Becoming Military Friendly A Whitepaper from The Learning House, Inc.

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1 Becoming Military Friendly A Whitepaper from The Learning House, Inc. Rev. 2/2012

2 The Educational Value of Military Service The military is comprised of brave servicemen and servicewomen who have put their lives on hold to serve and protect the country. More than 1.4 million active duty military personnel were in service as of November 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Defense 1. Many of these active duty military personnel entered the service soon after graduating from high school, delaying their collegiate dreams and postponing their pursuit of a fruitful career beyond the military. Many of these servicemen and servicewomen, however, do have collegiate goals. To achieve the American Dream, active duty personnel who want to earn a college degree must be able to do so in a cooperative learning environment. Establishing militaryfriendly school status is a logical step for colleges and universities that want to provide active duty personnel with an accessible education that will prepare them for their future endeavors. Military-friendly schools base their institutional support of active duty personnel on delivering an accessible education through financial and academic assistance. Your college or university can encourage active duty personnel enrollments and ease the transition process into higher education by establishing your institution as a militaryfriendly school and upholding the value of active duty personnel s military service. 1.4 million active duty military personnel November 2011 = 50,000

3 More than a tagline While many higher education institutions promote a generic military-friendly status in marketing collateral, including their website and recruitment brochures, the phrase military-friendly school should be more than just a tagline. For-profit colleges and universities have outpaced the higher education market in gathering active duty personnel enrollments because they have increased their investment of funding and other resources into researching and developing programs and policies attractive to this target audience, essentially perfecting the college experience for these students.

4 More than a tagline If you want to compete with these higher education juggernauts in providing active duty personnel with an exceptional learning environment, consider your answers to the following questions: Yes No 1. Are you aware of the standard per-credit-hour and annual tuition assistance (TA) cap for an active duty service member? 2. Have you adjusted your tuition accordingly? 3. Do you know what tuition discounts your competitors offer to active duty military spouses and U.S. Department of Defense civilian employees in terms of tuition discounts? 4. Can you receive TA payments electronically? 5. Have you established a deployment policy for active duty service members who are deployed overseas during the term? 6. Do you offer 100 percent online degree programs to accommodate service members who change duty stations? 7. Do you accept transfer credits for active duty service members and spouses who have collected credits from various colleges and degree programs? 8. Does your institution accept American Council on Education (ACE) credit for military education and training? 9. Do you offer accelerated learning formats for courses? 10. Do you offer textbooks in an electronic format for distance learners, or do you offer free shipping for textbooks? 11. Do you provide new military students with textbook vouchers or credits to acquire textbooks and supplies before their stipend takes effect? 12. Do you provide student support via phone or for all administrative departments, including financial aid and the registrar s office? 13. Does your website include a Military Student Resource Center page? 14. Does your institution staff at least one person on campus who serves as a military liaison and who is qualified to assist active duty personnel with their collegiate experience? 15. Do you provide on-campus support or information links on your website for online active duty personnel on topics such as grief counseling, debt and finance counseling, employment counseling, and other relevant topics? If you cannot answer yes to all of these questions, you may need to reconsider using the military-friendly school tagline in your next marketing campaign.

5 Where to start Establishing your college or university as a recognized militaryfriendly school is essential if you want to attract higher student enrollments from the active duty personnel target market. Making the transition requires a commitment of funds and resources to establish programs and policies tailored for active duty personnel. In the meantime, you can take the following steps to assist and appease your current student population of military personnel in delivering an accessible and quality education: Cap your tuition at the TA rate of $250 per credit hour for active duty service members. Offer spouses of active duty service members and U.S. Department of Defense civilian employees a 10 to 20 percent discount on standard online tuition, or match their benefit rate. Ensure your institution is authorized with each branch of the military to receive electronic TA payments. Consult with your institution s accrediting agency to obtain sample transfer credit rubrics for accepting military ACE credits if you do not already accept such credits. Develop a flexible deployment policy for active duty military personnel. Urge your institution to adopt electronic textbooks, especially for online degree programs. Develop degree programs that students can take 100 percent online so military families can stay with your institution until graduation. Invest in a Military Student Resource Center page on your website. Hire an active duty military education liaison to ensure the collegiate experience of active duty personnel is seamless and successful. Achieving military-friendly status can help in recruiting active duty personnel, garnering your higher education institution increased enrollments and tuition. More significantly, achieving militaryfriendly status allows your institution to support and serve this important segment of the student body men and women who so bravely serve the country.

6 References United States Department of Defense. (2011). Active duty military personnel by rank/grade. We can answer them for you! Join our live webinar, Everything You Need to Know about Becoming Military Friendly on February 28 from 2-3pm EST. We hope to see you there! Register for our live webinar >