Push for military credit at MU continues

A task force has been working to make MU more veteran-friendly.

By Zachary Murdock

Published Feb. 5, 2010

In 2008, Chancellor Brady Deaton created a task force devoted to improving veterans' affairs on campus. Since then, the task force has been working to make MU a more veteran-friendly campus, with policies that can help make veterans' returns to college more seamless.

The key issue facing veterans returning to MU is finding a way to get professional military training to transfer as credit at the university. Both active and reserve duty personnel have access to programs designed to help them obtain college credit for their military experience, but many institutions do not universally accept such transcripts.

Faculty Council continued discussions on a proposal to count military service and training as transfer credit at its meeting Thursday. The task force addressing the subject has proposed several changes in policy that should expand veterans' ability to transfer course credits.

The task force, under co-chairpersons Vice Provost for Enrollment Ann Korschgen and biology professor Tom Phillips, has been in charge of addressing particular issues that have hindered any policy change in the past.

Committee member Joe Parcell explained there are still several issues to be considered, including accreditation and the implementation of the procedure.

Another issue facing the task force is whether to make the program retroactive, meaning veterans enrolled at MU would be able to receive transfer credit under the new policy.

"If someone is already on campus and admitted, can they now go back and have some of these military courses counted in their program?" executive committee member Bill Wiebold said. "It seems appropriate to me to allow students who are already here to go ahead and bring those credits in."

The task force continues to work toward a solution for crediting veterans already at MU, but Parcell explained there still needs to be a set procedure to evaluate credit transfers.

"Procedurally, how would this be implemented?" Parcell said. "Would it only include new veteran students, or would it grandfather in existing student veterans?"

Another issue considered by Faculty Council was accreditation for the classes transferred. In the past, courses accredited only by the American Council of Education have not been accepted as transfer credit at MU. With this proposal, certain departments will need to choose which courses can be credited.

"Each of the departments is going to have to look at the potential overlap between ACE courses to see which courses they would accept," Faculty Council Chairwoman Leona Rubin said.

Although some transfer credit has been accepted before, there is no policy to universally accept military transfer credit at MU.

Missouri Student Veterans Association President Daniel Sewell explained the policy would help improve veterans' education, and aspects of military training could transfer well.

"Fields like nursing, communications, IT — students take courses in all these technical fields, many of which could transfer," Sewell said.

As a part of the task force, Sewell has been able to give the committee perspective on the veterans' position on the issue.

"We just wanted the council to take a look at the policy," Sewell said.

The last issue facing the task force is how to inform students affected of any policy changes made and how to make information about what courses transfer easily available.

The task force will continue to consider the policy change and work out the final issues. The proposal will be an action item at Faculty Council's next meeting Feb. 18.