BILL ANALYSIS �
ACR 159
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 3, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Marty Block, Chair
ACR 159 (Gorell and Ma) - As Introduced: June 11, 2012
SUBJECT : Postsecondary education: military veterans.
SUMMARY : Encourages California Community Colleges (CCC), the
California State University (CSU), and the University of
California (UC) to consider and adopt the American Council on
Education (ACE) credit recommendations to give veterans credit
for their military experience. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes numerous declarations and findings, including the
following:
a) Veterans represent a broad spectrum of our society that
include older students with work and family
responsibilities, students whose college entry has been
delayed, first-generation students, and students with lower
and middle socioeconomic statuses.
b) Veterans have gained valuable skills through their
military training and combat experience; and that some of
this experience is firsthand experience in much needed
professions such as emergency medicine, engineering, and
law enforcement.
c) More than 2,300 colleges and universities recognize the
American Council on Education (ACE) endorsed transcripts,
and that ACE credit recommendations are strong indicators
of military experience and knowledge acquired that should
be counted toward college credit.
d) The adoption of ACE credit recommendations will result
in more veterans graduating from a public postsecondary
education institution, and will help ensure the success of
our veterans at our public postsecondary education
institutions.
2)Recognizes that the California State Assembly and Senate value
military service.
3)Encourages CCC, CSU, and UC to consider and adopt ACE credit
ACR 159
Page 2
recommendations.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This resolution is tagged non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : Background . In California, an approximate 30,000
troops annually are leaving military service, and many are
pursuing postsecondary education. Student veteran enrollment
has increased at UC, CSU, and CCC in recent years: CCC enrolls
44,000 students who utilize some form of veteran tuition/fee
benefit, while CSU enrolls 6,540 and UC enrolls 949 students who
are using GI benefits. Approximately 90% of UC and CSU student
veterans transferred from a CCC campus.
Recent hearing on student veteran issues . On February 28, 2012,
the Assembly Higher Education and Assembly Veterans Affairs
Committees held a joint oversight hearing on the challenges
facing California student veterans. Several students and
representatives from the higher education institutions spoke to
the need for more resources for veterans' services, including
more transition assistance, improving outreach and campus-based
programs, and easing the matriculation of prior military
learning.
Need for this bill . According to the authors, "Military
veterans are finding it very difficult to transfer the training
they have received into college credits, requiring that they
repeat education that they have already received in pursuit of
their college degrees. Many colleges and universities claim
that it would be very expensive for them to review all military
training programs and develop appropriate rules for assigning
appropriate college credit for the training. However, the
American Council on Education has already developed
recommendations for the transfer of military education into
college credits that have been adopted by over 2300 colleges".
ACE Guide . According to ACE, their organization began working
with the military in 1945 and currently has more than 2,300
colleges and universities that recognize ACE-endorsed
transcripts as official documentation of military experiences
and accurate records of applicable ACE credit recommendations.
ACE works with branches of the armed forces in automatically
articulating that credit on official transcripts. These
transcripts are automatically available to servicemembers, and
list personal student data, courses, and occupations evaluated
ACR 159
Page 3
by ACE, including descriptions, learning outcomes, and
equivalent college credit recommendations, as well as national
college-level exam results, and are available at no charge to
servicemembers. Army servicemembers (active, reserve, and
National Guard) receive the Army/ACE Registry Transcript System
(AARTS) transcripts while Navy and Marine Corps servicemembers
(active and reserve) receive the Sailor/Marine/ACE Registry
Transcript (SMART). Coast Guard servicemembers can obtain record
with ACE recommendations through the Coast Guard Institute.
The U.S. Air Force created the Community College of the Air
Force (CCAF) in 1972, gained regional accreditation in 1973, and
the authority to grant associate degrees in 1977. CCAF awards
academic credit and degrees to enlisted servicemembers for their
training and issues transcripts. While CCAF transcripts are not
automatically ACE evaluated, the transcript may be used to
request transfer of credit to another institution or to
otherwise document college credit.
Segments' policies . UC and CSU have recently adopted the ACE
standards for evaluating prior military academic credit, though
this credit is typically granted toward elective requirements.
In spring 2011, the CCC statewide Academic Senate passed a
resolution urging local senates to apply credit for educational
experiences during military service toward the associate degree
in accordance with the recommendations listed in the ACE Guide.
Technical amendments . The author has requested technical
amendments, changing "education" to "educational" in two
instances.
Prior legislation . Several authors have introduced legislation
relating to academic credit for prior military service. AB 372
(Hern�ndez), held under submission in the Senate Appropriations
Committee and AB 2462 (Block), pending in the Senate
Appropriations Committee, pertain to specific adoption of ACE
recommendations for CCC academic credit. AB 2534 (Block),
pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee, would establish
a CCC pilot program for the purpose of establishing career
technical education programs that leverage prior military
service training and potential ACE evaluation of that credit.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
ACR 159
Page 4
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Kevin J. Powers / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960