San Jacinto College’s Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) is an initiative to help students lower costs and save time by avoiding duplication of course work.
People from all walks of life, with diverse educational experiences choose San Jacinto College. Many follow the traditional path of enrolling right after high school graduation. Others are home-schooled. Some transfer from other colleges. Some have taken college-level courses through Continuing and Professional Development (also known as continuing education). Still others are “non-traditional” students with education “gaps” due to experiences that have interrupted their educational goals.
Many military veterans choose San Jacinto College, and they frequently have unique prior educational experiences. Many have taken college courses of some type while in the service. But determining which college course work meets current San Jacinto College credit criteria can be difficult.
San Jacinto College EMT instructor Ali Shah, right, helps Navy veteran and EMT student Erik Pierce with a class project. San Jacinto College strives to maximize academic credits for veterans, especially those interested in allied health fields.
Photo credit: Rob Vanya, San Jacinto College marketing department.
That is why San Jacinto College collaborates with several other Texas colleges in College Credit for Heroes (CCH), an ongoing effort to maximize college credits for military veterans who attend college after transitioning into civilian life, particularly in allied health career fields.
CCH developed because there are few consistent standards among Texas two-year colleges in regards to granting appropriate college credits to veterans entering allied health training, even though they have training and years of experience, and sometimes even licensed certification.
As a member of CCH, San Jacinto College developed a comprehensive analysis of allied health offerings at all Texas community colleges. The analysis provided a geographical analysis of training gaps, existing and needed transfer credit opportunities, barriers to awarding credit for military training and experience, and external barriers such as certification, licensing or accreditation processes.
The colleges participating in CCH continue to explore ways to streamline and standardize transferable credits in order to accelerate veterans’ attainment of college degrees.
So, students of all backgrounds need to understand that, like all public colleges, San Jacinto College grants credit for academic and technical course work based on very specific criteria, and the College’s credit criteria can change at any given time in order to remain relevant and adapt to ever-evolving trends and developments in various career fields.
Consequently, every incoming student should contact a San Jacinto College educational planner to determine how much actual credit he or she may earn for prior learning. It’s not a time-intensive process, there is no charge, and it can help save valuable time and money.
– Rob Vanya