Get answers to common questions about the GEM Program at UMGC Europe.
The Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) GEM program enables airmen pursuing an associate's degree to sign up for their general education requirements in a single block of courses from the same university, providing greater educational continuity and faster completion of an associate's degree.
Students take a sequence of five classes and are able to do so online or on-site. UMGC is proud to work with the Air Force and participate in the GEM program.
As part of the requirements for CCAF associate's degrees, students must take one three-credit class in each of the five general education categories: oral communication, written communication, mathematics, social sciences and humanities. These 15 credits - nearly a quarter of the 64 needed for the CCAF associate's degree - can be completed at UMGC. CCAF does not offer its own general education courses.
UMGC offers these courses both online and on-site to offer maximum flexibility.
You can easily transition credits earned in the GEM program to a UMGC bachelor's degree program that builds on what you learned in your CCAF associate's degree courses.
Tuition assistance, military scholarships, and financial aid are available to help you finance your education.
You can enjoy enhanced student resources, including career services, 24-hour library assistance, and more.
UMGC Europe offers a wide variety of associate's and bachelor's degree programs.
With the Air University Associate to Baccalaureate Cooperative (AU ABC) program, Air Force students earning an airman's associate's degree from the Community College of the Air Force can apply a block of credits toward a bachelor's degree with UMGC. The ABC program offers you specific degree options. All GEM courses taken at UMGC will transfer to a UMGC bachelor's degree. Once you finish your AAS degree with the Community College of the Air Force, you will be closer to completing a bachelor's degree with UMGC.
Up to 70 credits may be transferred from the Community College of the Air Force AAS degree. Other credit limits include*:
70 credit hours from two-year institutions, grades earned for transfer credit must be at least 2.0.
60 credit hours evaluated by the American Council on Education (ACE) for innovative learning, including learning evaluated by approved standardized examinations and professional training programs.
30 credit hours for study completed in Military Occupational Specialties (MOS), portfolio assessment and/or course challenge exams combined (with a maximum of 15 credits from portfolio assessment from the community college).
21 credit hours of coherently related vocational and technical credit, applicable as elective credit only.
*Please note: UMGC will accept as transfer credit no more than:
70 credit hours from a regionally accredited two-year college or university.
90 credit hours from a regionally accredited four-year college or university or from other combined sources including credit by examination, military service, or noncollegiate training.
Yes. Community college transfer students have the opportunity to earn credit for college-level learning gained through life and work experience. For information about this program, contact a UMGC Europe academic advisor at your location.
UMGC Europe offers a full array of online services with on-site support at over 60 locations throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, including Iraq and Afghanistan. Financial aid, registration, admission, writing help, technical assistance, library services, and more are all available.
Your application fee will be waived if, when completing the application, you select non-degree seeking and then select CC of the Air Force when asked if you are pursuing an associate's degree at an alliance community college. If you later choose to apply for another degree or certificate program at UMGC, you will be required to pay the fee.
To be fully admitted to UMGC Europe, students must submit all official transcripts from previous institutions and their military ID and/or orders. The military ID/orders are needed to ensure eligibility for overseas programs. Please review our UMGC Europe admissions page for details on requirements for undergraduate and graduate admissions. Students may register and attend courses while finishing their admission process.
Air Force students will be able to view the Catalog and Schedule of Classes through the AF Portal. However, it is important to remember all registrations must be done through MyUMGC or by contacting a program coordinator for assistance.
After registering for your courses with UMGC Europe, all active-duty Air Force servicemembers who wish to use tuition assistance (TA) as payment for their course(s) will need to log in to the AF Portal and request their tuition assistance. Please be sure to have the correct course information available for selection on your TA request. Once the form has been completed, please submit this form via the portal for processing. Once you have been notified that your tuition assistance has been approved, you will need to print and submit this TA form to a UMGC Europe program coordinator at your local education center or fax it directly to the UMGC Europe Business Office at +49-(0)631-534-80305.
If a course is cancelled or you drop the course before the start date, contact your local education center in order to have the TA updated. This will allow you to have new TA granted for another course.