“How much transfer credit will I receive for my military training and experience at your institution?”
This is a common question that most institutions and systems cannot answer until a service member completes enrollment. Minnesota State Colleges & Universities (MNSCU) is an exception. At the AACRAO Annual Meeting in Denver, MNSCU Online System Consortium Director Teresa Theisen introduced those in attendance of her shared session to what could become the standard answer to this looming question – the Veterans Education Transfer System (VETS).
There's nothing standard about VETS. It plays out like a Choose Your Own Adventure book: The service member starts by entering his/her branch of service. From here, he/she can enter information specific to his/her training and expertise. The database produces a report of how the completed training and experience will transfer to whichever level of degree was chosen at input before the potential student enrolls.
VETS compares “apples to apples, apples to oranges, and apples to chairs,” explained Ms. Theisen.
In other words, a soldier could have spent his/her military career as an engineer, enter the appropriate information in the search fields, and receive outputs stating what transfers to a bachelor’s degree in engineering (apples to apples) or what transfers to an associates in the nursing field (apples to chairs). With 9,662+ degree pathways determined (and growing), VETS is worthy of praise.
How were these outcomes developed?
When speaking of change, an institution’s faculty can be broken up into three parts: the willing, the malleable, and the disinclined. At the end of the day, awarding of transfer credit is determined by faculty. With this in mind, MNSCU began the creation of VETS by introducing the Joint Service Transcript to willing faculty. With the seed planted and VETS growing, the malleable faculty were approached, followed by the disinclined.
This approach and the resulting system, allows for service members to make informed decisions about their future and their TA funds. MNSCU is at the forefront of what should become the standard.
For more conversations about transfer topics
Join us in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, this July 6-8 for AACRAO's Technology and Transfer Conference.