Department of Defense oversight of tuition assistance, Book

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. VIC SNYDER, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM ARKANSAS, CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON
OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS

Dr. SNYDER. Good morning, and welcome to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing on the Defense Department’s oversight of the quality of college education programs available to active duty servicemembers.

I understand there are many representatives in attendance here today from the National Association of Institutions for Military
Education Services and others interested in college education for military members.

Since World War II, the Department of Defense has offered servicemembers opportunities to pursue a college education during off-duty time. Education is important to servicemembers and is often identified as a key factor in recruiting and retention. Also, in today’s complex national security environment, a more highly educated force is important for the military and its ability to carry out missions. Congress is supportive of these kinds of programs.

Traditionally, the Defense Department has provided opportunities by, one, allowing qualified colleges and universities to establish programs on military installations and, two, providing tuition assistance funding to help members afford the cost. Participation in the program has remained high for many years. In fiscal year 2010, the Services programmed about $580 million for tuition assistance, and even with high operations tempo and deployments, more than 380,000 servicemembers will use tuition assistance. Over the past decade, however, there has been a dramatic shift in the way in which college programs are provided to military personnel. Colleges are still an important presence on military installations, but distance learning has recently become the predominant method of taking courses. Approximately 70 percent of tuition assistance goes to distance learning. Distance learning provides military personnel flexibility and portability. With a laptop and access to the Internet, courses can be taken virtually anywhere and any time.

There has also been a proliferation of for-profit colleges which cater to military students. DOD estimates that more than 40 percent of its tuition assistance now goes to these for-profit schools. While most for-profit colleges adhere to the same standards as non profit and public schools, a variety of government and public interest organizations have raised concerns that some provide a lower quality of education, use overly aggressive marketing and recruit ing practices, and have poor student outcomes.

DOD and the Services have had policies and processes in place to manage and oversee voluntary education programs for many years. However, the structure that exists is largely oriented towards college programs located on military installations. Since 2005, DOD and the Services have recognized the need to adapt their management and oversight structure to include distance learning programs, but progress has been slow.

The purpose of this hearing is to examine how the military’s voluntary college education programs have evolved over time and learn what steps DOD and the Services are planning to oversee the emergence of distance learning and for-profit schools, and when. Ultimately, the subcommittee wants to ensure that military service members are receiving a quality education for the resources invested in these programs and to determine if Congress can help.

Mr. Wittman commutes in from Virginia, and we understand he has hit some traffic this morning and will be delayed.

Mr. Jones, I will be glad to recognize you for any opening comments you may want to make.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, I will be very brief. I want to hear from each of the witnesses.

I want to thank you. I have three bases in my district. This is becoming an issue and I want to thank you and the staff. We need to look seriously at the quality of education for our men and women in uniform, and that is why I am here. And I look forward to hearing our witnesses, and I will have questions.

Mr. Chairman, since Mr. Wittman cannot be here, I ask unanimous consent that his statement be put in the record. Dr.

SNYDER. Yes, without objection. We will also give him an opportunity to make a statement when he arrives. Our witnesses today are Mr. Robert L. Gordon, III, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy; Mr. Anthony Stamilio—is that the correct pronunciation, “Stamilio”?

Secretary STAMILIO. “Stamilio.”

Dr. SNYDER [continuing]. Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civilian Personnel and Quality of Life; Mr. Scott Lutterloh, Director, Total Force Training and Education Division, U.S. Navy; Mr. Dan Sitterly, Director of Force Development, Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower and Personnel, U.S. Air Force; and Mr. Timothy Larsen, Director, Personal and Family Readiness Division, U.S. Marine Corps. We appreciate you all being here. Your written statements will be made part of the record.

Since we don’t have votes until six o’clock tonight, we are not anticipating any interruptions. But we will turn the clock on, and so the light will go on at the end of five minutes. Don’t feel like it is a hard stop if you have other things you need to tell us, but just to give you an idea where you are at.

So we will begin with Mr. Gordon and go right down the line.

STATEMENT OF ROBERT L. GORDON III, DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR MILITARY COMMUNITY AND FAMILY POLICY, OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (PERSONNEL AND READINESS)

Secretary GORDON. Thanks very much, Mr. Chairman. Chairman Snyder, Representative Jones, distinguished members of the subcommittee, the Secretary of Defense and the men and women of the Armed Forces, as well as their families and I thank you for your support. My role today is to focus on what the Department is doing to provide lifelong learning opportunities through our off-duty volunteer education programs. I am humbled to know that we are continuing the vision of our first President, George Washington, who began the first voluntary education program in 1778 when he directed his chaplain to provide reading, writing, and arithmetic instruction to his soldiers while encamped at Valley Forge. He recognized the importance of literacy and instilling the quest of lifelong learning in our nation’s citizens, which is as important today as it was over two hundred years ago.

Each year, a third of our service members enroll in post-secondary education courses, leading to associate’s, bachelor’s, and advanced degrees. This past year alone, there were more than 834,000 course enrollments, and over 46,000 servicemembers earned degrees and certifications. For the past two years, we have held graduation ceremonies in Iraq and Afghanistan for 432 servicemembers.

Servicemembers enrolled in voluntary education programs are non-traditional students, as we know. They attend school during off-duty and part-time, taking one or two classes per term. When the military mission, deployments, transfers, or family obligations impinge upon the continuation of education, this can result in an interruption of studies and breaks of months or even years between taking courses and completing degrees.

The military is keeping pace with the civilian Millennial Generation’s expectations to access information through technology. To facilitate education in today’s high-operations-tempo environment, colleges and universities deliver classroom instruction via the Internet and on military installations around the world. There are no geographical confines. Courses are offered aboard ships, submarines, and at deployed locations.

All for-profit, non-profit, and public post-secondary institutions participating in military tuition assistance programs must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Also, colleges and universities on our installations adhere to additional criteria set by commanders.

To support these efforts, the Department contracted with the American Council on Education to develop a process called the Military Installation Voluntary Education Review, or MIVER, which provides a third-party, independent review of our on-installation programs.