LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va –
In September 2011, the Air Force made several amendments to its Voluntary Education Program, changing the tuition assistance policies for Airmen pursuing college educations.
Air Force Instruction 36-2306, The Air Force Education Services Program, governs program eligibility how education center officials award TA to Airmen.
One of the most important changes impacts TA eligibility based on grade point average, or GPA. Before the change, officials were to "use good judgment when allocating government funds," and had "the authority to limit or deny military TA when the Airman is not maintaining acceptable academic progress."
While a 2.0 was considered a commonly acceptable GPA, the instruction did not mandate students must meet that mark. Also, there was no requirement to calculate GPA for Airmen with prior education.
However, the new guidelines state that undergraduate students must maintain at least a 2.0 GPA to receive TA, and after the student has completed 15 semester hours or equivalent, they must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher in undergrad studies. Additionally, Airmen pursuing graduate studies must maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher to continue receiving assistance.
If students fail to meet these requirements, their TA will be revoked, leaving them responsible for the cost of the courses.
Students should be mindful that TA reimbursement waivers are available to Airmen who face extenuating circumstances, such as deployments, temporary duty assignments or permanent change of station orders. These students must immediately notify their base education center and class instructors of their circumstances, so withdrawals and dropping classes will not reflect negatively on a student's GPA.
"We need Airmen to take a more proactive role in their education, said Crystal Aldrich-Jenkins, a counselor at Langley's education center. "We understand our Airmen face mission-related situations impacting their classes, but they need to let us and their school know when things come up. We want to ensure deserving students keep receiving their benefits."
Another change to the regulations governs the funding of flying programs. Previously, the education center awarded TA for flight school ground training, as long as it was documented as a certificate or license program of study. However, flying time was not covered by TA. The new policy prescribes TA for Base Aero Club programs that are accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, and courses must have specific term start and end dates.
Students wishing to pursue non-degree credits in a foreign language must now consult the education center to verify the language in question is part of the Department of Defense Strategic Language list and integral to the Defense Language Transformation Roadmap.
Paragraph 5.4.3.2 states that "Dominant-in-the-force languages and languages deemed by the DoD as already having sufficient strategic capacity authorized will not be funded, except for assignments outside the continental United States." This guideline may permit Airmen with orders outside the U.S. to take courses on the host country language of their assignment location.
"For example, an Airman that wanted to take German, when that's not part of their degree program, wouldn't receive TA unless that language is on the list or they had orders to Germany," said Dayle Ann DeLong, the Langley Education Services Officer. "They need to check with the education center to make sure they're covered by TA."
Lastly, the new policy changes TA for courses based on contact hours as opposed to semester hours. According to DeLong and Aldrich-Jenkins, contact hours are typically awarded for vocational training, such as beauty schools and some information technology training. The AFI now prescribes 45 contact hours equivalent to one semester-hour credit when neither semester nor quarter-hours are specified.
The AFI amendments are the first in a series of upcoming changes to Air Force TA. To read the complete AFI, visit
http://www.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/AFI36-2306.pdf. For more information about TA, visit the Langley Education Center or call 764-2962.