education A Million Thanks for Our Military by: Bill Cramer, Chair Elect, Thanks A Million Campaign
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ost of the public assumes our government fully provides for the education of active duty service members and veterans. Unfortunately, this assumption is false. Although benefits like tuition assistance and the G.I. Bill go a long way, all too often they do not go far enough. Gulf Coast State College and its foundation are working together to fill the many gaps between government benefits and the cost of an education for our military students, who number almost 1,200. Last year, the college’s foundation announced the Thanks a Million Campaign, which I am privileged to chair, to meet the critical needs of active duty, veteran and dependent students. For convenience, I will refer to them collectively as “military students.”
Active Duty Financial assistance for active duty students at Florida’s colleges covers only tuition. They must pay for books, lab fees, distance-learning fees, capital improvement fees and financial aid fees, among others. These out of pocket costs 16
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can total hundreds of dollars per course, typically more than they can afford. These expenses are particularly onerous for enlisted members of the Air Force, who comprise the largest proportion of military students at Gulf Coast. With rare exceptions, advancement to the highest enlisted ranks requires a degree from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), an accredited two-year institution chartered by the federal government. There is a catch-22. CCAF is authorized to award course credit only for job-related programs. Civilian institutions, like Gulf Coast, must provide general education courses, such as mathematics and social studies, necessary for a degree. If Air Force students cannot afford all required courses, they will not graduate from CCAF. In these cases, the odds are stacked heavily against promotion to the higher ranks, as illustrated by the chart. For example, a typical Technical Sergeant lacking a CCAF degree has less than a 10% chance of advancing to Master Ser-
