By Meg O’Grady, National University
Today, more than 800,000 active-duty service members, reservists, and veterans are enrolled in higher education. Colleges and universities are increasingly paying attention to both the opportunity and the responsibility that come with serving this growing population. But within this community is another group whose education and careers are shaped just as profoundly by service: military spouses.
Military spouse unemployment constantly hovers around 20 percent and has been measured between 20-26% annually since 2021, far higher than the national average, and despite increased awareness and resources for both spouses and employers through a variety of both government, private sector and non-profit programs.
Higher education has an important role to play in closing this gap. Too often, however, conversations about military-connected student success stop with the service member. In reality, families move through the disruptions and transitions of military life together.
Supporting military-connected learners requires institutions to design for the full reality of military life. That includes their spouses.
Many military spouses pursue education in lieu of employment, when employment is not available, leading to a highly educated talent pool, more so than their civilian counterparts.
Military spouse employment is a national security imperative, providing financial stability for military families who often need a second income to meet basic needs and creating a stable environment when the military service member reenters civilian life post military.
Most of higher education does not reflect how these students live and learn. Colleges design systems for students who remain in one place, follow predictable academic calendars, and progress without interruption. Traditional degree programs too often rely on continuity that military life rarely provides for service members or their spouses.
As an Army veteran and military spouse who moved 17 times in 23 years, I have experienced both sides of this coin. In my role as Senior Vice President of Military Affairs at National University, I also see every day how military life shapes entire families, not just those in uniform.
More than five decades ago, a U.S. Navy captain founded National University to serve working adults and military learners. That mission continues to guide how we design programs, support students, and define success.
We structure our online programs in four- and eight-week courses to accommodate disruption. This format helps students continue their education even when circumstances change.
For military spouses, flexible pacing often determines whether they stop out or stay on track. Military orders create constant uncertainty, and many spouses take on primary caregiving responsibilities during deployments and training cycles.
Nearly 70 percent of active-duty military spouses have children, and 46 percent have children under age six. Two-thirds work full-time. Flexible online learning and course scheduling allow them to integrate education into their busy daily lives.
Transfer policies create another barrier. On average, military families relocate every two to four years. Military spouses move 3.6 times more often than civilian families, making it difficult to maintain continuous enrollment at one institution.
When institutions do not accept credits, students lose time, money, and momentum. Colleges can reduce these losses by building clear pathways, strengthening articulation agreements, and recognizing prior learning more consistently. These changes make it easier for military-connected students to continue their education across locations.
Affordability also impacts persistence. National supports military spouses through dedicated scholarships, including the Whisper Military Spouse Scholarship, as well as tuition discounts and access to transferred GI Bill benefits and the Department of Defense MyCAA funding. These combined supports help reduce the financial strain that can come with the frequent moves and disrupted employment coming among military families.
Access and completion alone do not guarantee success, however. Military spouses invest significant time, effort, and resources in their education, and that investment must lead to meaningful employment.
Too often, a degree does not translate into a job. It’s critical for colleges to align degree programs with in-demand professions and skills. Stronger partnerships with employers, career coaching, and job placement support can all help students convert their credentials into career opportunities.
Since 2022, National University has been a proud MSEP partner, joining 950+ employers committed to recruiting, hiring, and retaining military spouses in sustainable careers. We collaborate on job fairs, post opportunities through the MSEP portal, and educate hiring managers on the unique value military spouses bring. This reflects our broader commitment to creating economic security and opportunity for military-connected students. Through our Military Spouse Scholarship Program and MyCAA Scholarship support, eligible spouses receive up to $4,000 for education in portable career fields. In 2025, through a VA Veteran and Spouse Transitional Assistance Grant, National University partnered with San Diego County organizations — including the San Diego Cyber Center of Excellence — to place 407 veterans and spouses into family-sustaining jobs.
Strong advising connects these efforts. Our Veteran and Military team provides a centralized hub for service members, spouses, and dependents navigating benefits, academic decisions, and career transitions.
The team also delivers targeted career-readiness programming, so far supporting more than 1,500 military-connected students and their spouses with hands-on training and job placement assistance. Military spouses navigate the same higher education system as service members and face many of the same structural barriers.
Their success is just as critical to the stability and economic security of military families as their partners’. Yet they remain largely overlooked, even within institutions that focus on military learners.
If colleges want to improve outcomes for military-connected students, they need to widen the lens. That means building systems that better support not just the individual in uniform, but the family that serves alongside them.
Recent Comments