Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary: Voluntary Education Programs
Abstract
Pursuant to section 801(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code, this is our report on a major rule promulgated by the Department of Defense (DOD), Office of the Secretary entitled Voluntary Education Programs (RIN: 0790-AJ06). We received the rule on July 11, 2014. It was published in the Federal Register as a final rule on May 15, 2014. 79 Fed. Reg. 27,732.The final rule implements new policies, responsibilities, and procedures for the operation of voluntary education programs within DOD. The new policies discussed in the rule include the following: all educational institutions providing education programs through the DOD Tuition Assistance (TA) Program will provide meaningful information to students about the financial cost and attendance at an institution so military students can make informed decisions on where to attend school; not use unfair, deceptive, and abusive recruiting practices; and provide academic and student support services to Service members and their families. The rule establishes new criteria to strengthen existing procedures for access to DOD installations by educational institutions. The rule requires an annual review and notification process if there are changes made to the uniform semester-hour (or equivalent) TA caps and annual TA ceilings. Military departments will be required to provide their Service members with a joint services transcript(JST). The rule implements DODs Postsecondary Education Complaint System for Servicemembers, spouses, and adult family members to register student complaints. The rule authorizes the military departments to establish Service-specific TA eligibility criteria and management controls.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 29, 2014
- Accession Number
- AD1169744
Entities
People
- Robert J Cramer
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office