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Course and Occupation Evaluation FAQs
ARMY-SPECIFIC COURSES AND OCCUPATIONS
NAVY–AND COAST GUARD–SPECIFIC COURSES AND
OCCUPATIONS
MARINE CORPS–SPECIFIC COURSES AND OCCUPATIONS
AIR FORCE–SPECIFIC COURSES AND OCCUPATIONS
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE–SPECIFIC COURSES AND OCCUPATIONS
What types of military courses and
occupations does ACE evaluate?
ACE evaluates courses authorized and established by the service
components of the U.S. Department of Defense. Resident courses must
consist of at least 45 hours of instruction. Nonresident or distance
learning courses must include safeguards to ensure the integrity of
student work.
Military occupations must be codified, with an evaluation process
that provides reasonable assurances that the individual has acquired the
identified skills, knowledge, and competencies of the military
occupation classification, rate, and/or rating.
How are courses and
occupations selected for evaluation?
While ACE is the coordinating agency for scheduling evaluations, each
service maintains primary responsibility for establishing its own
priorities and scheduling evaluation visits.
How does a college
conduct its own assessment of the student?
Assessments to verify student skills, knowledge, and competencies not
identified during an ACE evaluation depend upon institutional policies
for awarding credit for extra-institutional or experiential learning.
Academic advisors, admissions officers, registrars, and students are
encouraged to review MOSs, courses, and/or other learning experiences to
determine if institutional practices such as departmental exams,
portfolio assessments, or credit by exam is appropriate to determine the
type and amount of credit to award for nontraditional learning. Students
and practitioners will find the Joint
Statement on the Transfer and Award of Credit helpful in
identifying processes to assess individual students.
ARMY-SPECIFIC COURSES AND OCCUPATIONS
What are primary, secondary, and duty
MOSs?
All Soldiers receive a primary Military Occupation Specialty (MOS), in
which they normally work and are evaluated annually. Some Soldiers
additionally receive a secondary MOS, which is generally related to
their primary MOS. The duty MOS is the work assignment given by the
Soldier’s supervisor and that in which he will be evaluated for
performance. As in most cases the duty and primary MOSs are the same,
the Soldier must maintain dual proficiencies in both areas and
institutions are advised to award credit in the primary and duty
MOS.
Most MOS exhibits do
not carry a specific credit recommendation for skill levels 10 and 20.
Why?
The 10 and 20 skill levels are entry-level classifications for MOS
exhibits, based on completion of the course required for the award of
these skill levels. Since the Army no longer requires standardized
testing at the entry level, MOS evaluations are limited to skill levels
30, 40, and 50, with the recommendation that at the lower levels of 10
and 20, the award of credit be granted on an individualized student
assessment.
NAVY– AND COAST GUARD–SPECIFIC COURSES AND
OCCUPATIONS
What is a pipeline
course?
The Navy offers some programs of study that are "pipelines," consisting
of several individual courses that must be completed in order to receive
credit for the entire program. For such courses, ACE evaluates each
"pipeline" course in the program individually and recommends credit. The
ACE exhibit will contain more information regarding the specific courses
required to complete the program and how to award credit upon completion
of the entire program. For more information on pipeline courses, the
reader should call ACE at (202) 939-9470.
How can I distinguish
among the terms "pay grade," "general rate," "rating," and
"rate"?
A pay grade is a position from E-1 to E-9 on the Navy’s pay scale
for enlisted personnel. A general rate is an apprenticeship that
indicates eligibility for entrance into various ratings. A rating is an
occupation (for example, Air Traffic Controlman). A rate is an
identifying term or title associated with a given pay grade.
For example, in pay grade E-4, the rate is petty officer third class. A
rate may also be associated with a specific rating; for example, a petty
officer third class whose rating is Air Controlman will usually refer to
his or her rate as Air Controlman Third Class. Navy men and women
usually refer to themselves by their rate.
Do all ratings provide
paths of advancement and career development for pay grades E-4 through
E-9?
