The Army has a series of different programs for educational benefits. Part of the program uses the Army Transcript system, which is good at taking all of the experience of Servicemembers and giving them a written copy of their experiences. It keeps track of all different types of training and experience, and gives a uniform type of information all members of the National Guard and Active Duty Army. These are transcripts which can be used to apply for and receive college credit, the transcripts are a means to evaluate the soldiers achievements, and they can be presented when applying to a vocational or technical school, or even to a university or college in some cases for evaluation for academic credit.
The number of Army National Guard members has soared in the last twenty years. National Guard and Reservists have supplemented much of our current active duty forces. All Army National Guard Servicemembers are eligible to receive benefits and assistance from the Army Learning Center and Army Education Center program. There are 127 different Army learning centers and 110 different Education centers worldwide ran by the U.S. Army, and their services are available to all Army and National Guard personnel who are serving or have recently served on active duty. Army National Guard and Army Servicemembers are eligible for up to $2,000 dollars per year of financial tuition assistance. This assistance is good toward up to 15 semester hours of credit not to exceed the $2,000 dollar yearly cap. DANTES and the Department of Defense are the agencies, which provide the direct education funding. There is also support for Army National Guard and Army personnel who are seeking distance learning education support. Most states individually offer State funded National Guard Servicemember course financial support, which sometimes coupled with the National DANTES support can actually exceed 100 percent of funding. The best source of information is your state Army National Guard Educational Services unit.
There is support for up to 75 percent of tuition costs for distance learning, again not to exceed the $2,000 dollar yearly cap. There is also testing programs available for credit by examination, and college level equivalency examinations. These are specific tests that can be taken to gain college credit, and to qualify a person for advanced level classes.
