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Education


The G.I. Bill is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Defense Department and service-specific education benefits for service members and their families. Whether you want professional or personal education information, you’ll find it here.
  • VA speeds emergency GI Bill payments
    Students waiting on delayed Post-9/11 GI Bill payments can get emergency financial help fast or easy — but not fast and easy.
  • Some stipend checks won’t arrive until October
    Because so many people who applied for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits didn’t do so until after the program began Aug. 1, some students will have to wait until Oct. 1 for their first living stipend...
  • Delayed GI Bill payments making some students wary
    As living stipends for the Post-9/11 GI Bill are sent out, college students and administrators say they’re still wary about jumping aboard the new veterans benefits program.
  • Obama excited about Post-9/11 GI Bill, vows to fix ‘kinks’
    Although some who feel they deserve the benefits of the Post-9/11 GI Bill remain on the outside looking in, the program otherwise appears to be off to a solid start, with one glitch fixed and another...
  • Some states still silent on tuition for new GI Bill
    The Aug. 1 launch of the Post-9/11 GI Bill is expected to go smoothly but for one problem outside the control of the Veterans Affairs Department: The tuition and fee caps for some states will not be...
  • Plan gives surviving children GI Bill benefits
    Congress has created a new scholarship program for the children of service members who die on active duty that would give each child full Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, just like someone who had served...
  • DoDEA plans to expand virtual school offerings
    Some military children will be able to enroll in a full-fledged, diploma-granting virtual high school in the 2010-11 school year, Department of Defense Education Activity officials said.
  • VA officials optimistic about meeting GI Bill deadline
    Although an internal Veterans Affairs Department study says meeting the Aug. 1 start day for the Post-9/11 GI Bill is a “high risk” operation, VA officials gave an upbeat report March 25...
  • A tight timeline
    Of the many challenges facing Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, one of the most urgent may be stopping Congress from engaging in last-minute tinkering with the Post-9/11 GI Bill in a way that...
  • Relief societies cut back on education grants
    The three largest military relief societies are tightening their belts after their investment portfolios lost a combined $163 million in the recent stock market downturn.
  • Programs would assist troops’ school transition
    A Cleveland State University professor, backed by more than 20 colleges and universities and a major veterans group, is trying to pry millions of dollars out of Congress to improve the odds that...
  • VA may need backup plan to launch GI Bill on time
    Unable to find a qualified contractor to help launch a new and generous GI Bill education benefits package next year, the Department of Veterans Affairs is shifting to a backup plan — one that...
  • VA: Contractor needed to roll out new GI Bill on time
    A plan by the Veterans Affairs Department to depend on a private contractor — not VA employees — to process claims for the new GI Bill education benefits program has raised questions...
  • Two plans compete to enhance reserve GI Bill
    The military advocacy group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America is warning Congress that simpler is not necessarily better when it comes to revising GI Bill education benefits.
  • Congress working toward GI Bill improvements
    The Defense Department does not mind the idea of improving the GI Bill — as long as the education benefits are not improved so much that people want to get out of uniform to use them.
  • DoDEA reaches out to civilian schools
    Defense education officials have a new mission: to help improve educational opportunities for all military children, not just those who attend schools operated by the Defense Department.
  • Senators warned away from bigger GI Bill
    Lawmakers pushing for dramatic improvements in veterans’ education benefits can expect no help from the Bush administration.
  • Advocates want free pre-K for all military children
    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — All states should make military children eligible for state-funded pre-kindergarten programs, according to two advocacy organizations for pre-K education and military...
  • How to get in on ‘Troops to Teachers’ program
    This partnership between the Defense Department and the Department of Education helps eligible military personnel begin careers as teachers in public schools. The DANTES-managed program provides...
  • Off-duty education benefits: Guard and Reserve
    Nearly all reservists and veterans can take advantage of programs that give college credit for nontraditional learning as well as military skills.
  • DANTES
    The Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support allows service members to receive educational opportunities outside the classroom. Education centers at nearly every installation have...
  • Service programs — Air Force
    Air Force Voluntary Education Branch. This branch oversees all Air Force education centers and counselors, administration of tuition assistance, testing and other voluntary education-related services.
  • Service programs — Army
    All Army National Guard and Army Reserve members are eligible for benefits from the Army Continuing Education System programs and services at 111 Army Education Centers and 128 Learning Centers on...
  • Service programs — Coast Guard Reserve
    Most Coast Guard reservists drill at active-duty sites and have access to nearly all educational programs available to active-duty members.
  • Service programs — Marine Corps Reserve
    Voluntary educational programs for reservists come under the Corps’ Lifelong Learning Programs.