Although most ratings begin at pay grade E-4 and culminate at pay grade
E-9, there are some exceptions. For example, the Legalman rating
consists of pay grades E-5 through E-9. In this case, a person
progresses to pay grade E-5 from pay grade E-4 of the Yeoman rating. At
the other end of the spectrum, some ratings are structured so that a
person holding a rating that consists only of pay grade E-9 (e.g.,
Master Chief Constructionman) may have progressed from any one of
several related ratings that terminate at pay grade E-8. Paths of
progression are provided in each entry of the career pattern section of
an exhibit.
Should institutions
grant credit for their servicemembers' general rate (pay grade E-3), as
well as their rating (pay grades E-4 to E-9)?
Yes. Anyone holding a rating also is eligible for the credit recommended
in the general rate exhibit. The six general rates in the Navy are:
Airman, Constructionman, Dentalman, Fireman, Hospitalman, and Seaman.
The Coast Guard has two general rates: Seaman and Fireman. The Career
Pattern section in the rating exhibit will indicate the general rate
that the individual held before progressing to the rating. Evaluators
should consider the credit recommended for the general rate in
conjunction with the credit recommendation for the rating.
A student has asked for
credit for an NEC. What are NECs, and have they been evaluated?
A Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) is a four-digit code that
identifies skills acquired by an individual in a particular rating, as
well as qualifications for that occupation. NECs are evaluated using the
same procedures that ACE has used to evaluate occupations and are listed
in Section 5-1 of the Guide to the Evaluation of
Educational Experiences in the Armed Services. Individuals
working in the occupational field identified by the NEC also are
required to maintain proficiency in their rating. They are required to
pass the rating advancement examination to qualify for promotion and
should be considered for credit in both the rating and the NEC.
MARINE CORPS–SPECIFIC COURSES AND OCCUPATIONS
Which Marine Corps MOSs
are evaluated by ACE?
ACE evaluates aircraft maintenance and avionics occupational fields. The
Individual Training Standards System (ITSS) Maintenance Training
Management and Evaluation Program (MATMEP) is a record of skill
level-progression, technical skills management, and evaluation program
for enlisted aviation technical maintenance training and is the document
required to verify MOS and skill levels.
AIR FORCE–SPECIFIC COURSES AND OCCUPATIONS
What is the Community
College of the Air Force?
The Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) is a regionally accredited
institution approved to award degrees at the two-year community college
level. Most formal training completed by enlisted members of the Air
Force is evaluated for credit by CCAF. Students may obtain information
on requesting CCAF transcripts by visiting the CCAF web site at http://www.au.af.mil/au/ccaf/active_transc.htm.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE–SPECIFIC COURSES AND OCCUPATIONS
Why are most Defense Language Institute
(DLI) courses end-dated in 1990? What do I do for foreign language
courses taken after that time?
The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center has been
authorized by Congress and by the Accrediting Commission for Community
and Junior Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, to
grant an associate of arts (AA) degree in a foreign language to
qualified students. Details regarding eligibility, general education
requirements, and petition forms can be found on the DLI web site at http://www.dli.army.mil (click on
"AA Degree Program").
For servicemembers not eligible for a transcript, credit
recommendations are based on successful completion of the Defense
Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) end-of-course examination. ACE's Credit
by Examination program began evaluating DLI's end-of-course examinations
in October 1990. Credit recommendations are now based on successful
completion of the DLPT III and IV series. These examinations may be
taken by servicemembers who complete the DLI courses, as well as by
servicemembers who must demonstrate ongoing language proficiency without
having taken formal training. Evaluation of the tests is a way to ensure
that both groups receive appropriate recognition.
The examinee may request an official DLI from the Commandant, Defense
Language Institute, Foreign Language Center, ATTN: ATFL-DAA-AR, The
Presidio of Monterey, Monterey, CA 93944-5006. Test scores are available
by writing to DLI/FLC, ATTN: ATFL-EST-M (DLPT Score Reports), The
Presidio of Monterey, Monterey, CA 93944-5006. Students may also call
the Office of the Provost at (831) 242-5291 or the Registrar's Office at
(831) 242-5825 or 6459. For information about the status of a
transcript, call (831) 242-5366 or fax (831) 242-5146.
Additional information on these examinations may be obtained from ACE's Guide to Educational Credit
by Examination.
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