Regulatory Analysis Sections 2005 and 2007 of title 10, United States Code

Voluntary Education Programs

1. Need for the Rule : Th is final rule w ill implement policy

, assign responsibilities, and prescribe procedures for the operation of voluntary educa tion programs within the Department of Defense (DoD)

. The purpose of these programs is to provide active duty Service members with educational opportunities to enhance their academic achievement which in turn improves job performance and promotion potenti al. The overall outcome goal of this program is to ensure the Department has the best educated and best military force possible. This coincides with one of President Obama’s White House initiatives to raise the education level of our U.S. citizens. Addit ionally, educating our Service members provide higher job skill e d employees, in reading, math, and writing skills, as they transition to civilian life. (Individuals with some postsecondary education have a higher earning power than someone with an HS degr ee/equivalency.)

Voluntary education programs include, but are not limited to: M ilitary Tuition Assistance (TA) for postsecondary education (college and career schools) leading towards a degree, licensure and/or certification programs ; education counsel ing ; college courses (traditional classroom and distance learning delivery) ; college credit by exam ; language and cultural
programs ; and Troops

- to

- Teachers.

The issuance for Voluntary Education Programs is DoD Instruction (DoDI) 1322.25 was recently sign ed and published on March 15, 2001, and contains a significant change in policy that has been incorporated into the final rule. This new policy will commence on January 1, 2012, and establishes the requirement for an approved DoD Voluntary Education Partn ership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between DoD and each educational institution providing high school completion and postsecondary education programs through the DoD Tuition Assistance Program, via classroom or distance learning

, whether on or off mi litary installations. A comprehensive MOU was recommended by the DoD Voluntary Education Joint Initiative Committee to standardize educational services delivered to Service members and create a partnership to improve communication between DoD and educatio nal institutions. One of the requirements in the MOU specifies that all schools must agree to participate in a third

- party review of their degree programs

, when requested.

2. Payment

. Funding for Voluntary Education Programs is authorized by law and is subject to the availability of funds from each Service. Voluntary education programs include tuition assistance (per section 2007 of title 10, United States Code) , which is administered uniformly across the Services. Subject to appropriations, e ach Serv ice pay s no more than $250.00 per
semester

- unit for tuition and fees combined. Each Service member participating in off

- duty, voluntary education is eligible for up to $4,500.00, in aggregate, for each fiscal year. For F iscal Y ear 20 10 (FY 10 ) , the Servic es executed approximately $800 million fo r Off

- Duty and Voluntary Education Programs . This total amount incl uded both operation al costs and tuition2

assistance. Operational and other education program costs totaled approximately $ 25 8 million. Operational costs include such items as salaries, TDY, training, supplies, and equipment. Tuition assistance costs for Service members participating in high school completion and accredited undergraduate or graduate education programs totaled approximately $ 542 mill ion

. During FY 10

, 322,964 Service me mb ers received TA for 857,786 courses. A total of 45,366 degrees/diplomas/certificates were earned in FY 10

.

3. Market Failure : This final rule does not address market failure. T his rule includes educational
program s that enable Service members to earn a degree on their off

- duty time. Congress has held that men and women serving in the Armed Forces should have at least the same opportunity to advance academically as do civilians who remain outside the military. Add itionally, this final rule includes a new policy requir ing institutions to be a signatory of the DoD Voluntary Education Partnership MOU prior to receiving funds via each Service’s TA program in exchange for education services . The total amount of tuition assistance executed in FY 10 was approximatel y $ 542 million and the Services have currently budgeted the same amount for tuition assistance in FY1 1 . Therefore, this program would have an economic impact that could affect approximately 3,000 colleges and u niversities (both regionally and nationally accredited institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education) that the Services have worked with over the years in reference to tuition assistance for their Service members.

4. Rationale for the Appr oach Taken : This program is unique and arranges for education opportunities to meet the unusual needs of the military population, such as frequent moves and deploy ments to contingency locations

. The issuance, DoDI 1322.25 was recently published on March 15, 2011, and require d a complete revision since the last publication on February 5, 1997, due to the DoD Uniform TA Policy in October 2001, the enactment of the NDAA 2008 in January 2008, and the new DoD Voluntary Education Partnership MOU policy requirem ent.

5. Analysis of Costs : Costs are controlled through limitations emplaced in the DoD Uniform Tuition Assistance policy with course and yearly caps, Subject to appropriations, each Service pays no more than $250.00 per semester

- unit for tuition and fees combined. Each Service member participating in off

- duty, voluntary education is eligible for up to $4,500.00, in aggregate, for each fiscal year. This limitation allows all Servicemembers that voluntarily particip ate to continue their education.

The US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statics (NCES), does not collect data on the prices of an individual course in the United States. However, NCES does collect data on the average tuition cost of a school year from academic instit utions using Title IV funds. These calculations reflect tuition charged to full

- time students studying for a full academic year ($8,784 per 2008

- 09 / $9,165 per 2009

- 10 school year). If the average full time student takes 10 classes or 30 semester hours a year, the average cost of a semester hour is $292.80 for 200 8

- 09 and $305.50 for 2009

- 10.

From 2008

- 2010 the percentage change in tuition has increase 4.3% however the DoD semester cap has remained constant , and below the national average cost to atten d a postsecondary institution.3

The documented partnership MOUs between DoD and educational institutions will become part of the data base currently established by the Defense Activity for Non

- Traditional Education Support (DANTES) for distance learning c atalogs. There will be n o additional costs to the Military Services connected with the storage of the signed DoD Voluntary Education P artnership MOUs at DANTES

.