State Advisory Councils on Military Education

In preparation for the 2012 Council of College and Military Educators Symposium, Former Chief of DoD VolEd, Gary Woods, put together a 3-part article updating the status of the  State Advisory Councils on Military Education (a.k.a. ACMEs).

ACMEs are made up of educators and Government officials who work to promote and enhance meaningful educational opportunities and create flexible and affordable education options for servicemembers, veterans and their families.

In addition, ACMEs evaluate and work to restructure policies related to acceptance and transfer of credit for veterans, military students and their adult family members.

ACME History

ACMEs have been proactive in states with large military populations since the 1970s. A joint Department of Defense and the Department of Education Commission encouraged their expansion and the scope of their scope and focus in the early 1980s. Many states took them up on that challenge. It was within the context of the ACMEs, that state government representatives, coupled with education officers and representatives providing education programs on and off base began to work together to overcome state-specific challenges involved to ensure one thing – that quality, affordable educational opportunities were being provided to the military personnel and their families who were stationed in those states.

Click here for a synopses of some of the challenges and accomplishments major state ACMEs reported for calendar year 2011.