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Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges
Principles and Criteria
2009-2011
SOC Principles
SOC Institutional Membership
Initial Conditions for Membership
SOC Criteria
SOC Institutional Operating
Guidelines
Servicemembers Opportunity College (SOC), co-sponsored by the American
Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the American
Association of Community Colleges (AACC), functions in cooperation
with 13 other higher education associations, the Department of Defense,
and
Active and Reserve Components of the military Services to expand
and improve voluntary postsecondary education opportunities for servicemembers
worldwide.
The SOC Consortium, comprised of more than 1750 college
and university members, enrolls hundreds of thousands of servicemembers,
their family
members, and veterans annually in associate, bachelor, and graduate-level
degree programs on school campuses, military installations, armories
within the United States and overseas, and through distance learning
and learning assessment. These voluntary programs are a significant
joint venture and require strong commitment and coordination among
academic institutions and agencies, the Military Services including
the National
Guard, the Coast Guard, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense
(OSD).
SOC is a vehicle to help coordinate voluntary postsecondary educational
opportunities for servicemembers. SOC does this by:
- seeking to stimulate and help the higher education community
understand and respond to special needs of servicemembers;
- advocating the flexibility needed to improve access to and
availability of educational programs for servicemembers;
- helping the Military Services including the National Guard
and the Coast Guard, understand the resources, limits, and
requirements of higher
education;
- helping the higher education community understand the resources,
limits, and requirements of the Military Services
including the National Guard and the Coast Guard; and
- seeking to strengthen liaison and working relationships among
military and higher education representatives.
SOC PRINCIPLES
To achieve its goals, SOC is founded on principles agreed
to collectively by the higher education community through the SOC
Advisory Board,
the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), and the Military Services
including
the National Guard, and the Coast Guard.
SOC Principles are predicated
upon such principles as those set forth in the Joint
Statement on the Transfer and Award of Credit of the
American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers
(AACRAO),
the American Council on Education (ACE), and the Council for Higher
Education Accreditation (CHEA), and are drawn principally from the
cumulative experience
of educational institutions and agencies judged successful in their
work with servicemembers. The Principles embody a needed institutional
flexibility
with thoughtful development of programs and procedures appropriate
to the needs of servicemembers, yet recognize the necessity to protect
and
assure the quality of educational programs.
Principle 1. In order
to enhance their military effectiveness and to achieve their educational,
vocational, and career goals, servicemembers
should share in the postsecondary educational opportunities available
to other citizens.
Principle 2. Educational programs for servicemembers
should rely primarily on programs, courses, and services provided
by appropriately
accredited institutions and organizations, including high schools,
postsecondary vocational and technical schools, colleges, and universities.
Principle
3. To enhance access to undergraduate educational opportunities for
servicemembers, institutions should maintain a necessary flexibility
of programs and procedures, particularly in admissions, credit transfer,
and recognition of other applicable learning, including that gained
in the military; in scheduling and format of courses; and in academic
residency
requirements to offset servicemembers’ mobility, isolation from
campuses, and part-time student status.
SOC INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP
Institutions may join the SOC Consortium
as entire institutions or appropriate subdivisions (e.g., colleges,
schools, or major divisions).
For membership in the SOC Consortium, an institution must meet three
requirements:
- Each institution must satisfy six initial conditions.
- A responsible administrative official must commit the institution
or the appropriate major subdivision to fully
comply with and support the SOC Principles and Criteria as
it delivers undergraduate postsecondary
programs, courses, and supporting services
to servicemembers on military installations or at locations
accessible to them.
- The prospective institutional member must be approved as
meeting SOC Principles and Criteria by the Director of SOC.
INITIAL CONDITIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP
Institutional members must meet
the following conditions:
- be listed in the Council for Higher Education Accreditation’s
(CHEA) Database of Programs Accredited by Recognized U.S.
Accrediting Organizations;
- be a degree-granting institution that is duly accredited
by an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education
or by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
(CHEA);
- meet appropriate provisions of DoD
Directive 1322.8, Voluntary
Educational Programs for Military Personnel, DoD
Instruction 1322.25, Voluntary Education Programs, and appropriate Service regulations
when providing
educational
services on military installations;
- be approved for educational benefits by the appropriate State
Approving Agency for veterans’ benefits;
- agree to submit data for the SOC Consortium Guide; and
- not be listed by the U.S. Department of Education as having
an excessive student loan default rate.