  • Service programs — Naval Reserve
    Naval reservists can attend a variety of military schools and courses on their annual training, complete correspondence courses and enroll in a number of education programs such as:
  • Smart Transcripts (Navy and Marine)
    Marine and Navy reservists can get credit for their active and reserve schools and experience through the Sailor/Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript. SMART is an official...
  • Professional military education: Guard and Reserve members
    Air Force Senior NCO Academy. The academy is for senior master sergeants and those selected for promotion to E-8. Six times per year, it holds six-week classes that teach communication, leadership...
  • Professional military education: Guard and Reserve members
    Air Command and Staff College. At Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Ala., this school provides intermediate professional military education for select mid-career officers. The 10-month course admits...
  • Professional military education: Guard and Reserve members
    Air War College. This is the senior professional school in the Air Force. Some 260 senior U.S. military officers, civilians and officers from about 40 nations attend the 10-month school each year in...
  • Professional military education: Guard and Reserve members
    Air Force Institute of Technology. The Air Force’s graduate school, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, comprises the Graduate School of Engineering and Management, the Civil...
  • Education benefits for Guard and Reserve members
    Selected Reserve members can qualify for the Montgomery GI Bill, Selected Reserve, a no-pay-in program available to reservists for as long as they are actively participating within a 14-year period....
  • Education benefits for Guard and Reserve members
    Most states and territories offer National Guard members tuition assistance or waiver programs that go beyond the GI Bill. In most cases, these can be used in conjunction with active or reserve...
  • Education benefits for Guard and Reserve members
    Reservists who enlist or re-enlist for a specified term of service in the Selected Reserve can get help in repaying outstanding student loans taken out after Oct. 1, 1975. For each “good...
  • Education: Dependents
    Nearly 1 million military children attend public school in districts operated by local educational agencies. School officials increasingly are working to make the transition easier for military...
  • Education centers
    In addition to active-duty personnel, family members can enroll in college programs offered through all service branch education centers and Navy College offices. The centers may offer testing...
  • Education: Military academies
    Service academy applicants must be nominated to be considered for appointment. Most receive nominations from members of Congress. Other sources include presidential nominations for children of career...
  • Education: Scholarships
    Scholarship opportunities for military children and spouses range from the military relief societies’ scholarship programs to the annual Scholarships for Military Children in conjunction with...
  • Education: Spouse education
    Career Advancement Accounts. Under a new pilot program at 18 installations, eligible military spouses can receive $3,000 a year for up to two years to pay for expenses directly related to...
  • Education: DANTES
    The Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support provides service members with educational opportunities outside the classroom. DANTES services are available at nearly all education centers...
  • Education: Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges
    Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges is a consortium of more than 1,800 public and private colleges and universities as well as higher-education associations. SOC degree programs are mainly for Army,...
  • Education: Service programs — Air Force
    Air Force Voluntary Education Branch. The Voluntary Education Branch oversees all Air Force education centers, education counselors, administration of tuition assistance, testing and related services.
  • Education: Service programs — Army
    Army Continuing Education System. ACES centers in the U.S. and overseas sponsor a variety of programs for high school completion, college and vocational-technical courses, non-traditional programs...
  • Education: Service programs — Coast Guard
    Coast Guard Institute. Programs are available to active-duty members, reservists, spouses and civilian employees.
  • Service programs —Marine Corps and Navy
    Seaman to Admiral-21. The STA-21 commissioning program is designed to create a fair system for sailors to receive an undergraduate college education and become commissioned officers. Enlisted...
  • Education: Graduate schools
    Air Force Institute of Technology. Located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, this institute supports the Air Force and national defense by providing degree-granting graduate and professional...
  • Education: Senior NCO Academies
    Air Force Senior NCO Academy. The academy, at the Gunter Annex of Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., instructs two courses with the mission to expand the leadership capabilities of senior enlisted...
  • Education: Staff colleges
    Air Command and Staff College. This college at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., is the Air Force’s intermediate professional military education school. The college prepares field grade officers...
  • Education: War colleges
    Air War College. This school, at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., is the senior professional school in the Air Force. The resident program consists of 10 months of graduate-level study, resulting in a...
  • Education: Tuition assistance
    Tuition assistance for voluntary off-duty education is available to all service members for a maximum of $4,500 at 100 percent of tuition costs per year, or a maximum of $250 per semester hour.
  • Education: Reserve Educational Assistance Program
    REAP is a relatively new benefit providing educational assistance to Selected Reserve and Individual Ready Reserve members called to active service in response to a war or national emergency, as...
  • Education: Top-Up
    This program can be used to pay the balance of tuition and fees not covered by the Montgomery GI Bill and federal tuition assistance.
  • Guard and Reserve: Education
    Education benefits offered to service members will get a major upgrade as of Aug. 1, 2009, under the newly approved Post-9/11 GI Bill, which is far more generous than the current Montgomery GI Bill.

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