At Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, service members saved more than $200,000 in tuition assistance and more than 30 years of classroom time in just two weeks.
Army Staff Sgt. Benjamin Taylor helped organize the Clep-a-Thon at Landstuhl, where service members could take as many College Level Examination Program and DSST tests, formerly known as DANTES Standardized Subject Tests, as they wanted.
The idea came about after University of Maryland University College Europe opened a national testing center at Landstuhl.
“That’s what kind of started the whole idea of hosting an event where soldiers, airmen, Marines, sailors and even civilians and their dependents can stop in and have walk-in testing services,” Taylor said.
The first weeklong Clep-a-Thon was held in June 2015 and the second in December, with more than 300 test-takers showing up total. About 482 exams were taken with a passing rate of more than half. UMUC provided the facility and the front-desk personnel who checked in test-takers.
Normally service members have to contact the testing center and schedule an appointment, Taylor said. With the Clep-a-Thon, they could just walk in, and there was no cap on how many tests someone could take.
“Soldiers would take a test, pass it, and get that confidence” to take the next, more difficult test, he said.
Air Force Master Sgt. Tyler Szymanski, a clinical medicine flight chief at Landstuhl, said he passed 10 of the 12 tests he took, which earned him 30 credits. He said getting these tests out of the way saved him a year to a year and a half of schooling.
“Tuition assistance will currently cover seven classes a year for the school I attend,” Szymanski said. “The additional three classes would have cost me nearly $1,900.”
Pfc. Tyler Hammett puts a star next to his unit after passing a CLEP test in June 2015.
Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Benjamin Taylor/Army
Taylor said the event helps knock out general-education classes. Between both events, 960 college credits were earned. Based on a full-time student workload of 30 credits, 960 college credits saved about 32 years of classroom time — nearly double that when you consider TA authorizes only 16 credits per year. The $265,600 saved in tuition assistance is based off the TA cap of $250 per semester hour and an average $80 per 3-hour course for books.
“Rather than spending a year, you can do it in a day,” he said.
Taylor said troops are aware of what CLEP is but that many don’t take advantage of the tests or understand how testing out of courses can benefit their lives.
“It gets them much closer to their degree,” he said.
Szymanski said there’s no faster way for service members to progress in their schooling.
“The Clep-a-Thon earned my associate’s degree that day and made it to where I was only one year off from my bachelor’s.”
Charlsy Panzino covers veterans education, employment and transition issues, as well as travel, entertainment and fitness. Email her at cpanzino@militarytimes.com.