SOC CRITERIA
Inherent in the SOC Principles are expectations and
standards essential to their translation into performance
and action. The SOC Criteria
express those expectations and standards and constitute
an
operational framework
for SOC member institutions to extend to servicemembers
undergraduate educational opportunities that are
sometimes distinct from
common institutional practice. The Criteria characterize
flexibility essential
to the improvement
of access by servicemembers to undergraduate educational
programs. The Criteria stipulate that institutional
policies and practices be fair, equitable,
and effective in recognizing special and often
limiting conditions
faced by military students.
Criterion 1. Transfer
of Credit.
Since mobility makes it unlikely that a servicemember
can complete all degree program requirements at one
institution, a SOC Consortium
institution designs its transfer practices for servicemembers
to minimize loss of credit and avoid duplication
of coursework, while simultaneously maintaining the
integrity of its programs.
It is recognized
that
SOC
Consortium institutions must maintain quality and
integrity within a complex academic and regulatory
environment where resource, regulatory,
and academic realities sometimes militate against
the broad
spirit of
flexibility that SOC advocates. Consistent with this
reality and with the requirements of a servicemember’s degree
program, a SOC Consortium institution follows the
general principles of good
practice
outlined
in the Joint Statement on the Transfer and Award
of Credit. Each institution may be required to submit
documentary evidence that
it
generally accepts
credits in transfer from other accredited institutions,
and that its credits in turn are generally accepted
by other accredited institutions.
Criterion 2. Academic
Residency Requirements.
A SOC Consortium institution
limits academic residency requirements for active-duty servicemembers
to no
more than 25 percent of the undergraduate degree
program; recognizes all
credit
course work offered
by the institution
as applicable in satisfying academic residency requirements;
and allows servicemembers to satisfy academic residency
requirements with courses
taken from the institution at any time during their
program of study,
specifically avoiding any “final year” or “final
semester” residency
requirement, subject to stated requirements in specific
course areas such as majors. If a SOC Consortium
institution offers one hundred
percent of an undergraduate degree online, that institution
may require
active-duty
servicemembers to take thirty percent of that degree
program to obtain residency. (Institutions joining
SOC for the purpose of participating
in the Concurrent Admissions Program (ConAP) are
exempted from this
criterion.)
Criterion 3. Crediting Learning from Military
Training and Experience.
A SOC Consortium institution
provides processes to determine credit awards and learning acquired
for specialized military training and
occupational experience when applicable to a servicemember’s
degree program. A SOC Consortium institution recognizes
and uses the ACE Guide to the
Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed
Services in determining the value of learning acquired
in military service, and awards credit
for appropriate learning acquired in military service
at levels consistent with ACE Guide recommendations
and/or those transcripted by the Community
College of the Air Force, when applicable to a servicemember’s
program.
Criterion 4. Crediting Extra-Institutional
Learning.
Recognizing that learning occurs in extra-institutional
and non-instructional settings, a SOC Consortium
institution provides processes to evaluate
and award appropriate undergraduate-level credit
for such learning through practices that reflect
the principles and guidelines in the
statement on Awarding Credit for Extrainstitutional
Learning.
This shall include
awarding credit through use of one or more of the
nationally-recognized, non-traditional learning testing
programs provided for servicemembers
by the OSD, such as described in the ACE Guide to
Educational Credit by Examination. These examinations
include CLEP, DSST,
and ECE whether
or not they supplement institutional challenge examinations
or test-out procedures.
SOC INSTITUTIONAL OPERATING
GUIDELINES
In addition to the SOC Criteria, some operating guidelines
can be drawn from the SOC Principles and the experience
of educational institutions
and agencies that have shown success and quality
in their educational offerings to servicemembers.
These guidelines should be viewed as
desired institutional behavior for SOC Consortium
institutions.
Admissions. In recognition of the preparation
and experience of many servicemembers, SOC Consortium
institutions facilitate the admission
and enrollment of qualified candidates by
providing means
to determine levels of ability and achievement
of servicemembers. Admissions practices,
developed primarily for recent high school
graduates, often work to the disadvantage of a servicemember
who may be qualified for college-level
work, yet may be unable to satisfy commonly
imposed requirements.
