Do you think that Tuitition Assistant (TA) should have a stop on credit hours?

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 10:43:13 -0400

TA is stopping at 130 credits, instead of completing your degree.. I believed as more credits, you knowledge will increase.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Oct 29 at 2013 10:33 PM

SSG (ret) William Martin — Tue, 29 Oct 2013 22:33:46 -0400

SSG Oliveraslespier, With the cost of everything nowadays, capping off the credit hours for a Bachelor's at 130 is a good idea so that soldiers are not just taking classes on the TA's dime.

Response by CW3(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 29 at 2013 11:18 PM

CW3(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Oct 2013 23:18:55 -0400

I thought TA allowed you to completed one of each type of degree. Such as one associates, one bachelors, and one masters. Is this changing?

Response by SSG Lisa Rendina made Nov 9 at 2013 1:48 AM

SSG Lisa Rendina — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 01:48:44 -0500

A Bachelors degree is typically 120 credits. I agree with providing TA for credits above that basic requirement to allow for a certain amount of "soul searching" and finding the discipline you want to study. I also agree with the existence of a credits cap so that Soldiers are actually pursing a degree and not taking random credits on the Army's "dime".

Response by SGT Chris Birkinbine made Nov 9 at 2013 7:38 AM

SGT Chris Birkinbine — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 07:38:19 -0500

My degree required 128 credits, and I still couldn't graduate until I had 136 because of specific course requirements in my hybrid degree. The point being that as soon as you add a cutoff, someone is going to need 3 more credits than that.

In reality though, the majority of schools being attended by active duty military are community colleges that only offer 2 year degrees. Combine that with how difficult it is / can be for the majority of active duty members to attend courses, I don't think 99% of them are coming anywhere close to reaching 128 credits.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Nov 9 at 2013 9:42 AM

SSG (ret) William Martin — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 09:42:25 -0500

SPC Gum, Service members are here just to spend up TA; they are here to get an education and at the same time get promotion points. Some of those classes won't even transfer over unless those are the general education classes. Take it seriously and be focused on completing a degree. Having a degree compared to a bunch of college credits does you no good with future employers or when you are looked at for SFC and higher.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 9 at 2013 6:35 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 18:35:46 -0500

I don't know how much TA has changed when I ETS'd back in '96, but I was able to obtain an Associates Degree with the help of using TA, along with taking CLEP tests and obtaining credits through various Army schools, such as AIT. However, I feel that 130 credits is an acceptable limit, one can still take CLEP tests and translate the Army school training into college credits.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 9 at 2013 8:50 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 20:50:27 -0500

As some of you have said, the cap forces individuals to get focused on a degree instead of taking random courses, but setting the cap at 130 SH? It doesn't really leave much room for error... What happens if you're trying to find your niche and it takes a bit?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 9 at 2013 9:19 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 21:19:20 -0500

I do agree that this cap will keep soldiers focused instead of jumping around to different degree plans and not completeing a degree; however, I also feel like this is a way to limit the soldiers and not allow them past a bachelors degree if they so choose to do so. Soldiers are completeing degrees to make sure that they can support their family with decent living conditions once they decide to retire from the military. If "they" want to control the amount of money spent on college courses maybe they need to make soldiers request to expand further than a bachelors degree and grant it on a case by case basis. If the soldier has completed his/her degree in a timely manner then they need to be granted to proceed. If the soldier has turned into a "Van Wilder" then maybe the soldier should proceed to a masters on his own accord. I am not saying that is my complete opinion but that may be the best way to remedy this cap. Does this make any sense to anyone?

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 18 at 2014 11:47 AM

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 11:47:09 -0400

I absolutely agree with the change. It will now force Soldiers to stick with a degree plan that will get there Bachelor's degree as scheduled. Think about it, would you pay out of pocket for an additional 30 to 50 credit hours? No, so why are Soldiers doing it now. I know of Soldiers that have over 200 credit hours but no degree. One could think that it is intentional so they can continue getting credit hours because they use to be able to until they got their Bachelor's degree. Smart move on the Army's part to stop the fraud, waste, and abuse of the TA program.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 18 at 2014 12:52 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 12:52:02 -0400

I agree with the cap on credit hours because it forces Soldiers to focus their college classes on an actual degree plan instead of randomly taking classes that will lead to nothing. I get that they learn from the classes, but from an academic standpoint, they need to have some sort of goal and progression towards that goal.

One thing that I don't like is that they will only pay for one degree at each level. I think if a Soldier wants to pursue a second Bachelor's or a second Master's, then they should be able to as it will only broaden their knowledge. Also, with second degrees, there is often less required because some classes will carry over as transfer credits, so it will have a lower impact.

Finally, I think TA should be allowed to help a Soldier working on their Doctorate. I can see putting certain limits on it, like waiting until the Soldier has 15 years TIS, or maybe having to reach a certain rank first. I think we should encourage everyone to continue civilian education, regardless of their level because it can only help.