Editor’s note: Retired Army Lt. Col. Anthony Dotson is the University of Kentucky’s Veterans Resource Center coordinator.
Military credit seems like a no-brainer — of course I want credit for my experience!
But upon closer examination, military credit has a potentially dark side and can be related to poor student-veteran retention rates. In fact, there is a direct correlation between lower retention and generous transfer credit policies within higher education.
When transfer credit is accepted by a university, that means the source of the credit is recognized as an accredited college or university. The credit will be applied to your transcript but not necessarily satisfy any of your degree requirements. It’s important to find out how much of your credit is applicable toward your core or degree requirements. This is the credit you want counted — not the other stuff.
There is passionate, well-intended testimony on both sides of this argument. And while I enjoy an impassioned debate as much as the next guy, at the end of the day, data wins.
Research on retention in higher education clearly shows a direct relationship between admission or enrollment standards and retention. In other words, the harder it is to get in to a school, the better your odds of graduating become.
Even the U.S. military uses a standardized test score to determine acceptance and career opportunities, much like most of higher education. A General Technical subscore of 110 is required for anyone seeking commissioning and the four-year degree that accompanies it. Any score below that, and history shows us that the odds of retention and graduation are slim.
We’ve learned this the hard way at the University of Kentucky. When I came onboard in 2009, I clearly recognized the military-credit policy as being disadvantageous to our non-Air Force veterans and convinced the university to take all military credit as part of the admissions process.
I almost immediately saw a negative impact on retention. These students were not ready for the academic rigor of a large public research university. I went back with hat in hand and admitted my mistake. The university’s current policy is a result of that, and I believe it to be the best policy for student veteran success at a large public university like ours. We still accept military (Joint Services Transcript) credit, but not as part of the admissions decision process. You must be admitted on your own academic record, and we then apply only the military credit that counts toward your degree.
This policy does limit how many student veterans we enroll, but it greatly increases their odds of graduating.
So whether you should use military credit fundamentally depends on:
- What you did in the military.
- The type of higher education institution you’re applying to.
- The type of degree you’re seeking.
I would recommend saying “no” to military credit in the following cases:
1. When it’s all or nothing.
If a school accepts your military credit but insists that all of the credit be applied to your transcript, this could set you up for problems down the road with financial aid and progress toward your degree. In other words, you will have a ton of credit but be no closer to your degree. Do the math!
2. When you have chosen a tougher school academically.
Military credit is not a good indicator of academic preparedness, so don’t bank on it to get you accepted.
3. When taking the class is clearly the better academic option.
In many majors, curriculum is either cumulative or nested. In engineering, for example, many of my student veterans prefer to take a course than to get credit for it because it will result in a GPA boost and/or set them up for success in the follow-on courses.
4. When you really need to start from the beginning.
For example, when your military experience has little or nothing to do with your chosen degree path.
5. When it sounds too good to be true.
It likely is. Remember: Easy isn’t always better.
