He wants veterans to get college credit for training
After being told his Army and National Guard classes didn’t transfer, education major Carlos Sacerio is researching why that happens.
When Carlos Sacerio transferred to UNC-Chapel Hill in 2024, he was surprised that more of his military training didn’t count toward his degree.
While earning an associate’s degree at Wake Technical Community College, he completed training through the U.S. Army’s Cyber Center of Excellence. He joined the National Guard in 2023 for the educational opportunities it provided, serving one weekend a month while gaining technical training and receiving tuition assistance for college.
But he discovered moving military credits into a four-year degree program is not always straightforward.
“When institutions do not recognize applicable military training, students may have to repeat material they have already mastered, spend more money, and take longer to graduate,” he said.
Now a senior majoring in human and organizational leadership development at the UNC School of Education, Sacerio decided to investigate why that happens. This summer, with support from a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship and the UNC McNair Scholars Program, he and education associate professor Daniel Klasik studied how UNC System universities evaluate military education and training and determine whether it can count toward degree requirements.
Sacerio shared more about his research project.
What was it like to transfer military credit to UNC-Chapel Hill?
I reached out to University staff involved in undergraduate curricula to better understand why my military training couldn’t transfer over. The process was frustrating because I felt there were legitimate reasons why some of that experience could count toward degree requirements.
One challenge is that military training is often evaluated using recommendations from the American Council on Education, which do not always provide universities with enough detail to determine how the training aligns with specific courses. As a result, none of my military training counted toward classes at UNC-Chapel Hill.
That experience ultimately motivated me to study why this issue affects so many students like me.
What are the main goals of your SURF project?
The primary goal of my project is to understand how UNC System institutions evaluate military training and prior learning for college credit. I am examining students’ experiences, university policies and differences in how those policies are applied across campuses.
Ultimately, I hope this research identifies ways to make the process more transparent and consistent so that military-affiliated students can avoid repeating coursework, reduce educational costs and stay on track to graduate.
How has this research experience changed the way you think about your field or about problem-solving in general?
This experience taught me that adopting a policy does not automatically guarantee students will benefit from it as intended. How a policy is interpreted, communicated and implemented at the campus level matters just as much as the policy itself. It also taught me to approach problems from multiple perspectives, including those of students, administrators and policymakers.
Research has reinforced the importance of flexibility. When the available data do not support the original plan, the answer is not to abandon the question but to identify another way to investigate it.
If you could sum up your summer research experience in one word or phrase, what would it be and why?
“I am an expert, and I am a professional.” That’s a line from the Soldier’s Creed.
That phrase reflects the discipline, persistence and responsibility I brought from my military service into my research. I did not begin the summer with all the answers, but I committed myself to learning, adapting and producing work that could help universities better support military-affiliated students.
