Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC), a consortium of national higher education associations and more than 1,500 institutional members, functions in cooperation with the Department of Defense (DoD), the Military Services including the National Guard, and the Coast Guard to help meet the voluntary higher education needs of servicemembers.

Hundreds of thousands of servicemembers, civilian employees of DoD, the Military Services including the National Guard, the Coast Guard, and their family members enroll annually in college-level programs. SOC institutional members - universities, four- year and two-year colleges and technical institutes - subscribe to principles and criteria to ensure that high-quality academic programs are available to military students.

SOC was established in 1972 by civilian and military educators to help strengthen and coordinate voluntary college-level educational opportunities for servicemembers. SOC does this by:

* seeking to stimulate and help the higher education community to understand and respond to special needs of servicemembers;
* advocating the flexibility needed to improve access to and availability of educational programs for servicemembers;
* helping the Military Services, the National Guard, and the Coast Guard understand the resources, limits and requirements of higher education;
* helping the higher education community understand the resources, limits and requirements of the Military Services, the National Guard, and the Coast Guard; and seeking to strengthen liaison and working relationships among military and higher education representatives.

SOC institutional members collectively confer the full range of associate, baccalaureate and graduate degrees. Many offer on-base programs and some serve military installations overseas. Some SOC institutional members act as "home colleges" for servicemembers who, by prior agreement, earn academic credits elsewhere.

SOCAD is the degree program for the Army that is coordinated by SOC. It consists of groups of accredited colleges that offer degree programs on or accessible to Army installations worldwide. Within common course categories, the member colleges guarantee to accept each other's credits in transfer. The appropriate transfer courses are listed in the SOCAD-2 and SOCAD-4 Handbooks for two-year and four-year institutions respectively. Recommended credit for national tests and Army MOSs and schools are keyed to SOC Category Numbers and listed in a separate volume entitled the SOCAD Credit Evaluation Supplement. The three volumes together serve as a complete operating manual for the system. An official evaluation of all prior learning is issued by the "home" college as a SOCAD Student Agreement that serves as the student's academic plan and contract for the degree.

SOCNAV - http://www.soc.aascu.org/socnav/

SOCNAV is the degree program for the Navy that is coordinated by SOC. It consists of groups of accredited colleges that offer degree programs on or accessible to Navy installations worldwide. Within each of the curriculum areas, the member colleges guarantee to accept each other's credits in transfer. The appropriate transfer courses are listed in the SOCNAV-2 and SOCNAV-4 Handbooks for two-year and four-year institutions respectively. Recommended credit for Navy Rates and Ratings, Navy technical schools and tests, all keyed to SOC Category Numbers, are listed in a separate volume entitled the SOCNAV Credit Evaluation Supplement. The three volumes together serve as a complete operating manual for the system. An official evaluation of all prior learning is issued by the "home" college as a SOCNAV Student Agreement that serves as the student's academic plan and contract for the degree.

SOCMAR - http://www.soc.aascu.org/socmar/

SOCMAR is the degree program for the Marine Corps that is coordinated by SOC. It consists of groups of accredited colleges that offer degree programs on or accessible to Marine Corps installations worldwide. Within each of the curriculum areas, the member colleges guarantee to accept each other's credits in transfer. The appropriate transfer courses are listed in the SOCMAR-2 and SOCMAR-4 Handbooks for two-year and four-year institutions respectively. Recommended credit for Marine Corps MOSs, Marine Corps courses, and technical schools and tests, all keyed to SOC Category Numbers, are listed in a separate volume entitled the SOCMAR Credit Evaluation Supplement. The three volumes together serve as a complete operating manual for the system. An official evaluation of all prior learning is issued by the "home" college as a SOCMAR Student Agreement that serves as the student's academic plan and contract for the degree.

SOCGUARD - http://www.soc.aascu.org/socguard/

SOCGuard was established as an outreach program to integrate postsecondary education with the Army National Guard (ARNG) Strength Maintenance activities, supporting recruiting and retention through education. The program's primary objective is to facilitate the enlistment of high quality citizen soldiers by fostering and developing partnerships in education between colleges and universities and the ARNG. SOCGuard's outreach activities include college workshops, professional education seminars, ARNG conferences, and visits to college campuses. SOCGuard also serves as the liaison between the higher education community and the Army National Guard.

CONAP - http://www.soc.aascu.org/conap/

The Concurrent Admissions Program (ConAP) is a partnership between the Army Recruiting Command and over 1,500 participating colleges. Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges assists with implementation and management, and serves as liaison between Army recruiters, ConAP colleges, Army education centers, and the higher education community. ConAP goals are to increase enlistment of college-capable soldiers, both active-duty and reserve, increase the number of Army soldiers, veterans, and reservists enrolled in college, and increase use of Montgomery GI Bill education benefits. When soldiers enlist in the Army or Army Reserve, recruiters encourage them to select a ConAP college. New soldiers send a College Referral and Intent to Enroll form to the selected college(s) stating their intent to enroll during or after the enlistment. The college acknowledges the soldier's intent and advises the soldier to apply for admission not more than one year before the expected date to enter college, to prepare for the college academic experience, to consider distance learning, and to stay in touch by e-mail and the college Web site.