BALTIMORE, July 2, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Scott Powers joined the military four days after graduating from Westbury High School, in Houston, Texas. He went on to serve 24 years in the U.S. Navy, as a cryptologist, serving in combat and supporting in-theater forces and Special Forces.
Listen, in Scott's own words, how DSST and Prometric helped.
Audio: Chapter One
Audio: Chapter Two
Audio: Chapter Three
Roughly 18 months before his military retirement, Powers began the process of preparing for civilian employment. He sought help from the American Council on Education (ACE) and received a preliminary evaluation on college credits toward a Bachelor of Science degree. ACE informed Powers that he was nine credits short of his degree. That was actually great news. He had time to complete the three classes and expected he was set for a career with a globally recognized government contractor.
Then — less than a month before it was time to leave the only employment he'd ever known — it happened.
As it turned out, the new, official transcript review said that Powers was an additional eight credits short of his degree. He was floored. All the planning... All the work... His pending job offer was contingent on the degree. There was no time. Powers faced certain under-employment, which meant he and his family would have a hard time making ends meet.
Powers visited the on-base DANTES office with less than one month to go before his separation from the Navy. He found three DSST exams that would provide the credits he needed to earn his degree.
As Powers tells it, "You talk about tough hours. I've been in combat. I've been shot at. I've been shelled. I got the tip of my finger blown off. I have never been so scared than that hour and a half taking a DANTES DSST exam."
With his credits through DSST, Scott earned his degree and his new job. Fast forward 10 years, and Scott is one year into his Prometric career. He recalls, during his job interview, someone brought up DSST. Scott stopped.
"You know that saved my life?" Thinking he was joking, polite laughs came in reply, and Scott continued. "You guys don't understand. It did, literally, save my life."
DSST exams are open to all military, veteran and civilian test takers and are widely accessible, with more than 1,200 Prometric sites available for testing candidates. More than 1,900 institutions accept DSST for college credit.
Last year, 45,000 people used DSST to earn credits toward their degrees. Using DSST in place of traditional class schedules saves an average of $670 on tuition and up to 16 weeks' time for a single college class. The most utilized DSST exams are Principles of Supervision, Principles of Public Speaking, Here's to Your Health, Introduction to Computing and Ethics in America.
For more information on DSST, visit www.getcollegecredit.com.
A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=19680
