In December
1945, at the request of civilian educational institutions and the
regional accrediting associations, ACE established the Commission on
Accreditation of Service Experiences—renamed in 1979 as the Commission on
Educational Credit and Credentials—to evaluate military
educational programs and to assist institutions in granting credit for
such experiences. The first edition of the Guide to the Evaluation of
Educational Experiences in the Armed Services was published in 1946.
The G.I. Bill, established in 1944 to aid veterans of World War II, was later extended to include veterans of the
Korean War. The subsequent enrollment of many veterans in
colleges and universities prompted the publication of the second edition of Guide to the Evaluation of
Educational Experiences in the Armed Services in 1954.
The 1968
edition was prepared in anticipation of the increased enrollment of
veterans resulting from the educational assistance provided under the
Veterans Readjustment Benefits Act of 1966, and with the expectation
that many would apply for educational credit for their learning
experiences in the armed services. In addition, technological advances
had necessitated major changes in service training, with a resulting
need for new or revised educational credit recommendations.
The
1974 edition of the Guide to the Evaluation of
Educational Experiences in the Armed Services marked the beginning of the publication of
biennial editions of the Guide through computerized composition,
continual staff review of courses, and computerized storage of
course information for a more rapid updating of credit recommendations.
In 1994, the computerized system came in-house, with all data
managed by ACE Military Evaluations Program staff.
Over
the years, the recommendations contained in the Guide to the Evaluation of
Educational Experiences in the Armed Services have assisted
education institutions in granting credit to hundreds of thousands of
service members. The recommendations have been widely accepted because
formal military courses share certain key elements with traditional
postsecondary education programs. They are formally approved and
administered, designed for the purpose of achieving learning
outcomes, conducted by qualified persons with specific
subject-matter expertise, and structured to provide for the reliable
and valid assessment of student learning.
In 1975, ACE
implemented a program to evaluate learning represented by demonstrated
proficiency in Army enlisted Military Occupational Specialties (MOS).
Subsequently, the occupational assessment program was expanded to
include Navy general rates, ratings, warrant officers, and limited duty
officers; Army warrant officer MOS; Navy warrant officer and limited
duty officer specialties; Coast Guard enlisted ratings and warrant
officers; and selected Marine Corps MOS. A small number of Naval
Enlisted Classifications (NEC) also have been evaluated.
In
1994, ACE published the Guide to the Evaluation of Educational
Experiences in the Armed Services, 1954–1989. It contained all courses and
occupations with exhibit dates from 1954 to December 1989. In 2005, this
archived edition was incorporated online into the Military Guide.
In 2006,
after 60 years of publishing the hardbound Guide to the Evaluation of Educational
Experiences in the Armed Services, the online version of
the Military Guide became the sole source of information for all
military courses and occupations that ACE continues to evaluate for the
services.