Your military training has value. Leadership, technical skills, specialized courses, and real world experience deserve recognition, not repetition. Many colleges award academic credit for the skills and knowledge earned while serving. When you combine Prior Learning Assessment, CLEP exams, Joint Services Transcript recommendations, and Tuition Assistance, you create a stack of benefits that reduces both time and cost on your degree path.
This guide explains how to convert military experience into college credit while strengthening your Return on Education and improving your RoEDU™ score.
Military students and veterans have several credit pathways. The strongest results come from using more than one. These are the primary sources.
PLA evaluates military training, on the job experience, and professional development to award academic credit. Colleges often use standardized recommendations from ACE or NCCRS.
What counts:
PLA can remove entire course requirements, which lowers cost and improves your RoEDU™ score.
CLEP exams let you test out of general education courses. Many service members can take CLEP exams at no cost through Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES).
Learn more in our CLEP Exams Complete Guide.
Your JST is an academic style record of formal military training and experience. ACE assigns each course a recommended credit amount and category.
Many schools use JST data directly during credit evaluations. Correct and complete entries often increase awarded credits, so review your JST before you submit it.
Tuition Assistance does not provide credit directly, but it plays a critical financial role. While PLA and CLEP reduce the number of courses you need, TA covers tuition for the courses that remain.
How these work together
This combination significantly raises the value of your degree path and strengthens your RoEDU™ score.
Collect your JST, training certificates, MOS or rating history, and any civilian certifications. These support your PLA evaluation.
Schools vary widely in how many credits they award for the same experience. A generous military credit policy can shorten your degree timeline dramatically.
Many colleges provide free pre evaluations. This gives you a realistic picture of how close you are to a degree before you enroll.
Some schools request a portfolio to demonstrate real world experience, particularly for leadership or management courses.
Once you know which courses remain, CLEP helps you complete them quickly.
With PLA and CLEP reducing your workload, TA ensures that what is left remains affordable.
Students often lose time and credit when they do not understand the process. Avoid the following mistakes.
Return on Education looks at the relationship between the cost you pay, the time you invest, and the outcomes you achieve. Military pathways strengthen your RoEDU™ score in several ways.
For many service members and veterans, this creates some of the strongest RoEDU™ outcomes in higher education.