By Dr. Mark D. Milliron, National University

The nation’s population of college students is evolving rapidly, reflecting a broader spectrum of life experiences and responsibilities. Today’s learners are not only pursuing their degrees but are also balancing roles as parents, caregivers, and dedicated professionals. This shift is particularly evident in the growing number of military-affiliated students who are bringing their unique perspectives and experiences to higher education. 

At National University, where I serve as president, about one-fourth of our entire student body is military-affiliated, as are half of all National University undergraduate students. These learners are integrating their service backgrounds into their educational pursuits and enriching the campus environment in the process. Our institution was founded in 1971 by retired U.S. Navy Capt. Dr. David Chigos, who saw a need for more educational opportunities that support deployed soldiers and Veterans. Today, National University remains a top educator of the U.S. military.

Military educational benefits, especially tuition assistance, can be a powerful force that ensures Veterans can succeed in civilian life and infuse the nation’s workforce with a steady supply of experienced and disciplined talent. Yet for many military-affiliated students, military benefits are no longer such a good deal, as the buying power of military tuition assistance has diminished rapidly. Few military members are taking advantage of the program. And according to a recent report from Rand Corp., military transition programs aren’t living up to their promise of helping service members translate their military skills and experience to the civilian labor force.

Higher education should serve as a crucial bridge between military service and civilian employment. The United States has an obligation to support military members during and after their service. Enhancing and expanding the utilization of current tuition assistance programs can help service members gain more skills for their current roles and prepare them for their civilian careers.

For years education benefits have ranked among the top reasons for joining the military. But the Department of Defense’s Tuition Assistance program that provides financial aid to active-duty service members is capped at $250 per credit hour and at $4,500 per year. At that rate, a service member who relies solely on program support would need seven years to earn an associate’s degree. And while college tuition and fees have risen dramatically in recent years, the program’s annual cap has not been increased since its inception in 2001. 

Tuition assistance programs should provide enough funding so service members can earn a credential in a timely manner. Raising the cap to reflect the true cost of higher education is a simple and long-overdue fix.

Current funding levels for military education benefits are creating challenges for both service members and the institutions that serve them. Participation in the tuition assistance program has grown less cost-effective over time; indeed, a growing number of institutions are opting out because they no longer have the resources to sustain their support for active-duty service members. More ominously, the Army might follow the lead of other branches, which cut education benefits during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Lawmakers should increase funding to the Defense Department’s education benefits so it can serve current students more effectively and encourage more service members to participate. Even a significant increase in tuition assistance would constitute just a small fraction of the Defense Department’s overall $850 billion budget request.

Finally, a 2017 Rand study found something surprising: Less than a quarter of new recruits were aware of the education benefits available to them. In addition, only about 20% of service members currently use tuition assistance. 

As the tuition assistance program is modernized and improved, military leaders, policymakers and postsecondary institutions must ensure that more recruits and service members learn about this program and are motivated by the educational opportunities the military can provide.

To deal effectively with escalating global tensions, the U.S. must redouble its efforts to build and maintain a capable military. Improving tuition assistance and other education benefits can help our armed forces maneuver through a challenging recruitment landscape and invest in the futures of our service members.

By Gregory W. Fowler, PhD

Today’s rapidly evolving job market makes new demands of higher education, as learners turn to shorter, just-in-time learning experiences—flexible, stackable, and cost effective—to build skillsets explicitly tailored to their professional objectives. It is critical that lawmakers move to support and empower institutions that recognize and embrace this worldview, removing obstacles that impede efforts to recognize, standardize, and validate learning experiences that prioritize skills acquisition.

Gone are the days when skills-based learning was synonymous with vocational training or viewed as a reductive approach to learning. Today, rapid advances in technology demand flexibility, agility, and adaptability, and employers are increasingly likely to value practical over theoretical knowledge. Instead of automatically equating a traditional credential with competence or mastery, employers and learners alike are placing greater emphasis on an individual’s ability to demonstrate and acquire necessary skills.

Fundamental shifts are needed in postsecondary learning if we are to prepare a workforce capable of thriving in the 21st century, and institutions must be prepared to provide necessary knowledge and skills, assess and validate them, and communicate them in ways that are meaningful to both learners and prospective employers. This offers the new administration an opportunity to make an immediate and lasting economic impact across large and often underserved populations, including those who seek credit for prior learning; those with some college and no degree; displaced workers who are reentering the workforce, upskilling, or changing careers; learners in the military; and millions more. 

These learners ask for and expect stackable certificates, certifications, or micro-credentials that can be evaluated and easily refreshed. They demand assurances that the skills they seek will have value in the future, and that they can be updated and augmented in response to emerging trends or technologies.

In response, my own institution—University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC)—has embraced skills as the foundation of our learning experiences. This includes taking deliberate steps to identify and name the skills we teach in our core products and mapping those skills to career paths.

It also involves embracing a worldview that values learning no matter where it happens. We pride ourselves on being the nation’s most transfer-friendly institution, accepting credit from a wide variety of learning providers, and we evaluate and grant credit for prior learning, whether it is gained on the job or in military training or demonstrated via assessments.

This approach is one that we have identified and embraced as vital for the continued relevance of our institution and, indeed, of postsecondary learning, but it comes with challenges, and again, offers lawmakers the opportunity to support real and impactful change in the lives of learners everywhere.

Several steps can be taken to support the transition currently underway.

• First, skills-focused learning experiences are built around different measures of success, and the federal government can empower recognized accreditors to include standards that are applicable to skills-based programs. This could also encourage greater acceptance of short-form learning experiences, reducing the focus on credit and contact hours as the main criteria for federal financial aid eligibility.

• Equally important, by incentivizing and recognizing partnerships with industry leaders and employers, lawmakers can encourage the development of curricula that align with current and projected job market demands while supporting and rewarding those employers who invest in workforce and career development, thus contributing to an agile and competitive workforce. (Simply increasing the $5,250 cap on untaxed educational benefits—in place since 1986—would support such investment.)

• Finally, by voicing support for and spotlighting innovative teaching methods and learning environments that facilitate skills acquisition—such as project-based learning, internships, and collaboration with industry partners—lawmakers can underscore and promote the value of skills-based learning and accelerate its acceptance in mainstream learning and work environments.

In short, by recognizing, validating, and legitimizing skills acquisition as a central goal of education, the federal government can take crucial steps toward growing a workforce positioned to meet the demands of the modern economy. Similarly, by supporting postsecondary providers that embrace this approach, lawmakers can ensure that students are equipped with the skills they need to succeed in their careers and contribute to our nation’s prosperity. This shift will require cooperation among policymakers, educators, industry leaders, and third-party providers, and by supporting it, the new administration can affect lasting and impactful change that yields greater socioeconomic mobility and economic growth.