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Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges
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SOCMAR Frequently Asked QuestionsCan I get college credit for my experience in the Marine Corps? What if I can't attend regular classes? Can I get financial assistance for my studies? What is a SOCMAR home college? What is a SOCMAR Student Agreement? How do I begin as a SOCMAR student? What happens when the Marine Corps reassigns me? How do I present my MOS and Marine Corps courses to a college evaluator? What if I leave the Marine Corps before graduating? Can my family benefit from SOCMAR?
SOCMAR is the SOC degree program for the Marine Corps. SOCMAR-2 is made up of colleges that offer associate and bachelor's degree programs on or accessible to Marine Corps installations worldwide. The bachelor's degree equivalent is SOCMAR-4. The SOCMAR system joins theses colleges together to form networks in which each college accepts credits from all the others. This guarantees that you can continue toward your degree even though the Marine Corps may transfer you several times. SOCMAR solves the problem of starting your studies at one place and finishing at another.
SOCMAR programs are offered at almost all Marine Corps installations.
Can I get college credit for my experience in the Marine Corps? SOCMAR was designed to build on your Marine Corps training and experience. It was developed specifically for enlisted personnel whose MOS and service schools may already have earned them college credit.
A wide variety of study areas is available, ranging from a series of management-related fields to automotive and aviation maintenance, computer studies, criminal justice, electronics, and more. Liberal arts degrees also are available if you prefer a more general degree.
What if I can't attend regular classes? Most SOCMAR classes are taught in a regular classroom setting during the day, in the evenings, or on weekends on the college campus or on the military installation. Two external degree methods of course delivery, Distance Learning and Learning Assessment, are available to marines who are unable to attend regular classes. Using these, you can study anywhere and take courses by correspondence, Internet, video, computer. You can get a degree with a combination of these courses, regular college courses, credit from tests such as CLEP and DSST, and credit from your military experience.
Can I get financial assistance for my studies? If you were attracted to the Marine Corps by the G.I. Bill, tuition assistance, or other educational funding opportunities, don't delay! Begin your college studies now. The Marine Corps will pay a substantial part of tuition costs for courses taken while you're on active duty. For details, ask at your Marine Corps Education Center.
What is a SOCMAR home college? A home college is the SOCMAR college where you begin your studies and complete the minimum academic residency: you do not have to take more than 25 percent of your degree program with your home college, and these courses can be taken at any time and anywhere that college teaches classes. The home college evaluates your Marine Corps service schools, MOS, and other learning experiences, combining them all into a SOCMAR Student Agreement that serves as your contract-for-degree. When you have completed the courses needed for your degree, you graduate from your home college.
What is a SOCMAR Student Agreement? A SOCMAR Student Agreement is the form on which the home college makes a complete evaluation of the college credit you should receive on the basis of your Marine Corps service schools, MOS, testing, and any other college courses you may have taken. It also lists courses remaining to be completed and serves as your checklist for future studies at SOCMAR network colleges anywhere in the world. It is your contract-for-degree, your degree plan, and a road map to program completion. You are not a SOCMAR student and you do not have the SOCMAR transfer guarantees until you have been given a SOCMAR Student Agreement by your home college.
How do I begin as a SOCMAR student? Your first step is to consult with your Marine Corps counselor who will help you locate available programs of study and can estimate the amount of college credit you may already have earned from your Marine Corps training and experience, completed college courses, tests you've taken, etc. The counselor will advise you whom to contact at a SOCMAR college for further counseling, course selection, and official issuance of the SOCMAR Student Agreement.
What happens when the Marine Corps reassigns me? Consult with your Marine Corps counselor and SOCMAR college counselor before leaving. One of them will review your SOCMAR Student Agreement to determine what requirements you have completed and what remains to be done in order to get your degree. You will be advised about which colleges participate in your network at your new duty station. Check in with the new Marine Corps Education Center; show your SOCMAR Student Agreement to the counselor, who can advise you on what you need to complete your degree. If no participating SOCMAR college is available, the counselor can help you get formal approval from your home college to take course from a college not in a SOCMAR network.
How do I present my MOS and Marine Corps courses to a college evaluator? If you are an active-duty Marine, or separated or retired from the Marine Corps on or after October 1, 1999, you can have a Sailor/Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript (SMART) that documents your military experience sent to your SOCMAR college. You may get a request form from your Marine Corps Education Center or download one from: http://www.navycollege.navy.mil/transcript.html.
What if I leave the Marine Corps before graduating? If you leave the Marine Corps before you complete your degree requirements, your SOCMAR Student Agreement guarantees that your college credits will not be lost and you can finish your studies as a civilian — assuming you have satisfied the home college's academic residency requirement and can take the remaining courses with another college. If the college is not in SOCMAR, you'll have to get the courses approved by your home college.
Can my family benefit from SOCMAR? Yes, SOCMAR colleges will enroll family members under the same terms as servicemembers. |
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Previous for Students Comments to: socmail@aascu.org |
