your degree when you finish, and have no residency requirements
to meet. How do I present my MOS and Army courses to a college evaluator? If you enlisted in the Army on or after 1 October 1981, complete a DA Form 5454R, Request for Army/American Council on Education Transcript, and send it to: AARTS Operations Center, 415 McPherson Avenue, Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-1373 for a list of your credit recommendations. Other choices include your DD Form 295 or 214. The ACE Guide tells colleges how to work with these documents and contains the AARTS request form.
Why not just take college courses? Without a degree plan and a meaningful evaluation of what you've already learned in the Army and elsewhere, you risk taking courses you don't need. It is also difficult to transfer miscellaneous credits from various sources to a new college. Instead, select a home college, get an official evaluation and a SOCAD Student Agreement, satisfy your academic residency requirement, and you can complete your degree plan after being reassigned or leaving the Army--far better than ending up with a collection of unplanned courses.
Can my family benefit from SOCAD? Usually. Ask your counselor to check the SOC DNS Handbooks.
What about tuition assistance, financial aid, and the GI Bill? Your Army Education Center is the best source of information on financial assistance programs for soldiers. |
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