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 personnel 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 Blvd. 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.
“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,” Groot said.
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 use 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.
For more information, call (714) 241-4967 or e-mail cclausen@coastline.edu.
