A recent Fulcrum essay on the "poverty draft" is a reminder that military service for millions of people has and continues to be the only affordable path to a college degree. I'll again suggest that this is why every private university needs to put into action all their bluster about being "military friendly" or being the better place for military-connected students.
Not surprising, schools and colleges of professional, continuing & online education (PCE/Os) are best positioned to drive expanded programs, support and access to currently serving military students. These units already have the infrastructure and credentials military-affiliated students need. At some universities, they are the units that have developed and implemented the online "military strategy." Note that in a few disastrous cases, a PCE/O military strategy was permitted by senior leadership to be co-opted by hack back-office transactional administrative robots incapable of operationalizing strategies that require bold and committed leadership to drive institutional change. (A wilting administrator delivering awkward presentations that claim ownership of a military enrollment strategy they didn't develop is disingenuous, vapid and insulting to those who've done the actual policy and budget work to create greater access and opportunity for military-connected students.)
Public universities are doing this necessary and meaningful work at scale. SUNY's new Military Tuition Rate closes the gap between DoD Tuition Assistance caps and actual tuition at dozens of campuses. PCE/O units at private universities (particularly mid-tier tuition-dependent privates) are positioned to close that gap further to serve members before they separate from active duty.
Please, do this better. It's not hard when you have the right (real) leadership AND the institutional mandate.
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