SOC Degree Network System Transformation Council of College and Military Educators (CCME) January 26, 2015 SOC is funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) through a contract with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). The contract is managed for DoD by the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES).

The DNS as of January 2015 The DNS is a participatory college course articulation system, started in 1979 and includes:  155 institutions —508 associate degrees —466 bachelor’s degrees  9,995 participating courses, with more than 200,000 course to course articulations, across 472 standardized Course Category Codes —Two-way guaranteed course transferability among member schools where Course Categories exist  More than one million SOC DNS Student Agreements issued —Student Agreements are “contracts for degrees” —Issued to active-duty servicemembers and eligible family members —Remains in effect through separation

Earning a Degree From a DNS School Student selects home college Home College Home college issues Student Agreement based on full evaluation of prior learning: --courses from other colleges --nationally-recognized exam results --ACE Guide credit recommendations for military training and experience --certification examinations The student completes 25% academic residence (30% for fully online degree) while completing degree Other Colleges Remaining degree requirements on the Student Agreement may be completed at other colleges Courses with SOC DNS Course Category Codes shared by Core Member institutions transfer back to the home college Student seeks prior, official approval from home college to transfer other courses to meet degree requirements Non-traditional Credit Student Agreement is updated with additional, applicable military-related credit and nationally-recognized examination results Home college awards degree Meeting servicemembers needs

The Value of a DNS Membership  Demonstrates/Documents identity as a military- centric institution  Provides program visibility to potential military student markets  Engages leadership in VolEd forums/exchanges  Supplies key data input into DoD/Military Services on educational programs and priorities

DNS Building Blocks  Key features valued by Military Services: —Guaranteed-Transferability —Evaluated credit for military training/experience —Accelerated Degree completion  Student Agreements  Graduate Report  Career-related degree options

SOC DNS Changes  Consolidates SOC Degree Network System by removing Service distinctions by program (SOCAD/NAV/MAR/COAST)  Maintains guaranteed course transferability as central focus of the SOC DNS  Provides increased degree options for servicemembers across participating Services— Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard

Long-Term Initiatives  Enhanced search functionality and Web site  Revised Student Agreement (SA) and improved SA submission process  Communication/Training plan  Improved process for submitting Annual Handbook Update and Graduate Survey

Short-Term Tasks  Membership criteria modified  Proposed membership criteria awaiting Inter-service Voluntary Education Board (IVEB) approval  Two-tiered process —institutional review for quality and compliance —degree level based on VOLED needs assessment and enrollment patterns  Articulation agreements—2+2s, state articulations  Broader approach to career-related degree inclusion

Proposed Institution-Level Criteria for DNS Membership Membership CriteriaDefinition MOU SignatoryMust have signed the current DoD MOU version Current Enrollment Trend DoD/Services Quantifiable enrollments of students using TA funding Current Enrollment Trend DNS Quantifiable enrollments using SOC DNS Student Agreement data (average per year) Tuition/CostTuition rate as identified in the DoD MOU application Loan Default Rate The loan default rate, as identified by the U.S. Department of Education, for the Institution (3-yr average) Median Borrowing RateThe Median Borrowing Rate, as defined by the College ScoreCard Composite Financial HealthThe Financial Composite Score, as defined by the U.S. Department of Education

Membership CriteriaDefinition 90/10 Rule Violation Status Compliance with the 90/10 rule, as reported by the U.S. Department of Education Retention Rates, calculated separately for institutions with 2- and 4-year programs. For DNS-2 Institutions: Retention Rate as defined by the U.S. Department of Education, for the Institution For DNS-4 Institutions: Retention Rate, as defined by the U.S. Department of Education, for the Institution Course Completion RateFor undergraduate students using military Tuition Assistance data Flexible Policies Must clearly state, in its catalog, policies applying to Servicemembers ensuring flexibility towards completing a degree program with that Institution Readmission PolicyClearly state the U.S. Department of Education Readmission Policy in its catalog Prior Learning Assessment Policies Clearly state policies on awarding credit for Prior Learning in its catalog Complaint History Identify complaints filed against the institution in PECS Past Performance in DNS For current DNS members only: satisfactorily meeting the membership requirements during the last year Proposed Institution-Level Criteria for DNS Membership

Membership CriteriaDefinition Current Enrollment Trend-DoD/Services Quantifiable military enrollments in the degree using TA funding Delivery Methods Flexible and multiple Delivery Methods, as identified by the U.S. Department of Education Emerging Career Fields Degree program is listed as an emerging high demand career field with positive job placement opportunities, per U.S. Department of Labor Guaranteed Transferability (GT) Participate in two-way guarantee of coursework with a minimum of 40% in the Major/Major Related degree requirements Specialized Accreditation Degree has specialized programmatic accreditation, as identified by the U.S. Department of Education Career-Related Degree A direct relationship to MOS/Ratings. If yes, does the Institution agree to award credit for military training and experience? Academic Residency Metric from SOC Principles and Criteria Agree to SOC Principles and Criteria regarding no final year/final semester and the reduced academic residency of 25%/30% Program Articulations Identification of existing articulation agreements (in-state, 2+2, degree completion) for the degree Proposed Degree-Level Criteria for DNS Membership

Thoughts and Feedback on the Proposed Criteria  TA Course completion rate-important to determine how to handle non-completion (W/M)  PECS Compliance-insure consider only valid complaints  Increasing the requirements for DNS membership may make it too difficult for colleges; creates barriers to military student access and success  Concern that current DNS members who are currently good stewards, are being penalized or adding more requirements  Retention of first time, full time students not a good indicator of how serving military students. Need to be cautious  Employability, Emerging Careers? Too much emphasis How about career paths of current TA users?  What advantage is there to stay in the DNS?

Proposed Criteria-What other criteria to add or consider?  Cost to Degree Completion  Time to Degree Completion (average)  Needs Assessment across the Services should be standardized, consistent  Might consider career services being offered by institution, for military student populations  Most of criteria are quantitative metrics, might want to consider qualitative assessment metrics

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