00                   SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 9                                                                   
01 Encouraging the University of Alaska to consider accepting upper division                                               
02 undergraduate credits awarded to members of the military and to veterans toward                                         
03 masters degrees offered by the University of Alaska system.                                                             
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
05       WHEREAS the Alaska Veterans Advisory Council, which consists of members from                                    
06 veterans organizations, state agencies, and the public who are familiar with veterans' issues, is                       
07 responsible for advising the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs and, through the                              
08 governor, other state agencies on matters concerning veterans, their dependents, and their                              
09 survivors; and                                                                                                          
10       WHEREAS, when the United States Department of Defense combined military                                         
11 transcripts into the Joint Services Transcript, the American Council on Education evaluated                             
12 courses offered by advanced noncommissioned officer training schools and officer schools                                
13 and made academic credit recommendations for many of those courses; and                                                 
14       WHEREAS, since many military professions are management-focused, the American                                   
15 Council on Education has awarded upper division undergraduate credit in management to                                   

01 many noncommissioned officers, officers, and veterans on Joint Services Transcripts; and                                
02       WHEREAS few universities in the nation have taken the opportunity to evaluate and                               
03 accept Joint Services Transcript credits toward master's degrees; universities with programs                            
04 requiring upper division undergraduate elective credits at the 400 level or higher should                               
05 accept Joint Services Transcript credits when applicable and allowed by the accrediting body;                           
06 and                                                                                                                     
07       WHEREAS Alaska has a large military population, and many persons in the state's                                 
08 military population have education benefits and academic aspirations, but would have                                    
09 difficulty completing a master's degree program before a permanent change of duty station,                              
10 and could benefit from the acceptance of Joint Services Transcript credits; and                                         
11       WHEREAS, if the University of Alaska system accepted upper division credit from                                 
12 Joint Services Transcripts, persons in the military population who are transitioning from the                           
13 military would have an incentive to remain in the state and use their education benefits in the                         
14 University of Alaska system, which would, in turn, benefit the state by increasing enrollment                           
15 in the University of Alaska system and retaining the skills and resources of those transitioning                        
16 military members;                                                                                                       
17       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages the University of                                   
18 Alaska system to work with the Alaska Veterans Advisory Council to consider accepting                                   
19 applicable Joint Services Transcript upper division credit awarded to members of the military                           
20 and to veterans toward a master's degree.