Study Covering 25% Of Military Students Shows $110m In TA Cost Avoidance!
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n the education world, we know there is a big difference between college credits that are recommended and the credits that are applied to a degree. DANTES Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) programs generate recommended credits for evaluated military training, occupations, and experience through the assessment of prior learning (College Level Examination Program (CLEP) or DSST). Whether from the Military Training Evaluation Program or the Credit-by-Exam program, these recommended credits are documented on service members’ Joint Service Transcript (JST), as well as the Community College of the Air Force transcripts. While the credits generated through these programs are deemed equivalent to those earned by attending in-person courses, academic institutions determine whether the credits will fulfill specific course requirements on service member degree plans.
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To better understand the value of these PLA programs, DANTES studied how recommended credits were being applied at the institution level. DANTES reached out to eight schools to determine if DANTES-Generated credit was received and if those credits were applied. With data representing 74,002 Military students, who make up 26% of Tuition Assistance (TA) participants, the answer was eye-opening and truly underscored the value of Education Counseling and the PLA programs. A few of the key takeaways from the data provided by this subset of schools, which covered 25% of annual TA funding: • In Academic Year (AY) 2021, more credits were applied to degree plans via PLA than through TA Funding. • PLA generated credits helped DoD avoid $110M in Military TA costs • Class of 2021 military students using DANTES PLA programs graduating from these schools saved an average of $7,742 and 20 months over the course of their degrees.
