Are Current Military Education Benefits Efficient and Effective for the Services?
Abstract
The Department of Defense (DoD) is committed to investing in the education of service members and veterans. Today's higher education assistance programs, like the original GI Bill in 1944, are designed to support service members' transitions to civilian life. There is evidence that some programs have achieved this goal, with studies suggesting that military members who receive higher education benefits and complete their courses of study enjoy high earnings in the civilian world (see, e.g., Loughranet al., 2011). What is uncertain, however, is how these programs affect DoD. Educational assistance programs have the potential to attract people into service and thus have a positive effect on recruiting. But these benefits may also shorten the service time of some members, as higher education improves their career prospects in the civilian world. Moreover, it is unknown how the different higher educational assistance programs complement one another in relation to recruiting, retention, and educational outcomes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1085360
Entities
People
- Douglas Yeung
- Jennie W. Wenger
- Lindsay Daugherty
- Marlon Graf
- Matthew D. Baird
- Peter Buryk
- Salar Jahedi
- Simon Hollands
- Trey Miller
Organizations
- RAND Corporation