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How Does Your College or
University Become a SOC Consortium Member?
SOC Consortium member institutions provide flexibility to
servicemembers, their families, and veterans seeking college
degrees. In turn, SOC Consortium colleges and universities benefit
from the enrollment of mature, highly-motivated adult students
who are making use of tuition assistance or Montgomery G.I. Bill
benefits to pay their education costs.
SOC Consortium institutional membership is for a two-year
period, and each member has a listing in the bi-annually published
SOC Consortium Guide. The institution's location,
degrees conferred, credit system, accreditation, designated SOC
Institutional Representative and SOC Counselor, credit-granting
policies on testing programs and nontraditional learning, and
military installations served are included in its Guide
listing.
In order to join the SOC Consortium, institutional applicants
must meet six initial conditions:
- Be listed in the hep Higher Education Directory
- Be a degree-granting institution that is accredited by an
institutional accrediting agency recognized by the Commission
on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
- Meet appropriate provisions of DoD Instruction 1322.8, Voluntary
Education Programs for Military Personnel, DoD Instruction 1322.25,
Voluntary Education Programs (DOD
Voluntary Education Policy), and appropriate Service regulations
when providing educational services on military installations
- Be approved for educational benefits by its Veterans Administration
State Approving Agency
- Agree to submit data for the SOC Consortium Guide
- Not be identified in the Guaranteed Student Loan Data
Book as having excessive student loan default rates
All SOC schools must agree to the SOC
Principles and Criteria. These take into account the difficulties
faced by military students due to their geographical mobility,
and provide flexible policies and procedures that assist them
in gaining the same educational opportunities enjoyed by their
civilian counterparts. Entire colleges and universities or appropriate
subdivisions (colleges, schools, major subdivisions) may become
members of the SOC Consortium.
If prospective SOC Consortium institutions meet the six initial
conditions, and are willing to agree to abide by the SOC Principles
and Criteria, they then may request a SOC
Application for Institutional Membership which is completed,
signed by a designated institutional administrator, and returned
to SOC for approval.
The Army requires that all schools offering courses on its
installations be members of the SOC Consortium; the Navy and
Marine Corps require SOCNAV and SOCMAR membership, respectively,
in addition to SOC Consortium membership, for institutions serving
on their bases.
Membership in the SOCAD, SOCNAV, SOCMAR, or SOCCOAST degree
networks is a separate process and varies by program. All SOCAD,
SOCNAV, SOCMAR, and SOCCOAST schools must:
- Guarantee transfer among participating network members
- Act as "home colleges" and issue each student a
Student Agreement Form, which serves as a degree plan and contract-for-degree
Active-duty students attending classes under SOCAD, SOCNAV,
SOCMAR, and SOCCOAST are eligible for tuition assistance benefits.
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