Q. Do I have to be a UMUC student to get advice?

A. No. UMUC Academic Advisors provide assistance to all students or prospective students.

Q. Will all of my community college credits transfer?

A. UMUC's flexible degree requirements allow the acceptance of most courses from community colleges, except for remedial courses, up to a limit of 60 s.h. There are also limits to the number of credits accepted from some vocational and technical curricula.

Q. How can I apply for a SOCAD, SOCCOAST, SOCMAR or SOCNAV Student Agreement?

A. Contact a UMUC Academic Advisor.

Q. Which UMUC degree programs are available in the Asian Division?

A. The most feasible majors are Accounting, Asian Studies, Business Administration, Computer and Information Science, Computer Studies, English, General Studies, History, Information Systems Management, Management Studies, and Psychology.

Q. What about class sizes?

A. Most classes are smaller than on stateside campuses. There are no huge lecture classes.

Q. How long will it take me to finish a bachelor's degree?

A. You proceed at your own pace. Some students take years; others go as fast as they would stateside. Your work schedule is an important factor.

Q. What are my chances for getting into graduate school with a bachelor's degree from UMUC's Asian Division?

A. University of Maryland University College provides a solid foundation for graduate work in a number of fields, and many Asian Division alumni have gone on to earn graduate degrees. Students interested in graduate school in business or the social sciences should take computer courses. Business students must take math and statistics to prepare for quantitative work. For the social sciences, students must take statistics, and are encouraged to take a research methods course. UMUC faculty can provide advice on how to prepare for graduate school in these and other disciplines.

Q. Why all the emphasis on math, statistics, and writing courses?

A. Basic courses in mathematics, statistics, and English composition prepare you for junior- and senior-level courses, and also for graduate programs. In addition, they provide key job skills many employers are actively seeking. UMUC requires you to complete a writing course in your first 12 semester hours.

At any time, a student may request a Preliminary Evaluation of all previous credits. The evaluation may be prepared from official or unofficial records, and will provide a preliminary estimate of the amount of credit the student may expect to receive toward a UMUC degree or certificate. This preliminary estimate is not binding on either the student or UMUC and is subject to change. Students in Korea and Okinawa should direct requests for Preliminary Evaluations to the Academic Advisors who maintain offices in their areas. All other students should contact the Office of Student Affairs at Yokota.

Students who have completed at least 6 semester hours of UMUC course work with an average of C or better may submit a Request for an Evaluation. (This form is also available at all education centers.) The Official Evaluation shows students how many credits they have earned in courses with Maryland; what credits can be accepted for transfer from other colleges, universities, and military service schools; and what transferable credits they have earned through testing.

In general, the Official Evaluation is based upon UMUC curriculum requirements in effect when the student began continuous enrollment with UMUC, or with any other public institution of higher education in the State of Maryland, whichever was earlier. If a student has not been continuously enrolled, the requirements that apply are those that were in effect at UMUC at the time of the student's most recent enrollment with UMUC, or with any other public institution of higher education in the State of Maryland. To be considered continuously enrolled, degree-seeking students must be, or have been, enrolled at a Maryland public institution of higher education and have had no more than two sequential years of nonenrollment.

Thus, for most students with UMUC in Asia (who will not have attended public institutions of higher education in the State of Maryland), their Official Evaluation will be based on the UMUC curriculum in effect at the time of their first enrollment with UMUC, unless they have had a break in continuous study with UMUC of more than two sequential years. When there has been a break of two sequential years or more, the curriculum applicable to the Official Evaluation will be the one in effect at the time the student resumes study with UMUC.

Students requesting an Official Evaluation should have all records and transcripts of their previous education sent directly from the issuing institutions to:

UMUC Asia
Evaluations Office
Unit 5060 Box 0100
APO AP 96328-0100

The documents required for an Official Evaluation include: USAFI, DANTES, Excelsior College and CLEP test results; AARTS and SMART transcripts for Army, Navy, and Marine Corps students; and official transcripts from all other colleges and universities a student has attended. All transcripts, military documents and other educational records become the property of University of Maryland University College and can neither be returned to nor copied for the student. If students arrange for the submission of appropriate documents, but do not subsequently request an evaluation, the documents are discarded after one year.

