The New Mexico Legislature ignores Veterans again. Politicians love to use us during their campaign, but abandon us when we really need them. SB 103 & HB 108 are both silent on Veterans issues concerning the transfers of college credit gained from military experience. As a matter of fact, the proposed changes in the definitions of the Act may make it more difficult for Veterans to transfer credits.
SB 103 & HB 108 are identical bills that seek to amend the Post-Secondary Education Articulation Act. This Act is designed to create a unified method of transferring credits between New Mexico Institutions of Higher Education. Arguments exist for and against certain aspects of the bills, but both sides seem to miss the impact the measure will have on Veterans.
Currently, there is no unified system of determining how many credits a Veteran will be awarded for military training. According to the Legislative Education Study Committee (LESC) Bill Analysis for 2016 SB 153, military credit is transferred “solely at the discretion of the college or university.”
That may not seem like a big deal to most people, but for Veterans it is a headache. My wife & I can attest to that first hand. We are not new to college life as military Veterans.*

We have experienced the difficulties of transferring military credits between universities. Despite the fact that my wife had completed multiple years in the military and had an associate degree, UNM did not recognize all of her military education that was included in her Associate Degree. They only awarded her 3 credits for physical education. She had to take more credits to finish her BA than she should have needed. It was a waste of time and money, which could have been easily avoided.
Last year Senator Craig W. Brandt sponsored SB 153, which required the New Mexico Higher Education Department to “work in coordination with institutions of higher education to study, create and implement a policy and single articulation agreement regarding the award of academic college credit based on military training and experience.” Unfortunately, it was only a temporary provision that required HED to present a report to the Military and Veterans Affair Committee (MVAC) and the LESC on November 1, 2016.
The official minutes of the November 1, 2016 MVAC meeting are not available, but the November 16, 2016 LESC minutes are. At that meeting the HED Financial Aid Director, Dr. Harrison Rommel indicated that the department wants “military credits to apply towards a degree”, but as my wife and I both experienced, “the department has not seen that happen in the past.”
The changes to the Post-Secondary Education Articulation Act may make implementing a unified military credit policy more difficult. The bills both propose changing the definition of “articulation” from “the transfer of course credit from one institution to another” to “the transfer of courses that fulfill a graduation requirement for a student’s chosen degree program.”
HED admitted that they have not seen institutions apply military credits towards a degree. This means that even if one institution grants military credits there is no guarantee that another institution will accept them unless they “fulfill a graduation requirement.”
In addition to this change, the HED was quoted in the LESC Bill Analysis stating that “the development of a comprehensive, statewide transfer policy for military credit reflected on JST could be developed in parallel with the department’s existing work on articulation, transfer, and common course numbering.” The key word here is “could.” Why didn’t they use a word such as “will?” They used “could” because that gives them an out and leaves them uncommitted to the plan.
SB 153 did not have any substantive requirements for HED, nor did it have any implementation timeline. If our legislature truly cared about Veterans, they would require SB 103 and HB 108 to include language that requires HED to develop a “comprehensive, statewide transfer policy for military credit reflected on JST that will be developed in parallel with the department’s existing work on articulation, transfer, and common course numbering.”
They should also change the definition of “articulation” back to its original meaning or include another provision that excludes military transfer credits from these requirements.
The legislature is rushing HB 108 and SB 103 through without taking into consideration so many variables, including Veterans issues. I ask that you call your representatives and ask for them to vote “no” on HB 108 and SB 103.

* I served 15 years in the military and my wife served 12 years. We both gave up our careers to use of G.I. Bills and get an education. I was able to complete an Associate Degree in General Studies from Central Texas Community College, a BA in Business and Management from St. Martin’s University, start a MBA at UNM and get my Juris Doctor from UNM School of Law. My wife completed her Associate Degree in General Studies from University of Maryland University College, was the first student in UNM history to earn a BA in Chicano Studies, is in the process of finishing her MA in American Studies at UNM, and has started her PhD in Visual & Cultural Studies at the University of Rochester.