College teams up with local Navy base to open testing center for active duty military and Vets

Dec. 13, 2010 - PRLog -- (Orange County, CA)--Showcasing its commitment to members of the military and to Veterans, Coastline Community College recently teamed up with the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station to open a new academic testing center in Westminster. At this center, active-duty military members as well as Veterans can take "CLEP" and "DANTES" tests to equate their military training and skills into college credit, which can then be applied towards a college degree or certificate.

The testing center is located in the main office of the Orange County One-Stop Center at 5405 Garden Grove Boulevard in Westminster.

Here, exams are given at no cost to active duty military, and they are also free for spouses and civilian employees of the Coast Guard, Air and Army Guard, and Reserves. If you are a Veteran, you can take the exams for the set fee, but then file for full reimbursement through the Veterans Administration (VA).

"Taking an exam is an attractive option for current or former members of the military who are looking to move quickly towards a degree or certificate," said Joycelyn Groot, Coastline's Director of Military Programs. "For example, instead of enrolling in a 16-week French class, a service member who already knows French from their military or life experience can simply 'test-out' of it and get the college credit added to their transcripts."
Coastline accepts up to 40 combined credits of military experience and this type of testing, and can directly apply both to an Associate in Art or Associate in Science degree, or a certificate.

Although the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station was intricately involved in the establishment of this testing center, the testing services are not limited to the service members and their families from Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. It is open to all service members and Veterans. Civilians may also utilize the center’s testing services to obtain college credit. The cost for civilians is just under $100 per exam, potentially saving thousands of dollars in tuition and semester-hours in class.

The active duty individual can save hundreds of dollars in government tuition assistance and their own out-of-pocket expenses for textbooks with a successful passing grade on one of these tests. That can add up rapidly.

“With a scenario of just 150 tests per month, which is only 5 tests per day in a center with 10 testing stations, the savings to the active duty service member and the government in 'Tuition Assistance' dollars is just under a half-million dollars a year,” said Shawn Mann, Manager of Military Programs Outreach & Off-Campus Activities.

This center--operated in collaboration with Point Loma Naval Submarine Base--joins a network of other Coastline testing centers: Gulfport Naval Construction Battalion, Pensacola Naval Weapons Station, Naval Air Station Fallon, Dyess Air Force Base, Holloman Air Force Base and a new Career Computer Learning Center at Warrior Transition Battalion, Ft. Bliss Texas.

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Founded in 1976, Coastline Community College has an international reputation as one of the nation's most innovative institutions offering CDROM, PDA and on site courses. Coastline awarded 49% of all Associates degrees in the Navy in 2008.