2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

There are forty-three career fields for technical warrant officers in the United States Army. Warrant officers enjoy the privileges of an officer, and according to the Army’s website, “technical warrant officers are the Army’s mechanical experts”. Qualification training for warrant officers is generally several months to a year in duration of fulltime study, but many warrant officers do not have four year college degrees.
The American Council on Education (ACE), based out of Washington, D.C., reviews military training courses, including Army warrant officer courses, and makes credit recommendations of equivalent college credits based upon training durations, content and scope. Technical warrant officer training includes the types of curriculum often found in four-year, engineering technology college courses. In addition, warrant officers operate as leaders in their units, not only providing technical expertise, but also managing, planning, organizing, supervising and controlling jobs and worksites in a military setting. How does warrant training compare to technology or business courses in a typical four year college?
This paper examines the ACE credit recommendations for ten current warrant officer courses with technology containing curriculum to compare them to a typical technology course accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). In most cases, the training does not warrant credit recommendations for significant amounts of technical training, but the credit recommendations observed appeared to be better applied to a typical business administration or construction management course of study. The amounts and types of credit recommended by ACE reviewers is also discussed, and recommendations are made to help direct warrant officers exiting the service towards the shortest path to a four year degree.