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Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges
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SOCNAV Frequently Asked QuestionsCan I get college credit for my experience in the Navy? What if I can't attend regular classes? Can I get financial assistance for my studies? What is a SOCNAV home college? What is a SOCNAV Student Agreement? How do I begin as a SOCNAV student? What happens when the Navy reassigns me? How can I present my Rates and Ratings and Navy courses to a college evaluator? What if I leave the Navy before graduating? Can my family benefit from SOCNAV?
SOCNAV is the SOC degree program for the Navy. SOCNAV-2 is made up of colleges that offer associate and bachelor's degree programs on or accessible to Navy installations worldwide. The bachelor's degree equivalent is SOCNAV-4. The SOCNAV 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 Navy may transfer you several times. SOCNAV solves the problem of starting your studies at one place and finishing at another.
SOCNAV programs are offered at almost all Navy installations and even on board ships.
Can I get college credit for my experience in the Navy? SOCNAV was designed to build on your Navy training and experience. It was developed specifically for enlisted personnel whose Navy rate, rating, 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 SOCNAV 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. Some are taught on board ships. Two external degree methods of course delivery, Distance Learning and Learning Assessment, are available to sailors 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 Navy by the G.I. Bill, tuition assistance, or other educational funding opportunities, don't delay! Begin your college studies now. The Navy will pay a substantial part of tuition costs for courses taken while you're on active duty. For details, ask at your Navy College Office.
What is a SOCNAV home college? A home college is the SOCNAV 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 — even at sea. The home college evaluates your Navy Rate and Rating and other learning experiences, combining them all into a SOCNAV 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 SOCNAV Student Agreement? A SOCNAV 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 Navy Rate and Rating, 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 SOCNAV 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 SOCNAV student and you do not have the SOCNAV transfer guarantees until you have been given a SOCNAV Student Agreement by your home college.
How do I begin as a SOCNAV student? Your first step is to consult with your Navy College education specialist who will help you locate available programs of study and can estimate the amount of college credit you may already have earned from your Navy training and experience, completed college courses, tests you've taken, etc. The education specialist will advise you whom to contact at a SOCNAV college for further counseling, course selection, and official issuance of the SOCNAV Student Agreement.
What happens when the Navy reassigns me? Consult with your Navy College education specialist and SOCNAV college counselor before leaving. One of them will review your SOCNAV 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 Navy College Office; show your SOCNAV Student Agreement to the education specialist, who can advise you on what you need to complete your degree. If no participating SOCNAV college is available, the education specialist can help you get formal approval from your home college to take course from a college not in a SOCNAV network.
How can I present my Rates and Ratings and Navy courses to a college evaluator? If you are an active-duty sailor, or separated or retired from the Navy 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 SOCNAV college. You may get a request form from your Navy College Office or download one from: https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/transcript.html.
What if I leave the Navy before graduating? If you leave the Navy before you complete your degree requirements, your SOCNAV 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 SOCNAV, you'll have to get the courses approved by your home college.
Can my family benefit from SOCNAV? Yes, SOCNAV colleges will enroll family members under the same terms as servicemembers. |
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