Specialized
training and experience in the Military Services
or elsewhere, that may qualify individuals
for college admissions and
credit, often go unrecognized. To facilitate admission
and enrollment of qualified servicemembers, SOC Consortium institutions:
- recognize the GED high school equivalency certificate/diploma,
utilizing ACE recommendations concerning academic performance;
- accept and record previously successful postsecondary study
as part of the servicemember’s program requirements, if appropriate;
- recognize learning gained from specialized training and experience
in the Military Services or elsewhere;
- establish competency by nationally-recognized means, such
as standardized tests;
- publicize alternative admission procedures available to servicemembers;
- conduct timely evaluation of the educational records and
relevant experiences of servicemembers;
- waive formal admission for servicemembers seeking enrollment
in course work for transfer to another institution; and
- complete an education plan or degree plan for all servicemembers.
Extra-Institutional Learning. The military is an employer committed
to providing genuine access to educational
opportunity clearly connected to military workplace learning. In recognition
of this
commitment, SOC Consortium institutions help servicemembers and
veterans
to incorporate
credits in their degree programs based on
collegiate-level learning achieved
not only through formal school training but
also through occupational experience, and nationally-recognized, non-traditional
learning
testing
programs. This learning can occur both in
the military
and in civil society.
Military occupational experience represents
a legitimate area of learning outside the formal classrooms
of specialized military training
courses. A SOC Consortium institution should
recognize the value of such experience and award appropriate
credit for Military Occupational
Specialties
(MOS) and Navy Rates and Ratings as recommended
by the ACE Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences
in the Armed Services.
Learning may also be acquired through
other experience, civilian non-collegiate courses, and collegiate
non-traditional courses. Courses in the last group have evaluative
mechanisms vouched for by the operating
institution. Credit recommendations for training
courses offered by business and industry, government,
labor unions, and other public
and private
sectors are given in the ACE National Guide
to Educational Credit for Training Programs, the ACE Guide to
Educational Credit by Examination,
and A Guide to Educational Programs in Noncollegiate
Organizations by
the Board of Regents, The University of the
State
of New York.
The portfolio evaluation method, sponsored
by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning
(CAEL) and used in some form by hundreds
of institutions, is also an important aid
in determining credit equivalence and applicability
of experiential learning.
Distance Learning. Increasing
numbers of accredited colleges and universities offer
distance learning opportunities to qualified
students. Distance learning comes in a wide variety
of modalities including
online courses, video cassette courses, paper-based
correspondence courses, instructor-enhanced
independent study courses, and
many variations of
these and other methodologies. Instruction
can occur synchronously among sites using
a network of videoteleconferencing systems
and locations.
Most often instruction is asynchronous whereby
students
do not engage in learning together at a distance
on a pre-set schedule. With distance
learning, as with extra-institutional learning,
SOC Consortium institutions must determine
the comparability of the nature, content,
and level of
transfer credit in relation to their own
course offerings. SOC Consortium institutions
are diligent in evaluating the
appropriateness and applicability
of credits earned in transfer through distance
learning
from properly regionally and nationally accredited
institutions. Generally SOC
Consortium institutions can determine comparability
by examining the course learning
outcomes, course descriptions and other materials
obtained from institutional catalogues, and
from direct contact between knowledgeable
and experienced faculty and staff at both
the receiving and sending institutions.
DANTES provides
useful listings of available independent study courses
in its Independent Study Catalog and distance learning
programs in its External Degree Catalog.
To
enhance study opportunities for servicemembers, SOC Consortium institutions:
- advise and assist servicemembers to make maximum use of distance
learning;
- provide their own modes of distance learning. Through advisement
and listing in their publications,
they make students aware of acceptable forms of distance
learning available through other sources;
and
- consider the acceptance in transfer, when appropriate to
a servicemember's program, of credit earned through distance
learning from other regionally and nationally accredited
institutions.
Graduate
Education. SOC Consortium institutional Operating
Guidelines facilitate graduate
program admissions, enrollment, and degree completion
by servicemembers. SOC Consortium
institutions offering graduate programs:
- recognize the maturity and experience of servicemembers
as adult learners in admissions
and enrollment policies and procedures;
- maximize institutional delivery options to meet the special
needs of servicemembers;
- have flexible policies regarding the transfer of graduate
credit by servicemembers
and veterans from accredited institutions, and apply those
credits where appropriate to
meet degree requirements;
and
- recognize graduate-level learning gained from specialized
training and experience in the Military Services as
recommended by the ACE Guide to the Evaluation
of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services and
apply that credit to a student’s degree program where appropriate.
