Veterans and military students will have an easier time earning credit for prior learning thanks to a new online tool created by Virginia’s Community Colleges. The Credits2Careers Veterans Portal will allow students to upload their Joint Services Transcript to see instantly how many academic credits their work experience could translate into more than 1,700 community college programs. You can access the portal at this link: www.credits2careers.org.

The portal also provides real-time employment information and enables veterans and service members to explore civilian careers related to their area of expertise or interest.

“Today’s announcement means our community colleges are the only college system in the nation with this comprehensive, patent-pending tool,” said Carlos Hopkins, Virginia’s Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs. Virginia’s Community Colleges served 36,868 veterans and military-related students last year. This tool positions the colleges to attract and help even more of these students.

Matt Adams, a Marine Corps reservist and Tidewater Community College student demonstrated the portal at the unveiling event at the Virginia Community College System Office.

The Credit2Careers portal debut coincided with the dedication of Veterans Resource Centers at seven of Virginia’s Community Colleges. The colleges are part of the commonwealth’s VERITAS (Veteran Education Resource Initiative for Transition, Advising and Success) program. Those colleges include: Germanna in Fredericksburg; J. Sargeant Reynolds and John Tyler in the Richmond area; Northern Virginia; Tidewater; Thomas Nelson on the Virginia Peninsula; and Virginia Western in Roanoke.

“These centers are a central hub for all veteran activities on campus. They are a quiet place for students to study; and they enable veterans to connect with each other, helping them renew the bonds of military service,” said DuBois.

At Southside Virginia Community College, veterans can contact Tonia Talbott at (434) 949-1049.