Overview

Ohio is proud to be called home by approximately 820,000 veterans – the sixth-largest population of veterans in the U.S.

The State of Ohio recognizes veterans as a valuable, talented and skilled workforce, and to that end is committed to increasing the number of military service members and veterans living and working in Ohio.

In June of 2013, Governor John R. Kasich signed Executive Order 2013-05K to support Ohio’s veterans by ensuring they are receiving the appropriate credit and credentialing for their military training and experience. The Executive Order seeks to streamline the occupational licensing process for veterans and ensure that their relevant military education, skills training and experience are taken into account when determining equivalency for issuing licenses and certificates. The Governor also charged the Chancellor of the Department of Higher Education to work with the presidents of Ohio's Public Institutions to conduct a thorough review of current institutional policies and practices, and to make recommendations for simplifying and improving the process for awarding college credit for military training, experience, and coursework.

The recommendations are a comprehensive look at what state departments, boards, commissions and our institutions of higher education can do to support Ohio’s veterans and service members, and to make our state an ideal home for veterans seeking to launch their civilian careers.

After the Ohio Values Veterans Report was released, H.B. 488 was included in the Mid-Biennium Review.  Many of the report’s recommendations are included in H.B. 488, as well as, a few additional items.  As a result of interagency collaboration on the recommendations and a strong desire by everyone involved to make Ohio a great place for veterans and service members to live and work, the widely supported bill passed both the House and Senate unanimously and was signed into law by Governor John Kasich on Monday, June 16, 2014.

To begin implementation of the recommendations and items in H.B. 488, the Department of Higher Education has formed the  Military Strategic Implementation Team (MSIT). The MSIT is divided into five working groups addressing different parts of the recommendations. ODHE has also formed an internal working group to provide assistance and guidance to the MSIT. 

*To see what military courses have been evaluated at the state level, please go here and click on "military".  Keep in mind that each individual institution will grant college credit for military training, experience, and coursework based on either your Community College of the Air Force transcript or your Joint Services Transcript.  Please submit those documents to the admissions office of your choice!