Institutional
Commitment. In order to achieve consistent
application of policy in offering
programs for servicemembers, SOC Consortium
institutions make appropriate assignment
of responsibility
and monitor institutional
performance in the delivery of such programs.
Programs
for military students, whether offered on-campus or on an installation,
require
added institutional attention and supervision.
Procedures that may have been effective for
the usual campus or student
population no longer suffice. The nature
of the institutional commitment to servicemembers
needs to be made clear
to institutional
representatives
as well as to the student.
Demonstrating their
understanding of and commitment to servicemembers, SOC Consortium
institutions:
- publicize widely to their faculty and students the nature
of their commitment and programs and activities offered on
behalf of servicemembers and include a statement of commitment
to SOC in their catalogs;
- provide effective administrative
staffing and processes to give adequate support
to programs for servicemembers;
- develop procedural directives for instructors, counselors,
admissions officials and program officers governing special
requirements of servicemembers;
- ensure the comparability of off-campus courses to on-campus,
while recognizing and accommodating programs to the particular
needs of the adult learner;
- designate a contact office or person for servicemembers;
- designate a senior administrative official to oversee programs
for servicemembers and veterans, monitor institutional
compliance with the SOC Criteria, and serve as
principal spokesperson and respondent on
SOC
matters;
- conduct staff orientation programs to prepare full-time and
adjunct faculty to work with the adult part-time learner;
- provide scheduling on a planned program basis rather than
by individual courses; and
- ensure access to all courses needed for degree completion
by scheduling at appropriate locations and times, not necessarily
related to regular academic terms.
College Recruiting, Marketing,
and Student Services. To facilitate the enrollment process and continued
student success of qualified servicemembers in postsecondary
education, SOC Consortium institutions will:
- Outreach to servicemembers using advertising, college recruiting,
and admissions information that adequately
and accurately represents the programs, requirements, and
services available. Military students
considering course enrollments require
adequate time to make informed decisions and consult with
education service counselors. High-pressure
promotional activities or “limited time only” enrollment
discounts are inappropriate recruiting
activities bySOC Consortium institutions.
- Provide adequate access to the range of student services
appropriate to support the programs, including admissions,
financial aid, academic advising, delivery
of course materials, competency testing,
course placement, and counseling.
- Ensure that students admitted into college programs possess
the requisite knowledge and academic preparation to succeed.
Where technology aids (computers, personal
digital assistants, or other technology packets)
are employed
in the program as key instructional components, institutions
must provide assistance to students who are experiencing
difficulty
using the required
technology.
- Provide adequate, clearly established means for resolving
student grievances. In particular,
provide transparent due-process procedures related
to tuition and financial aid matters, course withdrawals
due to unanticipated
deployments, lack of consistent computer connectivity, and
changes of duty.
Veterans’ Services. For veterans returning to civilian life to begin or continue study,
civilian SOC Consortium institutions provide
appropriate evaluation of
their training, experience, and prior study and other services similar
to that afforded servicemembers. Some of the
SOC Criteria apply equally
to the institution's treatment of veterans—admission
practices, transfer of credit
and recognition of other forms of learning, including military experience.
When a servicemember has
completed
the residency requirement
while on active duty at
a SOC college, that college
is obliged to recognize that
fact when the servicemember becomes a veteran. Although broader instructional
offerings and services may
be available
to returning veterans, counseling,
evaluation, and planning are of
particular importance in
assisting them to reach their personal and career goals.
Recognizing
the continuing educational needs of veterans,
civilian SOC Consortium
institutions:
- encourage veterans to continue or complete study started
during service or interrupted by duty requirements;
- offer opportunities to veterans similar to those extended
to servicemembers under the SOC Criteria, including provision of information
and counseling
services to ensure
that veterans are aware of the benefits, regulations and potential
problems of veterans’ assistance programs;
- comply with the provisions of 38 USC 1775 pertaining to veterans’ educational
assistance; and
- provide veterans, previously admitted as SOC Degree Network
System students, with opportunities to complete their
programs under the conditions of their Student Agreements.
Family
Members’ and DOD Civilians’ Services. Families of
active-duty servicemembers
and DOD civilians, including Non-Appropriated Fund (NAF) employees, experience
many of the same kinds of disruptions
in pursuing a college degree
as do active-duty servicemembers. Because of that, SOC Consortium and
Degree Network System member institutions
assist them by extending
the considerations described for veterans under Veterans’ Services.
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