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Home : Military Professional Development : Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges
Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOCAD-SOC Army Degrees) Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC) degree program for the Army, or SOCAD for short, consists of regionally accredited colleges and universities that offer associate and bachelor's degree programs on or close by Army installations worldwide. These colleges and universities have joined together to form networks in which each institution accepts credits from all of the others. This guarantees that Army students and their adult dependents can continue toward completion of their chosen degree even though the Army may transfer them from installation to installation. This includes installations here in the States and overseas. You may be asking, what exactly is SOCAD and how can I use it to benefit me? The following is a breakdown of what SOCAD is, and how it works. SOCAD is a system of college curriculum networks designed by SOC for Army servicemembers and their adult family members. Networks consist of groups of colleges and universities that have agreed to accept each other's courses in a particular program of study. Students can move freely among the colleges in a network without being reevaluated or worrying about whether or not courses will transfer. SOCAD-2 is the associate degree network program; SOCAD-4 is the bachelor's degree network program. SOCAD-2 and SOCAD-4 colleges provide students with the opportunity to complete college degrees without losing credit because of frequent changes in duty station. Curricula, or courses of study, are offered by regionally accredited colleges and universities on or close to most Army installations worldwide. Colleges within SOCAD act as "home colleges" for SOCAD students. Students begin their studies at their home college where they complete the required academic residency. SOCAD colleges and universities require no more than 25 percent of a degree program in residence, and courses taken from the college anywhere in the world at any time during study for a degree count toward residency. After completing no more than six semester hours at the home college, SOCAD students are eligible for an official evaluation and SOCAD Student Agreement, which is a degree plan and contract-for-degree. The SOCAD college includes on the official evaluation appropriate credit for any previous college courses and nontraditional learning, including Army MOSs, military training courses, and results of national examinations. Credit for nontraditional learning is based on recommendations of the American Council on Education. SOCAD colleges guarantee to accept in transfer courses listed in the transferability tables of the SOCAD-2 and SOCAD-4 Handbooks, which are used as manuals for the SOCAD system by college and military counselors. These courses are transferred among network colleges without course-by-course prior approval for individual students. SOCAD colleges also guarantee to accept college-level General Education elective courses in specified course areas. These guarantees are in effect only when a SOCAD Student Agreement has been issued, and only for transfer back to the home college. When SOCAD students are transferred to new duty stations, they may continue to take courses from other SOCAD colleges, and acquire credit for further military experience and tests. These credits are transferred back to the home college which will award the degree when all academic requirements set forth on the Student Agreement are met. Students who complete a SOCAD-2 associate degree are guaranteed that, within certain stated limitations, it will satisfy at least 45 percent of the requirements for designated bachelor's degrees in the SOCAD-4 system. SOCAD students can pursue their degrees though three delivery options: » Traditional Delivery -- Courses normally are delivered through classroom-based instruction with some academic residency required. » Alternative Delivery -- External-degree option that allows SOCAD students to take courses without sitting in a traditional classroom. Courses may be by correspondence, computer, video, or other type of independent study. » Learning Assessment Option -- External-degree option that consists of approved curricula that do not require academic residency for graduation. Participating colleges and universities evaluate learning from nontraditional sources, and accept credit in transfer from other institutions. SOCAD is a system of colleges working together to make it possible for soldiers to begin a degree with one of them and complete it with courses taken at others as they relocate during their Army careers. Enrolling in a SOCAD college gives you a number of benefits: (1) a "home college" that evaluates your prior learning experiences (including Army schools, MOSs, and national tests); (2) a clear degree plan, and only one college's graduation requirements to meet; and (3) guaranteed transfer of courses as you move among SOCAD colleges during the course of your Army career. You don't have to start over with a different college, evaluation, and set of degree requirements every time you relocate--all of your credit is transferred back to your home college which grants your degree when you've finished your degree plan. Begin at your Army Education Center where a counselor will help you select an appropriate course of study and refer you to a participating college's counselor. Enroll at the suggested SOCAD college which is your "home college." After not more than 6 credit hours, the college will evaluate your prior learning, including your military experience, and complete a SOCAD Student Agreement degree plan. As you move to new duty stations, see an Army Education Center counselor, who will refer you to a SOCAD college. Show your copy of your Student Agreement to the SOCAD college counselor who will help you select the courses you need to follow your degree plan. Send transcripts from other SOCAD colleges you attend, test scores from any credit-by-examination programs, and documentation of additional military experience back to your home college. When you have completed all requirements for your degree, apply for graduation, and you will receive your degree from your SOCAD home college. Your Army schools and work experiences (MOSs) are evaluated for possible college credit using a reference from the American Council on Education (ACE) entitled Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services (ACE Guide). If the credits recommended by ACE match credits required in your SOCAD degree plan, they take the place of the courses you would otherwise have been required to complete. In addition, you can get college credit by taking tests, such as CLEP, DSST, ACT-PEP, ASE Professional Certification exams, and others. The combination of credits earned for Army schools and occupational experiences and tests, along with the actual college courses you take, eventually give you enough credits for a college degree. A student who enrolls in a SOCAD program is responsible for: » Requesting an official evaluation from the home college, and arranging to provide all the necessary documents, including transcripts from other colleges and forms such as the DD 295 documenting military experience. » Updating the personal copy of the Student Agreement after completing courses each semester. » After moving to new duty stations and attending other SOCAD colleges, having transcripts sent back to the home college after completing courses each semester. » Sending to the home college documentation of additional test scores and military training and occupational experience for credit evaluation. » Requesting prior home college approval of the few courses for which transfer is not guaranteed. » Filing a graduation request or application with the home college after completing all degree requirements. For a potential student, the Army counselor should: » During inprocessing, explain how SOCAD guarantees can help the soldier to earn a degree with minimum loss of credit when duty stations change. » Refer the soldier to the appropriate college adviser with instructions to request a Student Agreement that will serve as an official evaluation and degree plan. » Determine eligibility and process forms for tuition assistance. » Tell the soldier how to obtain official documentation such as college transcripts, testing verification, DD 295, etc. » Help the soldier who is being assigned to a new installation to understand guaranteed transferability of credits and availability of courses at the new location. » Help the soldier apply for graduation when all degree requirements have been met. |
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