{"id":103271,"date":"2018-07-16T14:40:09","date_gmt":"2018-07-16T14:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/07\/16\/as-ta-use-drops-could-recent-policy-changes-get-more-service-members-using-the-education-benefit\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:27:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:27:25","slug":"as-ta-use-drops-could-recent-policy-changes-get-more-service-members-using-the-education-benefit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2018\/07\/16\/as-ta-use-drops-could-recent-policy-changes-get-more-service-members-using-the-education-benefit\/","title":{"rendered":"As TA use drops, could recent policy changes get more service members using the education benefit?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Top 50 tuition assistance colleges<\/a> | Top 10 tuition assistance colleges by service<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the perks of serving in the military is being able to go to college on the Defense Department\u2019s dime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the number of service members taking advantage of this education benefit \u2014 often hailed as a key military recruitment and retention tool \u2014 has been declining in recent years, with all branches seeing drops in fiscal 2017, federal data show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the decreases, some schools are encouraged by rule changes that could allow more service members to participate in tuition assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TA Trends<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the number of TA users has dropped, service members are largely continuing to use the benefit at the same schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Military Times analysis of federal data shows no movement among the 10 most popular college destinations, with American Public Education Inc., which is the parent company of American Military University, and the University System of Maryland, which includes the University of Maryland University College, leading the way with 45,765 and 29,768 active-duty students, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bridgepoint Education, which owns Ashford University, is next, followed by Central Texas College and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The overall number of TA users dropped by more than 6 percent from fiscal 2016, to 473,715 students in fiscal 2017. Since fiscal 2014, the number of TA students has dropped by nearly 13 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last three years, the two service branches with the most TA users \u2013 the Army and the Air Force \u2013 have recorded a nearly 17-percent drop in TA usage. On the other hand, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard, which have the fewest number of TA users, have seen TA usage rise since fiscal 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DoD spokeswoman Maj. Carla Gleason said TA is a voluntary benefit, and a variety of factors can impact usage rates, including \u201cforce shaping, deployment cycles and the general economy.\u201d She pointed to Education Department statistics, which also show a decline in overall enrollment in higher education and said this indicates, in part, that TA data \u201ccould be mirroring wider societal trends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vincennes University, an Indiana public school, saw a 29 percent decrease in its TA enrollment between fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2017, the largest relative drop among the top 50 most popular college destinations for TA students. For-profit college systems DeVry University Inc. and the University of Phoenix also took hits in TA enrollment above 25 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the top five, American Public Education shed more than 3,000 students between fiscal 2016 and 2017, a 7-percent drop in its TA enrollment, while fellow for-profit system Bridgepoint shed more than 1,600 students, a 10-percent drop. Central Texas College, a public institution, enrolled about 1,900 fewer students in fiscal 2017, a 14 percent drop from the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\t