Federal educational assistance programs available to service members: program features and recommendations for improved delivery

The Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Education administer a variety of programs that provide educational assistance to military service members. These programs range from examinations that provide college credit for knowledge and experience gained in the military to various kinds of tuition assistance and student aid. The Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Military and Community and Family Policy asked RAND to review major, federal-level military educational assistance programs; develop a holistic system overview; identify program outcomes that program managers either currently measure or should be measuring; consider benchmarks of success to compare these programs against; and recommend ways to improve how educational benefits for military personnel are managed and used, thereby potentially improving cost efficiencies of programs. The authors reviewed publicly available program information and discussed specific characteristics with program managers, as well as reviewed the academic literature on both civilian and military education benefit programs to identify common characteristics, performance measures, and outcome measures. The research did not, however, extend to examining outcomes; the emphasis was on establishing a framework and baselines for further exploration. Among other observations, the authors did note significant overlap among programs and that individuals did not always pursue the most efficient pathways through the system for long-term benefit