Multi-State Collaborative on Military Credit

MHEC provides resources such as webinars, reports, and policy briefs to advance practices that are designed to ease the transition of military-connected students to postsecondary education. Emphasis is given to translating competencies acquired through military training and experiences into meaningful credits toward various pathways leading to a college degree, earning a certificate, industry recognized credential or license.

Background

In October 2014, Lumina Foundation awarded a $900,000 grant to MHEC to assist an interstate partnership of 13 states to advance best practices designed to ease the transition of veterans and their families from military life to college campuses, with special reference to translating competencies acquired through military training and experiences into milestones toward completing a college degree or earning a certificate or license. The three-year project was built on the efforts of individuals who had collaborated virtually and in person for 2.5 years prior to grant funding which began on November 1, 2014. Work groups were established to exchange information and share best practices in four areas: articulation of academic credit, licensure and certification, communications and outreach, and data, systems and technology.

As part of the Lumina Foundation's grant, one of the process metrics of the Multi-State Collaborative on Military Credit, was for all states to articulate and implement a plan for engaging key stakeholders within their state to better address the needs of servicemembers and veterans in advancing their educational/career goals.

In October 2015, MHEC was awarded an additional $200,000 grant from Strada Education Network (formerly USA Funds) for the MCMC initiative. These additional funds supported veterans in increasing postsecondary degree completion, streamlining pathways for licensure and certification for healthcare professions, supporting services during key educational transitions, and creating networks for supporting communications, technologies, and data collection and analyses.