Tuition Assistance Program Becomes a Casualty of Sequestration
March 13, 2013
The U.S. Air Force and Coast Guard are the latest service branches to suspend all new applications for their Tuition Assistance (TA) Programs in response to the continuing federal budget crisis. The program provides active-duty service members with financial support ” up to $250 per credit hour, for a maximum of $4,500 per year ” for active-duty service members enrolled in high school completion courses and certificate programs or working toward a college degree.
In a letter sent to Airmen, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Cody said that the “combined effects of continuing resolution and sequestration are forcing some very tough decisions.”
Last week, Army and Marine Corps officials announced that that they would discontinue their TA programs. Michael Dakduk, a Marine Corps veteran and executive director of Student Veterans of America, said in a written statement that he was “disappointed” to hear that the Marine Corps had cut a program that he benefited from while on active duty.
“This is especially troubling given the number of Marines expected to leave active service in the coming years and the incredible value placed on higher education in today’s job market,” he said.
While the Navy has yet to make a decision regarding tuition assistance, administrators said that they expected them to follow suit.
The change will not affect the hundreds of thousands of service members who are receiving tuition assistance for the current term, but that aid will not be available to them moving forward. Unless Congress reaches a deal on legislation to replace sequestration with an alternative deficit reduction plan, the lack of tuition assistance could have a devastating impact on the 1 million service members the Defense Department estimates will transition back into society over the next five years, according to Inside Higher Ed.
Related Links:
Air Force Times
https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2013/03/airforce-suspends-tuition-assistance-031213w/
Navy Times
https://www.navytimes.com/news/2013/03/coast-guard-cuts-tuition-assistance-031213w/
American Forces Press Service
https://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=119478
Inside Higher Ed
Michelle Cormier Mott
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