The troubled Army IgnitEd platform will not be fully operational until late 2023, according to a recent report submitted to Congress, The Army Times reported.
Issues with the new program for administering education benefits frustrated soldiers and campus officials alike, and led to a chaotic scramble to manually process education benefits where the Army initiated an exception-to-policy program that essentially asked institutions to be patient and wait for the Army to pay them.
Earlier this year, Congress ordered the Army to provide an update on the system's faltering rollout. Army Times reviewed a copy of the report submitted to lawmakers in late March.
According to the report, the program will have 95 percent capability for tuition assistance by September 30 of this year. That will include "correction of critical . . . system defects," the "transfer of critical legacy data," and other service improvements.
However, some key functions of IgnitED—including credentialing assistance, civilian professional development, and critical backend data links to personnel and finance systems—may not be operational until around September 30, 2023, the report said.
The report also confirms that the Army still owes money to educational institutions and soldiers, including some who had to pay out-of-pocket for their educational expenses, the Army Times reported.
The Army told Congress it estimates "all Soldiers will be reimbursed no later than" September 30. Educational institutions will receive reimbursement "by first quarter 2023," the report added.
Related Link
The Army Times
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2022/04/06/army-ignited-wont-fully-work-until-late-2023-officials-tell-congress/