by Bradley Hood, Student Contributor
American Military University
When I transferred to American Military University in 2009, I had a year of credits from a traditional brick-and-mortar university and the vague impression that my military training was worth something. At the time I was a junior Marine in the Selected Marine Corps Reserve, with only a few PME courses under my belt, and no idea where to even find a record or the value of these courses. Fortunately I had excellent leadership, and I was directed to acquire what was then known as a SMART Transcript. SMART stands for: Sailor/Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript, the name fully explaining the use of its acronym.
I submitted a TCE Application online through my AMU account, ordered transcripts from my old university, and followed the instructions for an official transcript request online in SMART. For all this work, I was rewarded with 42 transfer credits. 21 credits transferred into my degree from the brick-and-mortar institution, but much to my surprise, I was also awarded 21 credits for my military experience! I had only hoped to transfer enough credits to cover an elective or two, but instead saved almost a year’s worth of tuition. Before I get into the exact process to transfer military credits, it has come to my attention that as of 2013 there is a new system that has replaced SMART, known as JST.
Thankfully, for those of you familiar with SMART, JST is exactly the same design, the only difference being the site address and the name at the top of the screen. JST stands for Joint Services Transcript, and as the name implies, it provides transcripts for all services, not just Sailors and Marines. As a student at American Public University or American Military University, before requesting your JST you should submit an online TCE Application, which can be found on the right toolbar after you log into your APU/AMU account, underneath “FORMS Menu”. Students that have already submitted a TCE Application can apply for a TCE Update in the same location.
JST can be accessed via CAC or a Non-CAC account at https://jst.doded.mil/. Those without CAC access will need to register for an account, a quick and painless process begun by clicking on “REGISTER” near the top of the page. After completing the brief registration form, you will have access to the JST system. The main page contains a menu, and by clicking on “Transcripts” a service member can access the two types of transcripts provided by JST: official and unofficial. The only transcripts viewable here are the unofficial transcripts, which are hosted online for convenient viewing.
However, in a sub menu which appears after clicking on Transcripts, it is possible to click “Official Transcript Request”. After arriving, the name of your institution has to be input into the search bar that appears in the center of the page. In my case, I would type “American Military University”. Inputting this query displays a link below the search box, after which you would give your consent for an official transcript to be released. The rest is in the hands of the highly skilled individuals at the university who handle transfer credits.
I cannot claim to know what service members outside the Marine Corps will find on their JST. For myself as a Marine with five years of service, I now have a considerable number of credits listed. Recruit Training, Officer Candidates School, the 8000 series (Sgt’s Distance Course), my Japanese DLPT scores, and MCIs are all significant sources of credits. As one might expect, the value of Recruit Training or the 8000 series significantly outweighs that of most MCIs, but do not discount the value of any experience – it may be worth more than you think.
About the Author:
Bradley Hood began his studies at Rutgers University in 2007, but transferred to American Military University in 2009 after his enlistment into the Marine Corps Reserve. His 2013 graduation with a B.A. in Military History is followed by acceptance into Norwich University for a master’s program and an active duty commission as a Second Lieutenant on June 15th.
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