Evaluations cannot be provided to students who have a debt to the University until that debt is paid in full.

UMUC follows the recommendations of the American Council on Education (A.C.E.) Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services (all editions) in the evaluation of service school credit. Students who desire evaluation of service school training must submit the following documents.

Air Force Personnel

1. An official Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) transcript. Credits are awarded on the basis of CCAF Evaluations only for courses completed after December 1973. The A.C.E. Guide recommendations are used for awarding credit for courses completed before December 1973.
   


2. A certified copy of DD Form 295 may be submitted in place of a CCAF transcript for courses completed before December 1973.

Army Warrant Officers

1. A certified copy of a recent Officer's Efficiency Report (OER) signed by the student's personnel officer or commanding officer if the individual's AARTS transcript does not include all such potential credit (a practice which AARTS began in July 2004). The OER must cover a rating period of no less than one year.
   


2. A certified copy of DD Form 295.

Army Enlisted Personnel

1. All Army enlisted personnel must submit:
   1. An official AARTS (Army/American Council on Education Registry Transcript System) transcript or an official copy of DD Form 295 (Application for the Evaluation of Learning Experiences during Military Service). AARTS transcripts are required for active duty Army enlisted personnel who entered the service on or after October 1, 1981.
      
   
   
   2. Either a certified Form DA 2-1 with SQT scores posted, or a verified copy of a recent Noncommissioned Officer's Efficiency Report (NCOER) signed by the student's personnel officer or commanding officer. The NCOER must cover a rating period of no less than 12 consecutive months.
      


2. Personnel who took MOS tests between October 1973 and December 1977 must submit verified MOS test scores as indicated on USAEREC Form 10A (USAEEC Form 10) or one or more EER (Enlisted Evaluation Report) covering no less than 12 consecutive months in a single MOS.
   


3. Personnel who held an MOS between December 1977 and October 1, 1981 must submit one or more EER covering no less than 12 consecutive months in a single MOS.

Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Personnel

A Sailor/Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript (SMART) or a U.S> Coast Guard Institute Transcript.

Veterans seeking evaluation of previous service school training should write to:

General Services Administration
National Personnel Records Center
Military Personnel Records
9700 Page Boulevard
St. Louis, Missouri 63132

Students should request that copies of their in-service training records be sent to University of Maryland University College Asia, and must also submit a certified DD Form 214.

UMUC participates in Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges degree programs for military personnel as follows: SOCAD-2 and SOCAD-4 for Army personnel; SOCNAV-2 and SOCNAV-4 for Navy personnel; SOCMAR-2 and SOCMAR-4 for Marine personnel; and SOCCOAST-2 and SOCCOAST-4 for Coast Guard personnel.

Colleges and universities designated under SOC provide educational programs through a network of traditional and nontraditional offerings on campus and on base, in a variety of instructional modes and delivery systems, and at times appropriate to students' duty assignments.

Through SOCAD-2, SOCNAV-2, SOCMAR-2, SOCCOAST-2, SOCAD-4, SOCNAV-4 , SOCMAR-4, and SOCCOAST-4 student agreements, UMUC assures students seeking Associate of Arts or Bachelor's degrees in approved fields that they will be able to complete their degrees with UMUC if they are transferred before completing the total number of credits required for each degree, as long as they have met the following requirements:

1. The student must have taken the minimum number of semester hours in residence with UMUC required for each degree: 15 s.h. for the Associate degree and 30 s.h. for the B.A./B.S. degree, along with other residency requirements based on the curriculum the student is following.
   


2. The student must have an average grade of at least C in all courses taken with University of Maryland University College.

Students seeking further information on SOCAD, SOCNAV, SOCMAR, or SOCCOAST should contact a UMUC Academic Advisor.

The Curriculum Planning Sheet or SOC Student Agreement indicates the credit for previous study which is applicable to University of Maryland University College degree programs, the UMUC courses the student has completed, and the credits and/or courses remaining to complete the degree. The forms are designed so that students may keep them up to date and may use them to choose courses applicable to a degree.