SOC was created
in 1972 to provide educational opportunities to service members, who,
because they frequently moved from place to place, had trouble completing
college degrees. Today SOC is a consortium of approximately 1700 colleges
and universities that provide educational opportunities for service
members and their families. SOC is cosponsored by the American Association
of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the American Association
of Community Colleges (AACC), in cooperation with 13 other educational
associations, the military services, the National Guard, and the Coast
Guard. SOC is funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) through a
contract with AASCU. The contract is managed for DoD by the Defense
Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES).
Hundreds of thousands
of service members and their family members enroll annually in programs
offered by SOC member universities, colleges, community colleges,
and technical institutes. Military students may enroll in associate,
bachelor, and graduate-level degree programs on school campuses, military
installations, and armories within the United States and overseas.
SOC coordinates
associate and bachelor's degrees in a variety of curriculum areas
for the Army (SOCAD),
Navy (SOCNAV),
Marine Corps (SOCMAR),
and Coast Guard (SOCCOAST).
These degree programs are offered by colleges and universities and
are accessible to Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard installations
worldwide. Within each curriculum or degree network, member colleges
agree to accept each other's credits in transfer. Service members
and their family members in isolated locations can take courses through
such "distance learning" methods as the Internet, correspondence,
computer, or video.
