The Defense Department is moving closer to issuing its latest draft of a Memorandum of Understanding that will be required for schools receiving money from DoD’s tuition assistance program, according to Carolyn Baker, chief of the Pentagon’s continuing education programs.

During a webinar for school officials about President Obama’s April executive order setting out “Principles of Excellence” for schools receiving tuition assistance or GI Bill funds, Baker said a new draft of the MOU has been finalized and is scheduled to be released this summer. Schools will have to sign a copy of the MOU in order to be eligible for TA, though Baker stressed that institutions that signed the version of the MOU released — and later scuttled — by DoD last fall will not have to sign a new one.

But this summer’s MOU will not cover all the Principles of Excellence. The document will include the executive order’s requirements that schools provide students with a degree plan, inform them about their federal financial aid eligibility, end fraudulent or inappropriate recruitment on military installations, and designate a point of contact for academic and financial advising.

It will not include the president’s requirements that schools give prospective students a personalized form outlining costs, financial aid and outcome data; receive accreditation before accepting students; and allow students to re-enroll after an absence caused by military service.Click here to read more

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Sean Locke