If you are a veteran or currently serving in the military (perhaps as a National Guard or Reserve member), we thank them for their service to this nation in uniform. Our support can help you apply the credit you have earned in the past for the professional training received in the military.

A significant portion of the students we support serve are veterans, including many of which are currently on active duty in the military, are in the Reserves or National Guard, or are retired from the military.  Those who have served in the military have received professional training and were educated in the skill or trade in which they served this nation in uniform. In fact, everyone who has served in the military has earned college credit, as recommended by the American Council on Education ® (ACE) for the training they have received while in the military. This begins in Basic Training, where military members earn first earn college credit for their training and educational experiences in the service, and continues throughout their careers. While junior and mid-grade enlisted personnel typically earn college credit that is related to their profession and occupation in the military, senior enlisted   and officers typically earn additional credit in management-related subjects, as would be expected considering their duties and responsibilities. The degree exploration system at HERC can not only identify how much credit veterans deserve in academic subjects for their military training, but can show where that credit could apply to thousands of degrees and certificates from hundreds of excellent colleges and universities across the nation.

If you are a veteran, you have already earned college credit for the professional training you completed in the military. In fact, more than 37,512 military courses of instruction or occupations have been evaluated by ACE from 1942 to present and the results of these evaluations by ACE are in our degree exploration system, DegreeQuest ®. So, if you are a veteran, this support is especially important to you.

Most local colleges and universities in the home towns of veterans across the nation design their curricula to meet the needs of 18 year old high school graduates that come to their campuses, with very little flexibility to apply the credit veterans have earned for their military training and experiences.  As such, this can be quite frustrating for military students and veterans who have earned college credit for their military training, yet find the curricula at their local colleges unable to accept the credit. Our support has been instrumental in helping tens of thousands of military members and veterans overcome this with the military-focused colleges and universities in our system, while continuing to use their local colleges to take courses, when so desired.

Many of our participating colleges and universities have a physical presence on military installations across the nation and often offer degrees that can apply a significant amount of military credit.  In fact, most of these offer degrees at a distance, as well, which provides opportunities for veterans to earn degrees which will allow maximum application of military credit, even after they have separated from the military service.  Because these colleges only require a fraction of the degree to be completed by them, the majority of the degree requirements remaining may be completed at the veterans' local college and transferred to our participating college, enabling them to complete the degree much faster than at their local college. We are excited about the opportunity that we have to propel veterans forward in pursuit of degrees through maximum application of the credit they deserve for their military training and experiences.