ASSESSING THE VALUE OF ADULT DISTANCE EDUCATION FOR THE CONTEMPORARY UNITED STATES ARMY SOLDIER
Formal education is widely recognized as a valuable asset for citizens and for the organizations in society that offer productive employment opportunities for citizens. As society becomes more complex, the educational qualifications demanded of individuals by employing organizations continues to increase. Enhanced educational qualifications benefit both the individual and the employing organization (Dunderstadt, 1999).
The value of a college-level education to the individual may be appreciated through a consideration of the information presented in Exhibit 1, which may be found on the following page. As the information presented in the exhibit indicate, average annual income rises dramatically as the level of individual formal educational attainment increases.
Enhanced educational qualifications, however, are equally valuable to most employing organizations in contemporary society. In no sector of society is this fact more relevant than in the nation's armed forces. The armed forces recognition of the importance of enhanced educational qualifications is long standing. Requirements for undergraduate and graduate degrees for commissioned officers and professional staff increasingly are extended to warrant officer, noncommissioned officers, and, in the contemporary period, to an increasing proportion of enlisted personnel of all grades (Ostendorf, 1999).
Several recent initiatives of the United States Army reinforce the importance placed on education by the service. Older initiatives, such as the GI Bill and the Army College Fund, provide educational benefits to soldiers after they leave the service. The benefits accruing to the Army from such programs focus on the retention for a temporary period of qualified and competent personnel. Other educational-oriented initiatives, such as sending active duty personnel to college...